Islamic Art and Archetecture Object List 2

8/6/2019 Islamic Art and Archetecture Object List 2

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c. 712 715, Hammam , Qusayr Amra, Jordan. Umayyad.

This hammam and palace structure was built by Caliph al-Walid I (ibn Abd al-Malik). Qusayr Amras hammam has an

impressive vaulting system that includes a system of pointed transverse arches, a characteristic of Eastern

architecture, and Byzantine frescoes that depict court life at the palatial estate and the workers, craftsmen and animalsthat brought this unique structure into being. Other frescoes depict a haloed dignitary (possibly the caliph), opposite the

four kings of Byzantium, Ethiopia, Persia, and the Visigoths. This grouping in symbolic in Islamic architecture as the

control of the caliph over a powerful assembly of the four contemporaneous kings.

OTHER INFO: Caliph al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik also commissioned the Great Mosque at Damascus to be built over the

site of the Byzantine Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. A small chapel dedicated to the saint was left standing and

worked into Walid Is mosque plan. St. John, or Yahya, is considered a Prophet of Islam. Walid Is father, Abd al-Malik,

commissioned the building of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.


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c. 730, Lion Gazelle mosaic, Khirbat al-Mafjar. Umayyad.

Built by Caliph al-Walid II (ibn Abd al-Yazid) near Jericho in the Jordan Valley, Khirbat al-Mafjar remains one

of the most sophisticated Umayyad palaces in the region. Once a two-storied palace with a mosque,hammam, and courtyard, the ruins of Kirbat al-Mafjar include an opulently decorated hammam, beautiful

mosaic baths, and female figural sculptures. This structure is renowned for its elaborate mosaics, stucco

facades, and evidence of Byzantine and Sassanian influences.

Much of the hammams mosaic style is derived from geometric patterns, while another another famous

mosaic panel at the site displays an apple tree providing cover on its right side to two gazelles that chew at its

foliage while to the left a lion is shown attacking another gazelle from behind. Interpretations of this scene

speak to its symbolic implications of the Umayyad caliphate: life can be peaceful and serene under Umayyad

authority while those who threatened central power face physical defeat.


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c. 740, Khirbat al-Mafjar, Jordan Valley. Ummayad.

Facade view, birds eye plan, artistic rendering, female figural statue.


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743 744, Qibla wall exterior, Qasr al-Mshatta. Umayyad.

Sample of Mshatta exterior wall, however

qibla wall ornamentation was strictly

geometric/vegetal, and did not includedepictions of human or animal life.

Also commissioned by Umayyad caliph, al-Walid ibn Abd al-Yazid (Walid II), Qasr al-Mshattas year-long

construction was suddenly brought to a halt when Walid II was assassinated in 744 . Byzantine and

Sassanian influence is evident in its brickwork, masonry, decoration and design. Mshattas most

breathtaking feature is the elaborate stucco carvings on the south facade, whose vegetal and geometric

nature provides a sort of camouflage for the thick stone walls which it ornaments.


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762 767, Plan of Al-Mansurs Baghdad.

Abbasid.The notable circular plan of Madina-al-Salam (City of Peace) was constructed in the 8th

century by Abbasid Caliph Mansur. Planned so that all roads lead to the main government

center which included a palace, a mosque, residences, government offices, and a kitchen.


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847-861, Great Mosque, Samarra, Iraq. Abbasid.Caliph al-Mutawakkil commissioned the construction of the Great Mosque in the mid-ninth

century. The mosques most notable feature is the Minaret al-Malwiya, influenced by a specific

type of Mesopotamian ziggurat, that supports a great spiraling ramp fifty-five meters high.


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9th century, Carved pair of Doors, Abbasid Iraq.


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13th century, House of Wisdom, Baghdad. Abbasid.The Abbasids' House of Wisdom was a library and translation institute in Baghdad, Iraq. A key institution in the TranslationMovement, and a major intellectual center in the Islamic Golden Age - translators, scientists, scribes, authors, men of letters,writers, authors, copyists and others met every day for translation, reading, writing, scribing, discourse, dialogue and discussion.Many manuscripts and books in various scientific subjects, and in different languages were translated there. The languageswhich were spoken, read and written there were Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Greek and Latin; also occasionallySanskrit, which was used to translate the old Indian manuscripts in astronomy and mathematics. Other ares of study included

medicine, chemistry, geography, philosophy and literature.


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MinaretA tall slender tower of a mosque that has one or more balconies from which the summons to

prayer is called.


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SahnIn Islamic architecture, a sahn is a courtyard. Almost every mosque has a sahn, which is

surrounded by an arcade from all sides.


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MinbarA pulpit in the mosque located to the right of the mihrab where the imam (leader of prayer)

stands to deliver sermons.


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Vegetal Ornamentation

Vegetal patterns employed alone or in combination with the other major types of ornament adorn a

vast number of buildings, manuscripts, objects, and textiles, produced throughout the Islamic world.

With the exception of the garden and its usual reference to paradise, vegetal motifs and patterns in

Islamic art are largely devoid of symbolic meaning.


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ArabesqueFrench: "in the Arab fashion". Term often used to describe a complicated, intertwined,

flowing design of stylized floral and plant motifs.


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MosaicImages created with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other

materials.

Individual material pieces are called tessera.


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CaliphA caliph is head of state in a caliphate. This term is used to describe a position of power with no

separation of religion and government, unlike sultans, whose duties were strictly governmental.


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ShariahLiterally means way" or "path", and symbolizes the code of conduct or religious law of

Islam.


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HadithA traditional account of things said or done by Muhammad or his disciples, and regarded by

traditional Islamic schools as important tools for understanding the Qur'an.


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Hammam

A communal bathhouse, usually with separate baths for men and women.


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Umayyad

After the death of Ali, there was a bitter religious and political struggle between thefollowers of a more traditional Islamic faith, who were called Sunnis, and the more

radical followers of Ali, who were called Shiites. The Sunnis won, and established the

Umayyad dynasty, with its capital at Damascus in Syria.

In Jerusalem, the Umayyads built the first major mosque, the Dome of the Rock, on the

site of Solomon's Temple (and the place where Abraham almost sacrificed his son

Issac.)


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Abbasid

In 750 AD, the Umayyad caliphs were replaced by the Abbasid caliphs, who murdered all of the

surviving Umayyad men but one.

In 762 AD the Abbasids moved their capital from Damascus in Syria to the new city of Baghdad in

Iraq. Baghdad was soon the largest international city in the world outside of China.

The Abbasid empire controlled most of West Asia and North Africa from 750 CE until about 1000

CE.


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SunniThe Sunni are the "people of the tradition [of Muhammad] and the community", and the largest

branch of Islam. Sunni Islam is referred to as the orthodox version of the religion. The word "Sunni"

comes from the term Sunnah, which refers to the sayings and actions of Muhammad that are

recorded in hadiths.


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ShiaThe Shia are self-proclaimed followers of Ali , and the second largest denomination of Islam.

Shias believe that God's representatives (Prophets and Imams) cannot be elected by common

Muslims.

Islamic Art and Archetecture Object List 2

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