Islamic Art

Arte islámico

by Alejandro Pérez Ordóñez

Instituto de Formación MailxMail (Intercom Factory). Curso on-line. 2 Sept. 2005. ISSN: 1699-4914

[ES] En este curso vamos a realizar un breve recorrido por las características más relevantes de la civilización... more [ES] En este curso vamos a realizar un breve recorrido por las características más relevantes de la civilización islámica, intentando establecer unas pautas básicas para su correcta comprensión e interpretación, tratando de evitar caer en los tópicos al uso. Tras unos capítulos de introducción a la civilización islámica en general, pasaremos a hacer un sucinto recorrido histórico por algunos de los capítulos más relevantes de la arquitectura islámica, comenzando por sus orígenes en Medio Oriente, para pasar pronto a las manifestaciones más relevantes en al-Andalus que, por su cercanía, es sin duda el capítulo que más puede interesar al público español. En este sentido, vamos a tratar muy brevemente el califato omeya de Córdoba, los almohades y el arte nazarí de Granada.

Anthropology of Art- Islamic Art

by Aryan M.Divan

The term Islamic art is invalid, the major contributors to the "Islamic" world are Iranians in thus the term... more The term Islamic art is invalid, the major contributors to the "Islamic" world are Iranians in thus the term Islamic excludes them, Indians and Turks all who contributed to this generalised term used in the west. It has no time frame nor period it is loosely used and unsubstantiated, it is time for it to be replaced and no longer used!

Kejawen (Javanese Sufism) and Perennial Philosophy in Kuntowijoyo’s Khotbah di Atas Bukit

by Mohd Faizal Musa

Journal Malay Literature, 24(1): 1-28

Khotbah di Atas Bukit (Sermon on a Hill) by Kuntowijoyo was written to foreground transcendental principles, in... more Khotbah di Atas Bukit (Sermon on a Hill) by Kuntowijoyo was written to foreground transcendental principles, in accordance with the Theory of Transcendental Literature. Transcendental principles are brought to the fore and applied in this work through the use of symbolism. Kuntowijoyo uses a local subject for enquiry, kejawen (Javanese sufism), to address issues of faith and tauhid (Islamic Monotheism or the Oneness of Allah). However, there is some ambiguity in the text which could affect the aspects of tauhid discussed. In presenting the teachings of Sufism, Kuntowijoyo may in the process be misunderstood and consequently considered to subscribe to global theology where tauhid is simplified and religions “combined”. Khotbah di Atas Bukit is a complex work to read because of the overuse of symbolism aimed at obscuring meaning. This kind of symbolism needs to be explained, particularly to readers who have little knowledge of sufism. It is this that makes Khotbah di Atas Bukit a specialized work for a specialized readership.

Key words: Islamic literature, Islam kejawen, sufism, perennial philosophy, Islamic leadership, tauhid, Kuntowijoyo, pluralism,
mysticism, Transcendental Literature, myth, global religion, orthodox Muslims (the faithful).

Sayyidina Husain Dalam Teks Klasik Melayu

by Mohd Faizal Musa

Jurnal al-Qurba, 1(1): 1-23

This essay explores and expresses some initial views on the status and virtues of Sayyidina Husain in Malay classical... more This essay explores and expresses some initial views on the status and virtues of Sayyidina Husain in Malay classical text. To match this purpose, this paper refers to three short classical sagas, they are: Hikayat Hasan Husen Tatkala Kanak-kanak (The Tale of Hasan’s and Husain’s Childhood), Hikayat Hasan Husen Tatkala akan Mati (The Tale of Hasan and Husain before Dying), Hikayat Tabut (The Tale of Tabut) . Positions of the saga in the corpus of classical Malay literature as well as the possibility that the sagas are 'cultural markers' that Muslims in this region are adherent of Ja'fari school (Shi'ism) are discussed. It is concluded that the three sagas have very thick Shi’ite notions and they have deep roots in the Malay tradition. The sagas strengthen arguments that mourning and dedication to Sayyidina Husain are not novel things for the Malay people. The role of classical Malay literature as an educator in the society and its didactic character emphasizethis argument. The three sagas have shown that Sayyidina Husain has special status in the Malay tradition that is portrayed in its classical literature.

Keywords: Sayyidina Husain, saga,Malay, Shi’ism

Allah in the Museum - the dilemmas of exhibiting Islamic art (in English and Portuguese)

by Inês Fialho Brandão

Article in Exhibition catalogue - Multiple Voices on Art and Islam.

Review: Blair & Bloom, Rivers of Paradise

by Stephennie Mulder

Bab al-Tawfiq dans le Muséon

by Pradines Stéphane

Mosquées swahilies dans REMMM

by Pradines Stéphane

Book Review: “Visualizing Belief and Piety in Iranian Shi‘ism,” by Ingvild Flaskerud

by Edith Szanto

The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28 no. 4 (2011): 136-139.

Forteresses du Proche-Orient: l'architecture militaire des Ayyoubides

by Cyril Yovitchitch

Book published in 2011 at the Presses universitaures de Paris-Sorbonne IV, 368 p. with 420 illustrations and drawings, in color, hardback.
ISBN : 978-2-84050-741-3

Érigées entre 1170 et 1250, les forteresses ayyoubides figurent parmi les plus impressionnantes réalisations de... more Érigées entre 1170 et 1250, les forteresses ayyoubides figurent parmi les plus impressionnantes réalisations de l’architecture militaire proche-orientale. Pourtant elles sont depuis longtemps tenues dans l'ombre des châteaux construits par les croisés, sur lesquels ont porté de nombreux travaux depuis la fin du XIXe siècle. Ce livre rééquilibre cet état de fait en se consacrant à l'étude de sites islamiques de la principauté de Damas. Bien qu’elles aient été construites à la même époque que les châteaux des croisés, leurs composantes et leurs programmes montrent que leur développement a généralement évolué en parallèle en s’inspirant d'autres répertoires architecturaux, notamment celui de l'Antiquité tardive. Ces forteresses ont émergé dans un contexte politique interne complexe et mouvementé, marqué par l’importante crise de succession qui suivit la mort de Saladin et la mise en place des principautés. Symboles de l’autorité des princes, elles renfermaient les éléments nécessaires à la vie de cour, tels que le palais, la mosquée et le hammam, ainsi que ceux indispensables à la gestion de l’iqṭā‘ (« fief ») tels que les vastes salles de stockage.
La spectaculaire évolution des programmes de ces forteresses dans les années 1200 est analysée du point de vue du dialogue entre l’attaque et la défense, mais aussi du point de vue de leurs non moins fondamentales fonctions résidentielle et ostentatoire.

Una premessa un po’ più ampia dell’usato

by Simone Cristoforetti

La versione definitiva di questa premessa è pubblicata in L’Onagro Maestro. Miscellanea di fuochi accesi per Gianroberto Scarcia in occasione del suo LXX sadé, a c. di R. Favaro, S. Cristoforetti, M. Compareti, Venezia (ed. Cafoscarina), 2004: 7-15.  ISBN: 88-7543-016-0

Enclosed in Ivory: The Miseducation of al-Mughira

by Francisco Prado-Vilar

"Enclosed in Ivory: The Miseducation of al-Mughira,” Journal of the David Collection 2.1 (2005): 138-63.

In response to the publication of SOPHIE MAKARIOU's rambling criticism of "Enclosed in Ivory" in her... more In response to the publication of SOPHIE MAKARIOU's rambling criticism of "Enclosed in Ivory" in her lackluster and derivative "The al-Mughira Pyxis and Spanish Umayyad Ivories: Aims and Tools of Power," in Umayyad Legacies: Medieval Memories from Syria to Spain, ed. A. Borrut and P. Cobb (Leiden: Brill, 2010), pp. 313-35, here I invite more intelligent readers to peruse "Enclosed in Ivory" again in its manifold dimensions of analysis, waging its historical, iconographic, and literary arguments, as well as its wider methodological implications. Curiously enough, this article, conceived an "ekphrasis" that mimics the structure and rhetoric of the object it describes, anticipates, as does the al-Mughira pyxis with its target audience, Makariou’s ethically and hermeneutically challenged response, beginning with the opening quote all the way through its various layers of moral commentary.
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'Οθωμανικές Επιγραφές της Χαλκίδας', Γιώργος Σαλακίδης (επιμ.), Τουρκολογικά. Τιμητικός Τόμος για τον Αναστάσιο Κ. Ιορδάνογλου (Θεσσαλονίκη: Αντώνιος Σταμούλης, 2011), 63-157.

by Georgios Liakopoulos

'Othomanikes epigrafes tis Halkidas', Yorgos Salakides (epim.), Tourkologika. Timitikos tomos gia ton Anastasio K. Iordanoglou (Thessaloniki: Antonios Stamoulis, 2011), 63-157.
'Ottoman Inscriptions of Chalcis', in: Yorgos Salakides (ed.), Tourkologika. Festschrift in Honour of Anastasios K. Iordanoglou (Thessaloniki: Antonios Stamoulis, 2011), 63-157.

The epigraphic material published in the present paper derives from the town of Chalcis (Ottoman Aġrıboz/Eğriboz) and... more The epigraphic material published in the present paper derives from the town of Chalcis (Ottoman Aġrıboz/Eğriboz) and is exhibited at the Karababa Fortress; it currently belongs to the 23rd Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities. The corpus comprises fifty three inscriptions in total, forty eight funerary and five monumental. The collection covers the period from the late sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, whereas the inscription no. 38 is probably dated in the Pre-Ottoman period (twelfth-thirteenth century). The material on which they are inscribed is white, greyish and grey coarse-grain marble of high quality, and limestone, meticulously sculpted. In most cases, the decorative patterns of the main side consist of the equitant shallow cartouches, which accommodate embossed inscriptions usually in a relief technique. Unfortunately, we do not know exactly when and where the majority of the inscriptions were found. However, the evidence for the inscriptions whose data appear in this study derives from the Inventory of the collection. The inscriptions containing clear indication of date precede the undated ones. The classification of the second group, which bears no date, has been dealt with extreme caution. The suggested dating was based on a study of the external typological criteria, including the technique used for the incision of the inscriptions, as well as a collation with dated material and similar inscriptions found in published studies. The type of script most frequently used is the basīt celī sülüs, which varies from its simplest form (kırma) on inscription nos 3 and 13, to its calligraphic style detected on inscriptions nos 25, 32, 51-53; inscription no. 38 is incised in the kūfī script.

The Parchment of the Sky: Poiesis of a Gothic Universe

by Francisco Prado-Vilar

"The Parchment of the Sky: Poiesis of a Gothic Universe," in Alfonso X El Sabio. Las Cantigas de Santa María, facsimile (Madrid: Editorial Testimonio, 2011), pp. 473-520.

The Gothic Anamorphic Gaze: Regarding the Worth of Others

by Francisco Prado-Vilar

“The Gothic Anamorphic Gaze: Regarding the Worth of Others,” in ‘Under the Influence’: Questioning the Comparative in Medieval Castile, ed. C. Robinson y L. Rouhi (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2005), pp. 67-100.

Circular Visions of Fertility and Punishment: Caliphal Ivory Caskets from al-Andalus

by Francisco Prado-Vilar

“Circular Visions of Fertility and Punishment: Caliphal Ivory Caskets from al-Andalus,” Muqarnas 14 (1997): 19-41.

Auspicious foundations: The patronage of sufi institutions in the late mughal and early asaf jah deccan

by Nile Green

The Decline of Islamic Intellectualism

by Eric Hannel

The Golden Age of the 'City of Peace' (Madinat al-Salam): Baghdad as Cosmopolis

by Kimberlee A. Cloutier-Blazzard

Published online at: http://fortherecordexhibition.blogspot.com/p/perspectives.html, 12/2011

The “For the Record Project” is conceived of as an independent exploration on the topic of objectivity in the arts in... more The “For the Record Project” is conceived of as an independent exploration on the topic of objectivity in the arts in relation to war and global conflict. Pieces in the corollary exhibition (held at Montserrat College of Art) dealing with Iraq, namely Benjamin Lowy’s “Iraq/Perspectives” (2007, archival pigment prints), James O’Neill’s “Tigris River” (2011, charcoal on paper) and, Rob Roy’s works “Witness #36” (2009, monotype, chine colle, acrylic on paper) and “Witness #41” (2011, monotype, chine colle, acrylic on paper) particularly intrigued me, especially as I am concurrently teaching “Survey of Islamic Arts,” a course covering the entire historical arc of Islamic arts.  In light of this, I think it is important to bring up the cosmopolitan, progressive nature of thinking from the mid-Eighth to mid-Thirteenth centuries in Abbasid Islam--if only to inform those who are unaware of this grand tradition. What follows is a reflection on the medieval history of Baghdad, and how works from the “For the Record” Exhibition might be viewed through that lens as a spur of conversation and contemplation in the Twenty-first Century.

With Sleep Comes a Fusion of Worlds: The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus Through Formation and Transformation

by Gwendolyn Collaco