Unit 7 - Art of West & Central Asia Flashcards
Petra: Identifiers
Style: Nabatean
Artist: Unknown
Location: Jordan
Date: 400 BCE - 100 CE
Petra- Treasury: “Al-Khazneh”: Form
- rock cut 81x127 ft.
- hellenistic style: influence of Alexandria, Corinthian columns
- Bottom: Greco-Roman temple
- Top: broken pediment, tholos: circular structure of a temple, sculptural decoration: connection to Hellenistic world
Petra: Function
- Al-Khazneh “The Treasury”: believed to be the hiding place of treasure hidden by bandits (really was a mausoleum of a King)
- Rock Cut tombs: 500 royal tombs, no human remains found, unknown burial practices: originally believed to be a necropolis however proven that it was a metropolis
Petra: Content
- Greek, Egyptian, Assyrian gods on facade
- On top: 4 eagles that would carry away souls
- Upper level: dancing Amazons with double-axes, focal point: likely Isis-Tyche
- Lower level: entrance flanked by statues of twins Castor & Pollux who lived parly on Olympus and partly in the underworld
Petra: Context
- Petra, capital of Nabataean Kingdom: regional trading hub of nomadic people, known to them as Raqmu, used to living in desert conditions and were skilled at harvesting water
- Petra becomes part of Roman empire in 106 BCE: annexed by Emperor Trajan
Bamiyan Buddhas: Identifiers
Style: Buddhist/ Gandharan
Artist: Unknown
Location: Afghanistan
Date: 400-800 CE
Bamiyan Buddhas: Form
- cut in niches into rock
- stucco helped to even out textured rock surface
- taller on on the west: 175 ft.
- smaller on on the east: 120 ft.
- mixed Hellenistic Greek traditions with Indian subject matter: flowing drapery
Bamiyan Buddhas: Function
- made for practicing Buddhist in area: area around larger Buddha’s feet were carved in the round, allowing worshippers to circumambulate
Bamiyan Buddhas: Content
- Chinese monk Xuanzang (Hsuan-Tsang) traveled to Bamiyan in 643 CE: spoke about their magnificent presence in the region
- described them as being adorned with metal, color, and gems
Bamiyan Buddhas: Context
- located on the Silk Road
- influenced by many different cultures
- site of merchants and missionaries: spreading goods + stories/beliefs
Bamiyan Buddhas: Context cont.
- Mullah Omar ordered Taliban forces to demolish Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001
- Taliban’s extreme iconoclastic campaign: disdain for western interest and funding that had gone to protecting images while there was an intense growing need for humanitarian aid in the region
The Kaaba: Identifiers
Style: Islamic Architecture
Artist: Unknown
Location: Saudi Arabia
Date: 631 CE
The Kaaba: Form (Exterior)
- Kaaba means cube in Arabic, elegantly draped in a silk and cotton veil called Kiswah
- Replaced annually
- 42 ft. high 36 ft. Long
The Kaaba: Form (Interior) + Function
- marble and limestone floor
- doors to the Kaaba open 2 times a year for cleaning: 30 days before Ramadan and 30 days before Hajj
- Function: pilgrimage site, houses in Black Stone in eastern corner of the Kaaba
The Kaaba: Content
- holiest shrine in Islam
- Hand embroidered text from the Quran
- every year the old Kiswah is removed and cut into small pieces that are then distributed to certain individuals and organizations
The Kaaba: Context
- belief- Ibrahim and his son Ismail constructed it
- symbolic of the journey and triumph of Muhammad: driven out of Mecca, when he was gone- Kaaba taken over and filled with icons/idols * return: removed false idols and rededicated the Kaaba
- black stone is thought to have been given to Ibrahim by the Angel Gabriel
- 632 CE - year Muhammad died- his final pilgrimage to the Kaaba and established rite of pilgrimage
Jowo Rinpoche, enshrined in the Jokhang Temple: Identifiers
Style: Buddhist
Artist: Unknown
Location: Tibet
Date: 641 CE
Jowo Rinpoche, enshrined in the Jokhang Temple: Form
- larger than life
- sometimes dressed with a magnificent jeweled crown and robes
- Jowo Shakyamuni is another name for Buddha
- Jowo Rinpoche = The Precious One
Jowo Rinpoche, enshrined in the Jokhang Temple: Function
- purpose of statue’s carving was to act as the Buddha’s proxy after his parinirvana or departure from the world
- dressing of sculpture for special occasions and feeding of it as if it were the Buddha on earth
Jowo Rinpoche, enshrined in the Jokhang Temple: Content
- seated with legs in lotus position
- left hand is in mudra of meditation
- right hand in gesture of calling the earth to witness
- together postures signify moment of Buddha’s enlightenment
thin monk’s robe, drapes over body and covers left shoulder
Jowo Rinpoche, enshrined in the Jokhang Temple: Context
- most sacred & important Buddha image in Tibet: believed to have been carved by celestial architect Viswakarma in India during lifetime of the Buddha Shakyamuni
Dome of the Rock- Identifiers
Style: Islamic Architecture
Artist: Unknown
Location: Jerusalem
Date: 691 CE
Dome of the Rock: Form (Exterior) 1
- domed octagon
- dome is double shelled and made of wood - 60 ft. across and 70 ft. high: originally made of gold, replaced with copper then aluminum, aluminum now covered with gold leaf
- restored- tiling from 16th century replaced original mosaic
- arabic inscription verses from Qur’an, tells story of Muhammad’s Night Journey
Dome of the Rock: Form (Interior)
- very well preserved
- mosaics
- no human figures of animals
- vegetative scrolls & winged crowns, worn by Sasanian kinigs, iconography of majro pre-Islamic civilizations
- center is a large rock: location where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Ismail
- inscription that is 240 m. long, includes some of the earliest surviving examples of verses from Qur’an- in an architectural context or otherwise
Dome of the Rock: Function + Content
Function: * not a mosque- scholars still debate original function & meaning
* houses the rock: story of Abraham & his son
Content: location of dome of the rock has specific/important meaning for each of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths
Great Mosque (Masjid e-Jameh): Identifiers
Style: Islamic Architecture
Artist: Unknown
Location: Iran
Date: 700 CE
Great Mosque (Masjid e-Jameh): Form Plan
- hypostyle hall
- centrally planned
- mosque shares walls with other buildings
Great Mosque (Masjid e-Jameh): Form Other
- Iwan: vaulted space that opens on one side to a courtyard (4)
- one Iwan has minarets to indicate direction of Mecca
- use of blue and gold
- muqaranas
- stone, brick, wood, plaster, and ceramic glaze tile
Great Mosque (Masjid e-Jameh): Function + Content
Function: main mosque of the city, commercial activity
Content: made to be calming, open and integrated into city to emphasize it being a part of everyday life
Great Mosque (Masjid e-Jameh): Context
- modified over a period of 1000 years: ruling groups of Isfahan include Seljuk Turks, II-Khanid, Timurid, Safavid, and Qajar
- located in 3rd most populous region of Iran
Folio from a Qur’an: Identifiers
Style: Islamic Manuscript
Artist: Unknown
Location: North Africa
Date: c. 800 CE
Folio from a Qur’an: Form
- folio - individual leaf of paper/parchment
- kufic- early form of Arabic script, characterized by angularity, with upright forming almost right angles with baseline
- 2 page spread
- read right to left
Folio from a Qur’an: Function
- Quran, Qur’an, Koran:
- central text in Islam
- revelation from Allah (god)
- revealed verbally by Allah through the angel Gabriel Muhammad over 23 years
Folio from a Qur’an: Content
- contains beginning of Sura Al-‘Ankabut (The Spider)
- name derived from those who taking protectors other than Allah, are likeend to spiders who build flimsy homes
Folio from a Qur’an: Context
*Qur’an means “recitation”: suggests that manuscripts were of secondary importance to oral tradition
* 114 suras (chapters) of the Qur’an were compiled into a textual format, from longest to shortest, only after death of Muhammad
Basin (Baptistere de St. Louis): Identifiers
Style: Islamic Luxury Item
Artist: Muhammad ibn al-Zayn
Location: Syria
Date: 1320 CE
Basin (Baptistere de St. Louis): Form + Function
Form: brass inlaid with gold & silver, entire surface is decorated
Function: original & Islamic, ceremonial hand washing, later used by French royalty for Christian baptisms
Basin (Baptistere de St. Louis): Content
- full of animals and human figures
- rulers on horseback
- signature of the artist under the rim - signed 6 times
Basin (Baptistere de St. Louis): Context
- created by Mamluk slave warriors: extraordinary craftsmen, from areas in present day Syria & Egypt
- normally these would have calligraphy, instead this one has figures
- Fleur de lis was symbol of both a Mamluk Sultan and the French
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg: Identifiers
Style: Islamic Manuscript
Artist: Unknown
Location: Iran
Date: 1330 CE
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg: Form
- large for a hand painted book: referred to as the Great Mongol Shahnama
- original form: 280 folios w 190 illustrations, only 57 folios known to have survived, taken apart and sold by art dealers
- chinese and eastern Asian influences
- visual circuit around Bahram Gur
- calligraphy fills the page
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg: Function
- mongols are connecting themselves to Persian warrior-kings of teh past to enhance their authority
- symbolize just rule and civilized society triumphing over chaos and disorder
- good defeating evil
- good and stable social roder based upon kingship, and that warrior-kings like Bahram Gur are moral and courageous models to be emulated by readers of the book
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg: Content
- King Bahram V: Sasanian empire ruled Persia from 3rd-7th cent. prior to arrival of Islam
- Nickname: Bahram Gur: refers to a fur or onager (type of wild donkey, one of fastest-running mammals
- gur may also mean swift
- great hunger of onagers
- renowned for his talents in warfare, chivalry, and romance
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg: Content backstory
- on trip to India, according to the Shahnama, the king of India, a ruler named Shangal, recognized Bahram Gur’s abilities and sought his help in ridding Indian countryside of the frightening and fierce Karg
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg: Content Man on horse
- depicted as a king: golden cornw, gold sun behind head, gold & pearl earring
- depicted as a warrior: mace over shoulder, bow arrow sword, covered in a leopard skin hanging from his waist
- ferocious horned wolf
- The Karg’s head, very close to viewer, is centrally placed and dripping blood
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg: Context
- this image painted in the 14th century by artists in the Mongol court in Persia (present day Iran)
- text of the Shahnama composed by poet named Firdawsi 400 years earlier 1000 CE
- Shahnama incorporates many older stories once told orally, chronicling history of Persian before arrival of Islam and celebrating glories of Persian past and ancient heroes
- still taught in school today, considered to be Iran’s national epic
The Court of the Gayumars: Identifiers
Style: Islamic Manuscript
Artist: Sultan Muhammad
Location: Iran
Date: 1525 CE
The Court of the Gayumars: Form
- folio
- watercolor
- whole book contains 258 illustrated pages
- calligraphy
- circular composition
- Individualized faces
- hierarchal composition
- Chinese influence: twisting tree branches bloom with stylized flowers & patterned clothes
The Court of the Gayumars: Function
- Book of Kings: guide for benevolent rule
- show wealth & status
- shows humans living in harmony with nature
The Court of the Gayumars: Content
- Mountaintop Kingdowm
- peacefully ruling over humans and animals
- clothes in leopard pelts
- King gazes tearfully at his son: learns from an angle that his son will die, a demon will kill him
The Court of the Gayumars: Context
- begun during first years of the 16th century for the first Safavid dynastic ruler, Shah Ismail I
- completed under the direction of his son, Shah Tahmasp I in the northern Persian city of Tabriz
- The Safavid dynastic rulers claimed to descend from Sufi shaikhs- mystical leaders from Ardabil in northwestern Iran (a shaikh is a Sufic teacher)
The Ardabil Carpet: Identifiers
Style: Islamic Carpet Making
Artist: Maqsud of Kashan
Location: Iran
Date: 1540 CE
The Ardabil Carpet: Form
- 1 of 2, originally located side by side
- made from wool, rather than silk, because it holds dye better: dyes used tot color the carpet are natural and include pomegranate rind and indigo
- the knot-count of a carpet impacts teh value: more knots per square centimeter = more detailed/elaborate patterns
- the Ardabil carpet has 340 knots per square inch: today a commercial rug averages 80-160 knots per square inch
- up to 10 weavers could have worked on the carpet at any given time
- calligraphy from Quran
The Ardabil Carpet: Function
- carpets decorated: floors of mosques, shrines, and homes
- also be hung on walls of houses to preserve warmth in the winter
The Ardabil Carpet: Content
- rich geometric patterns, vegetative scrolls, floral flourishes
- central golden medallion dominates carpet; surrounded by ring of multi-colored, detailed ovals
- lamps appear to hang at either end
- meaning of lamps debated
- different sizes: perspective effect? no evidence for the use of this type of perspective in Iran in the 1530s, nor does this explain why lamps were included: mimic lamps found in mosques and shrines?
The Ardabil Carpet: Context
- one of the world’s oldest, largest, beautiful, historically important
- name from town of Ardabil in north-west Iran: home to the shrine of Sufi saint, Safi al-Din Ardabil, died in 1334
Sufi saint, Safi al-Din Ardabili: * trained followers in Islamic mystic practices - after his death his following grew
- descendants became increasingly powerful
- 1501- Shah Isma’il seized power, united Iran, established Shi’a Islam as official religion
- dynasty he founded is known as the Safavids
- their rule- one of the most important periods for Islamic art, especially for textiles and manuscripts
