Islamic art Art and design of the Muslim world

Dating from the foundation of the Islamic faith in the 7th century AD. The traditions laid down by Islam created devout, painstaking craftsmen whose creative purpose was the glory of God. Elements and motifs were borrowed from Byzantine, Coptic, and Persian Sassanian (AD 224-642) traditions and fused into a distinctive decorative style, based on Arabic calligraphy. Sculpture was prohibited and carvers turned instead to exquisite inlay and fretwork, notably on doors and screens, in Islamic monuments such as the Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain, and the Taj Mahal, India. Today, Islamic art is to be found predominately in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, the Indian subcontinent, and the Central Asian Republics. Calligraphy Regarded as the highest of all arts due to its role in transcribing the Koran, calligraphy was used to decorate pottery, textiles, metalwork, and architecture. Scripts ranged in style from the cursive Naskh with its extended flourishes to the angular Kufic. Interlacing patterns based on geometry and stylized plant motifs (including the swirling arabesque) typically framed and enhanced the lettering. Ceramics Drawing on Chinese techniques and styles, Muslim potters developed their own distinctive, often colored, lustres and glazes, which were later influential in the development of European ceramics. In the 11th-12th centuries Turkish Seljuk pottery was noted for its lively designs. In the 16th century, Iznik in Turkey became an important centre, producing beautiful wares, typically blue plant forms against a white ground, and glazed and coloured tilework for mosque decoration. Miniature painting A court tradition of miniature painting developed, which was primarily representational, featuring both humans and animals. Derived from the ivory carvings of Fatimid Egypt (AD 969-1171), it flourished in Persia during the Timurid (15th century) and Safavid (1502-1736) dynasties. The Tabriz school was transplanted to India by the Mogul emperor Akbar (see Indian art). Textiles Islamic weavers, notably those of the Fatimid period, produced silk brocades and carpets of an unprecedented fineness and beauty. Turkish ushak medallion carpets were exported to the West in the 16th century and featured in many Renaissance paintings, adorning floors, walls, and desks. (©Helicon Publishing Ltd, printed from the Hutchinson Educational Encyclopedia, 2001)