Art History 496: Special Topic: What is Islamic Art?

Addresses how researchers can challenge stereotypical notions of Islam and Islamic art while avoiding the creation of new myths and the encouragement of nationalistic and ethnic attitudes. Islamic art has continued to evolve and shape our understanding of the various civilizations of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Illustrated history of the Islamic world from its origins to the present day, covers material culture produced from West Africa to Southeast Asia through art and artefacts, people and places. Text is accompanied by images of architectural decoration, ceramics, jewelry, metalwork, calligraphy, textiles, musical instruments, coins, illustrated manuscripts, and/or modern and contemporary art.

Essays examine the controversy surrounding the use of images in Islamic and other religious cultures and seek to redress some of the misunderstandings that have arisen. After setting the context, essays cover three topics: pre-modern Islam, the situation outside Islam, and modern and contemporary periods in Islamic lands.

Covers verbal and visual constructions of the Prophet's character and persona over time, illuminating the critical role Muhammad has played in Muslim constructions of self and community at different times and in various cultural contexts. Focuses on the procedures of narration, veneration, and sacralization.

Provides an historical and conceptual analysis of Islamic art and documents the successes and failings of its presentation in museums worldwide. Essays cover the extent to which socio-historical and anthropological approaches result in new analytical perspectives of Islamic art. Museums covered in detail include Brooklyn Museum's Arts of the Islamic World Galleries and the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Ontario.

Presents a visual history of the peoples, cultures, and artworks that have defined the Islamic world over 1,200 years of history. From Spain to Indonesia, North Africa to China, the material culture of the Muslim people ranges from huge architectural projects to detailed miniature paintings, exquisitely patterned silk textiles, and bold calligraphy. This book reveals the immense heritage handed down through Islamic artists and examines their relationship to their Western peers.

Includes primary sources in translation, with essays that provide insights into the aesthetic and cultural history of Islam. Sources include the Qur'an, court chronicles, treatises on calligraphy and painting, and more. Situates each text and explains the date, place, author, and political conditions under which is was written.

Covers neglected aspects of the Islamic art and architecture, including major artistic and political developments over the last 1,400 years of Islam. Subjects include early Islamic art, sacred spaces, palaces, ornament, arts of the book, the portable arts, talismans and magic, museums and collecting, contemporary art worlds, and more.

Provides overview of Islamic art and architecture from the 7th-13th centuries. Focuses on the development of regional centers of art in Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, Iraq, and Yemen, plus the western and northeastern provinces of Iran. Examines ways of creating a beautiful environment, including textiles, ceramics, metal, wood, and more. Illustrated.

Surveys the architecture and arts of the traditional Islamic lands from the Mongol conquests in the early 13th century to the advent of European colonial rule in the 19th. Describes over two hundred works of Islamic art and considers function, patronage, meaning, and more. Includes an essay on the legacies of Islamic art in Europe and the Islamic lands in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Presents nearly 300 masterworks showcasing the diversity and range of Islamic culture. The MET's holdings range chronologically from the origins of Islam in the 7th century through the 19th century, and geographically from as far west as Spain to as far east as Southeast Asia.

Surveys Muslim art created between the fifth century CE through the 17th century CE. Covers porcelain, enamel, manuscript illumination, metalwork, calligraphy, textiles, and more. Contexts include patronage, usage and display, Islamic traditions of fine craftsmanship, and the relationship of art to religious practice and belief. Illustrated.

Explores painting, music, and geometry through the discursive sphere of historical Islam including the Qur'an, Hadith, Sufism, ancient philosophy, and poetry. Emphasis on reception over production enables a decolonizing model. Covers regions of Islamic hegemony from the 11th century to the modern Middle East.

This survey of contemporary African art and design challenges presumptions of what constitutes an "African" style or aesthetic in Africa and abroad, and demonstrates the power and expressive potential of materials, textures and forms. Coverage includes works that blur the distinction between art and craft.

Draws on archaeological discoveries and art historical research to construct a look at medieval trans-Saharan exchange and its legacy. Covers key medieval cities; networks of exchange for gold, copper, and ivory; medieval glass bead production. Demonstrates how the rootedness of place, culture, and tradition is closely tied to the circulation of people, objects, and ideas. Illustrated.

Studies the life and impact of Mohamed Zakariya, a contemporary American artist, whose pursuit of Islamic calligraphy lead to a uniquely American version of the practice. Accounts are told from a variety of perspectives, which results in a nuanced, thoughtful presentation of a complex and brilliant artist.

Explores calligraphy over centuries as a means of creative expression throughout the Islamic world on items such as manuscripts, glass, metalware, and ceramic tiles. Introduces all five major Islamic calligraphic script types, demonstrates their visual characteristics, and explains the contexts in which each one came to be used. Illustrated.

Designed to meet the demands not only of anyone interested in Arabic writing, but also of specialists. This is the first reference work on art of beautiful writing in Arabic script. Explains this art form and shows how to identify, understand and appreciate its varied styles and modes. Offers a standardized terminology for identifying and describing various styles of Islamic calligraphy, and to help Westerners appreciate why calligraphy has long been so important in Islamic civilization. Examples are chosen from dated or datable examples with secure provenance. Illustrated.

Islamic calligraphy is a beautiful writing practice that constitutes an expression of piety. This book portrays the world of the calligrapher during the 17th-19th centuries in India, Iran, and Turkey. It brings together "tools of the trade" with the art made with them. Features pens, pen boxes, chests, tables, paper scissors, knives, burnishers, and book bindings, accompanied by examples of calligraphy. Illustrated.