art history

Folio from a Qur’an.   Arab, North Africa, or Near East. Abbasid. c. eighth to ninth century C.E. Ink, color, and gold on parchment. The Qur'an is the sacred text of Islam, consisting of the divine revelation to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic. However, the word Qur'an, which means “recitation,” suggests that manuscripts were of secondary importance to oral tradition. The art of producing a mushaf began well before a pen was ever dipped into ink. The dimensions of each page were calculated before the parchment was cut, and the text was carefully situated relative to the edges of the pages. These materials suggest both the dignity of the sacred text and the wealth of its patron, who was probably a member of the aristocratic elite. In addition to the high quality and large quantity of materials used, the deliberate geometric planning of the page conveys the importance of the text that it contains.  Scribes also had some freedom in composing a page. They could em...

Great Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh). Isfahan, Iran. Islamic, Persian: Seljuk, Il-Khanid, Timurid and Safavid Dynasties. c. 700 C.E.; additions and restorations in the 14th, 18th, and 20th centuries C.E. Stone, brick, wood, plaster, and glazed ceramic tile. Most cities with sizable Muslim populations possess a primary congregational mosque. Diverse in design and dimensions, they can illustrate the style of the period or geographic region, the choices of the patron, and the expertise of the architect.  It is an architectural documentary, visually embodying the political exigencies and aesthetic tastes of the great Islamic empires of Persia. Another distinctive aspect of the mosque is its urban integration. Positioned at the center of the old city, the mosque shares walls with other buildings abutting its perimeter. Due to its immense size and its numerous entrances, it formed a pedestrian hub, connecting the arterial network of paths crisscrossing the city. The mosque faci...

Dome of the Rock. Jerusalem. Islamic, Umayyad. 691–692 C.E., with multiple renovations. Stone masonry and wooden roof decorated with glazed ceramic tile, mosaics, and gilt aluminum and bronze dome. One of the most iconic images of the Middle East is undoubtedly the Dome of the Rock shimmering in the setting sun of Jerusalem. Sitting atop the Haram al-Sharif, the highest point in old Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock’s golden-color Dome and Turkish Faience tiles dominates the cityscape of Old Jerusalem and in the 7th century served as a testament to the power of the new faith of Islam. The Dome of the Rock is one of the earliest surviving buildings from the Islamic world. This remarkable building is not a mosque, as is commonly assumed and scholars still debate its original function and meaning. when the Dome of the Rock was completed, there was intermittent warfare in Arabia and Holy Land around Jerusalem. The first Arab armies who emerged from the Arabian peninsula were fo...

The Kaaba. Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Islamic. Pre-Islamic monument; rededicated by Muhammad in 631–632 C.E.; multiple renovations. Granite masonry, covered with silk curtain and calligraphy in gold and silver-wrapped thread. Pilgrimage to a holy site is a core principle of almost all faiths. The Kaaba, meaning cube in Arabic, is a square building elegantly draped in a silk and cotton veil. Located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, it is the holiest shrine in Islam. In Islam, Muslims pray five times a day; these prayers were directed towards Mecca and the Kaaba rather than Jerusalem. This direction is marked in all mosques and enables the faithful to know in which direction they should pray. Upon arriving in Mecca, pilgrims gather in the courtyard of the Masjid al-Haram around the Kaaba. They then circumambulate and hope to kiss and touch the Black Stone.  The Kaaba was a sanctuary in pre-Islamic times. Muslims believe that Abraham—known as Ibrahim in the Islamic tradition—an...

Buddha. Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Gandharan. c. 400–800 C.E. (destroyed in 2001). Cut rock with plaster and polychrome paint. Prior to their recent destruction, the 6th-7th century, rock-cut Buddha sculptures in the Bamiyan Valley of central Afghanistan were considered the largest in the world. Known collectively as the Bamiyan Buddhas, the two monumental sculptures have amazed both Buddhist and non-Buddhist visitors for more than a thousand years. Importance of the Buddhist faith and the Bamiyan Valley during this period. Bamiyan is located between the Indian subcontinent (to the southeast) and Central Asia (to the north), which made it an important location close to one of the most important branches of the Silk Route.  The Silk Route was an ancient series of linked trade routes that connected the East to the West and carried both material wealth and ideas. Bamiyan’s central location along the Silk Route, along with its fertile plains amid harsh terrain, made it an ideal ...

Petra, Jordan: Treasury and Great Temple. Nabataean Ptolemaic and Roman. c. 400 B.C.E.–100 C.E. Cut rock. The prominence of the tombs in the landscape led many early explorers and scholars to see Petra as a large necropolis (cemetary); however, archaeology has shown that Petra was a well-developed metropolis with all of the trappings of a Hellenistic city. The tomb facades draw upon a rich array of Hellenistic and Near Eastern architecture and, in this sense, their architecture reflects the diverse and different cultures with which the Nabateans traded, interacted, and even intermarried.  Today scholars believe that the tombs were probably constructed when the Nabateans were wealthiest between the second century B.C.E. and the early  second century C.E. Archaeologists and art historians have identified a number styles for the tomb facades, but they all co-existed and cannot be used date the tombs. The few surviving inscriptions in Nabataean, Greek, and Latin tell ...

Presentation of Fijian mats and tapa cloths to Queen Elizabeth II. Fiji, Polynesia. 1953 C.E. Multimedia performance (costume; cosmetics, including scent; chant; movement; and pandanus ber/hibiscus ber mats), photographic documentation.  On December 17, 1953, a newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, arrived on the island of Fiji, then an English colony. The first thing you might notice in the photograph is the procession of Fijian women making their way through a group of seated Fijian men and women. Several of the processing women are wearing skirts made of barkcloth painted with geometric patterns. Barkcloth, or masi, as it is referred to in Fiji, is made by stripping the inner bark of mulberry trees, soaking the bark, then beating it into strips of cloth that are glued together, often by a paste made of arrowroot.  Bold and intricate geometric patterns in red, white, and black are often painted onto the masi; o...