THE ISLAMIC WORLDGARDINER CHAPTER 13-3PP. 355-362

GREAT MOSQUE, ISFAHAN Aerial view of the Great Mosque

(looking southwest), Isfahan, Iran, eleventh to seventeenth centuries

The typical Iranian mosque plan of four vaulted IWANS and a courtyard may have been used for first time in this mosque built in Isfahan

The qibla iwan is the largest -> its size and dome covered maqsura in front of it indicated the proper direction for Muslim prayer

ISLAMIC TILEWORK Mihrab from the Madrasa Imami, Isfahan,

Iran, ca. 1354. Glazed mosaic tilework, 11’ 3” X 7’ 6”

Starting with Dome of the Rock, the earliest major Islamic building, mosaics and or ceramic tiles used to decorate walls and vaults of mosques, madrasas, palaces, and tombs

MOSAIC TILEWORK = large ceramic panels of single colors are fired and then cut into smaller pieces and set like tesserae

CUERDA SECA = polychrome tiles bearing geometric, vegetal, and Arabic script

IRANIAN TILEWORK Winter prayer hall of the Shahi

(Imam) Mosque, Isfahan, Iran, 1611-1638

One of the masterpieces of Islamic tilework

Its dome is tile mosaic -> its winter prayer hall is cuerda seca tiles -> covered walls, arches, and vaults -> had to manufacture a wide variety of shapes with curved surfaces to sheathe the hall

SHAHI MOSQUE, ISFAHAN

MADRASA IMAMI, ISFAHAN

Mihrab from the Madrasa Imami, Isfahan, Iran, ca. 1354. Glazed mosaic tilework, 11’ 3” X 7’ 6”

Some of the masterworks of Arabic calligraphy are not in manuscripts but on walls

The pointed arch that frames the mihrab niche bears an inscription from the Koran in Kufic

Outer rectangular frame is another type of Islamic calligraphy

Niche and area above pointed arch -> geometric and abstract floral motifs

Calligraphic and geometric elements are so unified that only a practiced eye can distinguish them

LUXURY ARTS – TIMURID BUSTAN

BIHZAD, Seduction of Yusuf, folio 52 of the Bustan of Sultan Husayn Mayqara, from Herat, Afghanistan, 1488.

Ink and color on paper

The most famous Persian painter of his age was Bihazad -> worked for the sultan at Herat

Story of the seduction of Joseph by Potiphar’s wife

Vivid color, intricate decorative detailing, and brilliant balance between two-dimensional patterning and perspective

Timurid dynasty in Persia – 14th and 15th centuries

SAFAVID SHAHNAMA

SULTAN-MUHAMMAD, Court of Gayumars, folio 20 verso of the Shahnama of Shah Tamasp, from Tabriz, Iran, 1525-1535

Ink, watercolor, and gold on paper The Shahnama is the Persian

national epic poem -> this page is the work of Sultan-Muhammad -> depicts the legendary first king of Persia

Lightness and airiness permeate the painting -> this is enhanced by the off-center placement of the image of the page

Safavids were the successors to the Timurids in Iran

ADARBIL CARPETS MAQSUD OF KASHAN, carpet from the funerary

mosque of Shaykh Safi al-Din, Ardabil, Iran, 1540. Knotted pile of wool and silk, 34’ 6” X 17’ 7”.

Carpet weaving became a national industry in Persia

Name of the designer Maqsud of Kashan is woven into the design of the carpet

Required roughly 25 million knots, 340 per square inch

Central sunburst medallion representing the inside of a dome -> surrounded by 16 pendants -> mosque lamps suspended -> reflection from a blue pool w/floating lotus blossoms

MOSQUE LAMPS Mosque lamp from Egypt, 1340

Glass with enamel decoration, 1’1” high

The glass lamps hung on chains from the mosque’s ceilings

Includes a quotation from the Koran comparing God’s light to the light in the lamp -> the lit lamp would have dramatically illuminated this verse

BAPTISTERE DE SAINT LOUIS MUHAMMAD IBN AL-ZAYN,

basin (Baptistère de Saint Louis), from Egypt, ca. 1300. Brass, inlaid with gold and silver, 8 3/4” high.

Brass basin from Egypt inlaid with gold and silver

Used for washing hands at official ceremonies

Central band depicts Mamluk hunters and Mongol enemies

Canteen with episodes from the life of Christ, from Syria, ca. 1240–1250. Brass, inlaid with silver, 1’ 2 1/2” diameter

During the 11th -13th centuries large numbers of Christians traveled to the Holy Land as either pilgrims or crusaders -> many returned w/souvenirs

This unique brass canteen w/inlaid silver was commissioned by wealthy Christian patron

Madonna and Child enthroned in central medallion, three panels w/New Testament scenes from the life of Jesus unfold in counterclockwise sequence

Decorative details are Islamic

Christian patronage of Islamic art