Islamic Art at the Kimbell Art Museum
When you think of “art,” paintings usually come to mind. However, Islamic Art is much more than paintings. In fact, there were very few paintings at the Palace and Mosque exhibit. There was actually a very wide variety of objects displayed. These included tiles, ceramic bowls, books, rugs, pots, and many other such things, all decorated with Islamic-style designs and inscriptions.
One thing that caught my eye was several pages from a gigantic copy of the Qur’an. The pages were 36.8 cm high, and the script was bold and large. There were only five lines of the fancy Arabic script on each page, and it was definitely “large print!”
Much of the artwork found on these Islamic objects does not include representations of things; only the backwards-flowing Arabic script. Many inscriptions are quotations from the holy book of Islam, the Qur’an. One sword in the collection is inscribed with an entire chapter from the Qur’an, all written in tiny letters along the blade. The Arabic script looks very foreign to those of us who are acquainted with the Roman Alphabet, and almost looks like scribbles. However, this script is an alphabet, an abjad to be precise, with letters representing sounds. Also, Arabic is like Hebrew, in that the letters only represent consonants. Extra diacritics are sometimes used for vowels, but not often.
Although most Islamic art was from the Muslim religion, there are some objects decorated in the Islamic style that were for “Christians.” One such thing is a copy of the four gospels, written in Armenian. There is also an Armenian cope (a type of cloak) which depicts the Crucifixion.
The one thing in the collection that struck me as very interesting and unique was a set of three compasses. These compasses were from Iran, and were once used to determine the Qiblah, or the direction of Mecca. The Muslims bow towards Mecca when praying. However, what confuses me is how in the world these things could point towards Mecca at all times. There is no magnetic pole at Mecca. Probably they operate in some other way than magnetism.
Islamic Art is all similar, and yet in a way, it is all different. It is the art of the Muslim culture, a people who set out to conquer the unbelievers, and in so doing, spread their religion and culture across the world.
posted by Benjamin on 8/27/2005
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Do you know that the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is the spot that Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac, according to the Bible, but according to the Koran it was Ishmael who was almost sacrificed there? Also that is the spot that David bought from the Cananite woman. Also The same place that Muhammad was believed to have landed when he flew from Saudia Arabia on his horse Baroque,(?)when he then dropped off the Koran before joining Jesus, and others in heaven. And of course, for Christians, this is the temple mount area where Jesus preached and taught. So the three major religions of the world (?) all converge in one spot and this spot is probably the most highly controversial and contested spot on earth. This is known as the Dome of the Rock, and has been ornately decorated inside with Muslim art. It is spectacular and covers the rock of Abraham, who was the father of both the Jewish and the Islamic religions. However, when Mohammad wrote the Koran he said that God commanded conquest by the sword, leading to the perpetual clash of Islam, and the rest of the world. I know you know this but WHEN I was told this by a jewish tour guide, all the perpetual hate and fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians started to make sense. God said Ishmael will be like a wild animal and will be in constant turmoil when he was cast out with Hagar. And, It has been true ever since. Anyway that's a little nugget I learned when I went to Israel and the Jewish tour guide explained the significance of the Dome of the Rock.
Benjamin,
I wrote this to let you know I visited your blog. I am just now learning what a "blog" is. I understand it's the latest thing.
Anyway yours is interesting. My uncle taught me two phrases in Choctaw when I was a kid growing up in Okla. The one that I can repeat publicly is this, "Kadda ma cha cha e esta." This means, "Come here you bad girl." You can only imagine why he learned that phrase.
Jim Webster
After reading my comment I realized a dreadful omission. After David purchased the thrashing field of the Cannanite woman, Solomon built the Jewish Temple at thatlocation. Of course, it was later destroyed twice, but was rebuilt by King Herrod about 40 years before Christ. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, and all that remains of the original Solomon's Temple is the famous "Wailing Wall" where the Jews go to feel their roots at the side of the currently rebuilt (by Muslims)Temple Mount. The top of the Temple Mount is today controlled by the Palestinians and patrolled by soldiers to insure that Jews do not worship there. It was open to tourists when I was there and I visited the Dome of the Rock that was built over the Rock of Abraham. In the 1967 war the Israelis had control of the Temple Mount but voluntarily turned it over to the Islamic people because they were afraid they would walk (without knowing it) on top of the Holy of Holies, that would descecrate it, and them, besides their being killed. Ever since, the Temple Mount has been strictly controlled by the Palestinians (Muslims)who also consider it a holy place. We went into the Mosque on top among the tight security of the Palestinian soldiers. It was a very eerie feeling to pass by Israeli Soldiers and then immediately Palestinian Soldiers, both bearing automatic machine guns and ready for immediate fighting. This entrance to the Temple Mount was directly from below from the only remaining visible remnants of King Solomon's original temple (the wailing wall).
Anyway.......I left out the Jewish Temple as part of the overall history. In the 600's AD the Mount was seized by the Turkish Muslims and has been held by Muslims ever since. A Golden Dome was placed over it in the early $1900's, but prior to that it was in a state of disrepair. Of course, like John said, there are not enough books in the world to tell the complete story.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home