Islamic Arts and Architecture.
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February 19, 2015 · Bahria Town
Grand Jamia Masjid, Bahria Town Lahore
Designed using the Indo-Islamic spirit of construction, with the center of its inspiration driven by “Lahori” construction traditions, it maintains the true essence of Islamic spirit incorporated with modern elements. Holding the tittle of being the world’s 7th largest mosque it has the capacity to accommodate 70,000 worshippers.
March 5, 2014 · Intricate Works
Masjid Wazir Khan – Revisited
As part of our quest to find a portable point and shoot camera for our photo essays, we decided to test out the Fuji X10 by revisiting our favorite spot in Lahore –…
March 3, 2014 · Intricate Works
The Naulakha Pavilion
The Naulakha Pavilion, so named for the mystical number nine and for the nine lakhs of rupees it took to build it, is a small white marble building, with a large arched entrance and an extraordinary curved, convex roof.
January 15, 2014 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Registan Square
The Registan was the heart of the ancient city of Samarkand of the Timurid dynasty, now in Uzbekistan. The name Registan means “Sandy place” in Persian. It was a public square, where people gathered to hear…
December 10, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
Al-Attarine Madrasa in Fez, Morocco
The Al-Attarine Madrasa is a madrasa in Fez, Morocco, near the Al-Qarawiyyin. Built by the Marinid sultan Uthman II Abu Said (r. 1310-1331) in 1323-5, the madrasa takes its name from the Souk al-Attarine, the spice and perfume market.
October 26, 2013 · Marina Alin
Baku – Arabesque in stone
Stone decoration of Baku architecture is superb. It is here when ancient craft of stone carving serves Islamic art showing the great level of craftsmanship and an elegance of artistic expression.
September 29, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
Bara Gumbad Complex, Delhi
Replete with intricate stucco inscriptions, the Bara Gumbad, or “big dome,” is a large domed structure grouped together with the Friday mosque of Nizam Khan Sikandar II (“Sikander Lodi”) (r. 1489-1517).
September 20, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
A pictorial tour of Yazd
Yazd, an architecturally unique city. Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazd
September 7, 2013 · Henri Stierlin
Bridges of Isfahan
Isfahan grew up next to the Zayandeh Rud, which feeds the oasis where people had first settled in prehistoric times. To carry the line of the Chahar Bagh across the river, Shah ‘Abbas…
May 30, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
Badshahi Masjid Lahore
The Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, commissioned by the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671 and completed in 1673, is the second largest mosque in Pakistan. Epitomising the beauty, passion and grandeur of the Mughal era, it is Lahore’s most famous landmark and a major tourist attraction.
April 17, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
Through the lens of Eric Lafforgue
Eric Lafforgue spends most of his time travelling the globe to share his encounters, through the perception of an ethnologist and the heart of an artist, privileging the regions or populations in danger…
April 15, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
Birdhouses of Turkey
Beautiful bird-houses can be spotted on the facade of a number of mosques in Turkey. The purpose of these charming bird houses was to provide refuge to birds and to protect them from…
April 12, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
Architectural sketches by Pascal Coste
Xavier Pascal Coste (26 November 1787 – 8 February 1879) was a French architect, born in Marseille, France. Showing intellectual and artistic promise, Pascal began his studies in the studio of Penchaud, architect of the département…
March 26, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
Šarena Džamija Mosque
Šarena Džamija, (Turkish: Alaca Cami) meaning Decorated Mosque in English, is a mosque located near the Pena River in Tetovo, Macedonia. The mosque was originally built in 1438 and later rebuilt in 1833…
March 26, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
Chiniot’s Shahi Masjid
Chiniot’s Shahi Masjid (Badshahi Mosque) was built by Nawab Saad UlIah Khan (1595- 1655) during the regime of Emperor Shah Jahan (1628-58).
March 17, 2013 · Dr. J. Bermudez Lopez
The Alhambra
Considered as one of the most famous examples of Islamic art, the Alhambra is the culmination and grand finale of medieval Islamic culture on the Iberian Peninsula.
March 9, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Tomb of Etimad ud Doulah
Etimad-ud-Daula’s Tomb (Urdu: اعتماد الدولہ کا مقبرہ, I’timād-ud-Daulah kā Maqbara) is a Mughal mausoleum in the city of Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Often described as ‘jewel box’, sometimes called…
March 2, 2013 · Bhatti F.A.
Bahawalpur Mosque at Aitchison College Lahore
Built in the year 1900, the Bahawalpur Mosque was commissioned by the Nawab of Bahawalpur while he was himself a student at Aitchison College Lahore. Photography by F.Bhatti. Aitchison College Lahore badshahi mosque…
February 25, 2013 · ArchNet
Bala Hauz Mosque, Uzbekistan
Built in 1712, the Bala Hauz Masjid is noted for the profuse colors and carvings on the wooden columns of its porch and its ceiling. The joinery of its painted ceiling features extraordinary craftsmanship with the use of suspended weights, semi-circular arches and balusters.
October 14, 2012 · ArchNet
Great Mosque of Xi’an
The Great Mosque of Xian is the largest and best preserved of the early mosques of China. Built primarily in the Ming Dynasty when Chinese architectural elements were synthesized into mosque architecture. Like…
October 12, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Dar al Hajar – The Rock House
There are a fair number of countries which can be identified by a single iconic landmark. When one thinks of France, the image of the Eiffel Tower often comes to mind. Dar al…
September 24, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Sidi Bashir Mosque, Ahmedabad
The Sidi Bashir Mosque is located in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Due to its unique construction, the mosque is also called Jhulta Minar or Shaking Minarets. It is believed that the mosque was constructed by Sidi Bashir, a slave of Sultan Ahmed Shah in 1452.
September 22, 2012 · John Noble
Islamic Architecture of Andalusia
Spain’s Islamic centuries (AD 711-1492) left a particularly rich heritage of exotic and beautiful palaces, mosques, minarets and fortresses in Andalusia, which was always the heartland of Al-Andalus (as the Muslim- ruled areas of the Iberian Peninsula were known). These buildings make Andalusia visually unique in Europe and have to be classed as its greatest architectural glory.
September 19, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Morrocan Pavillian in Putrajaya, Malaysia
In recreating the Moroccan ambience for the contemporary scene, the Astaka Morocco, set to become a prominent landmark in Putrajaya, showcases the unique Moroccan and Moorish architecture, which is incidentally believed to be first of its kind in the ASEAN region.Development of the Astaka Morocco is an idea mooted by the Malaysian Government. Construction of the building symbolizes the strong diplomatic ties between the two countries especially with its people and culture.
September 12, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Yeni Cami – The New Mosque
The Yeni Cami, The New Mosque or Mosque of the Valide Sultan (Turkish: ‘Yeni Cami, Yeni Valide Camii’) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in the Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is situated on the Golden Horn at the southern end of the Galata Bridge. It is one of the best-known sights of Istanbul.
September 10, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Jalil Khayat Mosque
The walls are built of bricks; the upper roof consists of several domes with a bigger dome on top; two minarets of about 65 meters are raised beside the mosque, and can be…
September 10, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Mosque of Cristo de la Luz
Built in 999 in Toledo, this building is a rarity in that it is in much the same state as it was when it was originally built. It is one of the few mosques…
September 9, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Colors of Cape Town Mosques
Vibrant, colorful and beautiful Mosques of Cape Town, South Africa. What should be the color of a mosque
September 9, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Tokyo Masjid
After the Russian revolution of 1917, some of the Turkish communities migrated to different regions of the world. The Kazan Turks, who had migrated to Tokyo, established a community called “Mahalle-i İslamiye” (i.e….
September 8, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Ornate Alhambra
A pictorial tour of the intricate and ornate architecture of Alhambra.
September 5, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Great Mosque of Paris
Great Mosque of Paris, built following the mudéjar style, is an early-20th-century contribution to the cultural relations between France and the Arabic-speaking Muslim world.
August 30, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Work began on the construction of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque complex on a site by a main road between Muscat and Seeb early in 1995. It was completed six years later and inaugurated by the Sultan in May 2001. It can accommodate up to 20,000 worshippers and consists of a main prayer hall, ladies prayer hall, covered passageways, a meeting hall, and library which will eventually contain up to 20,000 books.
August 29, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Capturing the Spirit of Ramadan
“Capture the Spirit of Ramadan” International Photography Competition™ is a unique and unprecedented 30-day visual celebration that educates and enlightens thousands of viewers around the world as photos are shared every day during the holy month.
July 12, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Ortaköy Mosque, Turkey
Ortaköy Mosque (Turkish: Ortaköy Camii), officially the Büyük Mecidiye Camii (Grand Imperial Mosque) of Sultan Abdülmecid in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey, is situated at the waterside of the Ortaköy pier square, one of the most popular locations on the Bosphorus. The original Ortaköy Mosque was built in…
June 13, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Shrine of Bibi Ruakaya
Photographs of the Shrine of Bibi Rukaya in Damascus, Syria.
June 9, 2012 · ArchNet
The Uqba Masjid
The Mosque of Uqba also known as the Great Mosque of Kairouan, is located in the historic walled district of the Medina, between the Rue de la Kasbah and the Rue el Farabi….
May 27, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Qutb Minar Complex, Delhi
The Qutb complex (Hindi: क़ुतुब परिसर, Urdu: قطب پرِسر), also spelled Qutab or Qutub, is an array of monuments and buildings at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. The construction of Qutb Minar was intended…
May 27, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Spiral Minaret of Ibn Tulun Mosque
The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Ţūlūn (Arabic: مسجد أحمد بن طولون) is located in Cairo, Egypt. It is arguably the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the…
May 25, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Mosque and Mausoleum of Sidi Ahmad al-Tijani
The 18th century Mosque and Mausoleum of Mawlana Ahmed ibn Mohammed Tijani al-Hassani al-Maghribi (1735–1815), in Fez, Morocco.
May 20, 2012 · Sebastian R. Prange
Tiles of Infinity
When Peter J. Lu visited Uzbekistan as a Harvard University graduate student in 2005, he found himself unexpectedly captivated by the complex tile patterns of a 15-th century Madrasa, or Islamic religious school,…
May 18, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Walls of Isfahan
Related articles Imam (Shah) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran (islamic-arts.org) Jameh Mosque of Isfahan (islamic-arts.org) Sheikh Lutf Allah Mosque (islamic-arts.org) schematic Isfahan Imam square
May 14, 2012 · ArchNet
Jameh Mosque of Isfahan
The Jāmeh Mosque of Isfahān (Persian: مسجد جامع اصفهان – Masjid-e-Jāmeh Isfahān) is the grand, congregational mosque (Jāmeh) of Isfahān city, within Isfahān Province, Iran. The mosque is the result of continual construction, reconstruction, additions and renovations on the site…
May 11, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Room of Sultan Uljeitu
The Room of Sultan Muhammad Khodabandeh Uljeitu (r. 1304-17) in the Jameh Mosque (Isfahan), is home to one of the mosque’s greatest treasures – an exquisite stucco mihrab awash with dense Quranic inscriptions and floral…
May 9, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Walls of Yazd, Iran
Yazd is of foremost importance as a centre of fine Persian mosaics and beautiful architecture. The Yazd walls demonstrate a visual continuity in color, scale and form with the built fabric of the…
May 6, 2012 · ArchNet
Herat Masjid, Afghanistan
The Masjid-i Jami of Herat, the city’s first congregational mosque, was built on the site of two smaller Ghaznavid mosques that were destroyed by earthquake and fire. The present mosque was begun by…
May 5, 2012 · ArchNet
Shah-i Zinda Necropolis
The Shah-i Zinda (lit. “the Living King”) is a funerary complex, located on the south side of the Afrasiyab hill in the city of Samarqand. The focal point of the complex is the…
April 30, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Kasbah of Telouet
The Kasbah, architecturally speaking, are imposing buildings with a square base and towers that rise above the height of the perimeter walls. The kasbah are composed of bricks made of clay mixed with water…
April 29, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Qa’it Bay Sabil in Cairo
The splendor of Cairo’s sabils probably reached its height with that of the illustrious Sultan Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qa’it Bay, who ruled from 1468 to 1496. Very large for a sabil, Qa’it Bay’s…
April 29, 2012 · Paul Lunde
The Giralda (La Giralda)
Modern Seville is a city of the Renaissance – the most Italian of Spanish cities, said a Venetian ambassador in the 16th century – and above all a city of the baroque, a…
April 27, 2012 · Simone Swan
Elegant Solutions
It was during a dinner party in 1972 that I heard my host announce the completion of a film on “the greatest architect of the century, Hassan Fathy.” All I could think was,…
April 19, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Qalawun complex in Cairo, Egypt
The Qalawun complex (Arabic: مجمع قلاون) in Cairo, Egypt includes a madrasa, a hospital and a mausoleum. It was built by the Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qalawun in the 1280s; some thirty surviving mosques were built during his time. The Qalawun Complex was built over the…
April 19, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Imam (Shah) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran
Built during the Safavid period, it is an excellent example of Islamic architecture of Iran, and regarded as one of the masterpieces of Persian Architecture. The Shah Mosque of Esfahan is one of…
April 18, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Vakil Mosque in Shiraz
The Vakil Mosque (Persian: مسجد وکیل – Masjed-e Vakil), Shiraz, Iran is a beautiful mosque built in mid 18th century by Karim Khan, Regent (Vakil) and the founder of Zand Dynasty. The entrance gates as well as…
April 17, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Sheikh Lutf Allah Mosque
Sheikh Lutf Allah Mosque (Persian: مسجد شیخ لطف الله Masjed-e Sheikh Lotf-ollāh) is one of the architectural masterpieces of Safavid Iranian architecture, standing on the eastern side of Naghsh-i Jahan Square, Isfahan, Iran….
April 14, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Aljafería Palace
The Aljafería Palace (Arabic:قصر الجعفرية Qasr Aljafariya, Spanish: Palacio de la Aljafería) is a fortified medieval Islamic palace built during the second half of the 11th century in the Moorish taifa of Zaragoza…
April 1, 2012 · Murphy, James Cavanah
The Alhamra at Granada
James Cavanah Murphy spent the last 12 years of his life preparing notes and drawings for a publication on this Moorish architecture. The resulting book, The Arabian Antiquities of Spain, was only partially…
March 31, 2012 · Murphy, James Cavanah
The Mosque of Cordova
This article has been taken from the book “Arabian Antiquities of Spain” by Murphy, James Cavanah, 1760-1814 ,published in 1816. The text has been converted from scanned images using OCR software and may contain…
March 30, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Enamelled Glass, Mosque Lamps
Mosque lamps of glass, enamelled and often with gilding, survive in considerable numbers from the Islamic art of the Middle Ages, especially the 13th and 14th centuries, with Cairo in Egypt and Aleppo and Damascus in Syria as the most important centres of production. These are oil…
March 30, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
A ray of light ..
architecture of kamil khan mumtaz
March 13, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Arches of Sheikh Zayed Mosque
The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is a heaven for photographers. A simple google search will reveal stunning images of the mosque with enough detail to write numerous blog posts. However this is just a…
March 12, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Courtyards of Morocco
The ornate interiors and courtyards of Morocco. Le Palais du Zahir marrakech architecture
March 12, 2012 · Wolfram Kleiss
Safavid Palaces
Most of the palaces, pavilions, and villas built in the Safavid period have not survived. Many were destroyed, especially during the Afghan conquest of Isfahan in 1722. Others were neglected and left to…
March 10, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Zahir Mosque
The Zahir Mosque is Kedah’s state mosque. It is located in the heart of Alor Star, the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. The mosque was built in 1912, a contributory effort of YTM Tunku Mahmud Ibni Almarhum Sultan Tajuddin…
March 10, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Iron Mosque
The Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque, or Iron Mosque is the second principal mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia after Putra Mosque. It is located in Putrajaya’s Precinct, opposite the Palace of Justice. Construction began on April 2004 and was fully completed on…
March 9, 2012 · Santhi Kavuri-Bauer
Islamic Architecture
Islamic architecture is in part comprised of those buildings and built environments intended for use in Islamic worship, commemoration, and instruction. Among the architecture of this group are mosques, madrasas or schools, mausoleums,…
March 4, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque
The Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque, the “Mosque of the King of Two Swords”, is located in downtown Kabul along the edge of the Kabul River. It was built in the 1920s by Amanullah Khan…
March 3, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Ranikot Fort – the Great Wall of Sindh
The Ranikot Fort also known as Dewar-e-Sindh (Great Wall of Sindh), with a circumference of about 26 km or 16 miles, is reputed to be the largest unexplored fort in the world. Since 1993, it…
March 3, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Kalta Minor Minaret – Khiva, Uzbekistan
The minaret that was cut halfway. It is difficult to imagine ancient Khiva without this monument of oriental architecture. The Minaret of Kalta-Minor has become an iconing symbol of the city mainly because…
March 2, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Sindh – the land of sufi saints
Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam The tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam was built between 1320 and 1324, is an unmatched pre-Moghul masterpiece. The tomb is located on the southwest side of the Fort premises. This elegant…
February 28, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan
The Blue Mosque, in Mazar-e-Sharif, has tiles that look like they are painted with flowers, but the floral patterns are actually made from tiles cut into different shapes and plastered together.
February 25, 2012 · Bhatti F.A.
Lahore Fort over the years
I have had the chance to visit the Lahore Fort on a number of occasions. The fort always seemed to be in a worse condition than it was during my previous visit. While photographing…
February 11, 2012 · Bhatti F.A.
Through the arches of Shalamar Bagh
The Shalimar Bagh (Garden), was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in Lahore, modern day Pakistan. Construction began in 1641 A.D. (1051 A.H.) and was completed the following year. The project management…
February 6, 2012 · Bhatti F.A.
Wazir Khan Mosque Lahore
The Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, is famous for its extensive tile work and frescos. It was built in seven years starting around 1634–1635 AD during the reign of the Mughal Emperor…
February 3, 2012 · Emine Fetvaci
The Suleymaniye Mosque – A Virtual Walking Tour
This virtual tour is comprised of various spherical panoramic photographs that place you inside the image, as if you were standing in the place where the photo was made. Use your mouse to…
January 27, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Bringing the Met Into the 1300s
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art embarked on the most ambitious rethinking and rebuilding of its Islamic art galleries in its history, a $50 million endeavor. Over the course of two months a…
January 26, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Exploring the Damascus Room
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art reopened the museum’s Islamic art galleries to display roughly 1,200 works spanning 13 centuries and dozens of Islamic-influenced cultures. One highlight is the Damascus Room, a 26-foot-long…
January 20, 2012 · Barry Hoberman
From Cuneiform to Topkapi
In the Islamic world, where reading and literacy have always been highly prized for the access they provide to the word of God and the world of knowledge, books were objects of both…
January 19, 2012 · Sibylle Mazot
Architecture of the Fatimid
The long period of Fatimid rule, lasting almost three centuries, and the dynasty’s political and ideological principles brought with them a major architectural revival. Clear evidence of change is provided by the monuments…
January 18, 2012 · Caroline Stone
Movable Palaces
From a distance indeed this great tent would appear to be a castle.… Round and about the pavilion on the ground outside is erected a wall of cloth, as might be otherwise the…
January 15, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Cairo’s Islamic Architecture – 7th to 18th Centuries
Mosque of Ali mad ibn Tulun, interior of the maqsura, 9th century. Gypsum and ash pillars accentuate the domed mihrab. The mosque, inspired by the great mosque of Samarra in the patron’s…
January 10, 2012 · John Feeney
Cairo – A City Adorned
From the late ninth century well into the 15th, mosques built as prestige projects were the most spectacular buildings in Cairo. Locals, pilgrims on their way to Makkah and even Christian pilgrims were…
January 9, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
King Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco
The brainchild and crowning achievement of King Hassan II, this phenomenal building was built to commemorate the former king’s 60th birthday and opened in 1993 giving Casablanca the heart and landmark it so…
January 7, 2012 · Julia Gonnella
Aleppo – Architecture and History
“The city is as old as eternity, but still young, and it has never ceased to exist. Its days and nights have been long; it has survived its rulers and commoners. These are…
January 4, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Through the lens of Peter Sanders
All Photographs by Peter Sanders © 2012 PETER SANDERS PHOTOGRAPHY LTD Makkah Madinah Saudi Arabia Jerusalem Turkey Spain Morocco Iran China Japan Malaysia …
January 3, 2012 · Doris Meth Srinivasan
The Tenacity of Tradition: Art From the Valley of Swat
High in the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan lies the Valley of Swat. The river of the same name runs through it. In ancient texts, the Swat River is called Suvastu, meaning “good dwelling…
January 1, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
Based at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) is dedicated to the study of Islamic art and architecture, urbanism, landscape design, and conservation –…
December 31, 2011 · Barry Gross
AL-HARAM AL-SHARIF – A Virtual Walking Tour
This virtual tour is comprised of various spherical panoramic photographs that place you inside the image, as if you were standing in the place where the photo was made. Use your mouse to…
December 26, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Alhambra – A Virtual Walking Tour
To understand the Alhambra you need to look at its history, location and surroundings. It is situated on the hill of Sabika, overlooking the city of Granada. Alhambra means, literately, “The Red” and…
December 22, 2011 · UNESCO
Old Walled City of Shibam
Surrounded by a fortified wall, the 16th-century city of Shibam is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. Its impressive tower-like structures rise…
December 22, 2011 · Jean Francois Breto
Manhattan in the Hadramaut
At the end of December 1984, UNESCO – the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization – issued a plea to the world to save another national treasure from disintegration: the mud-brick “skyscrapers”…
December 21, 2011 · Eric Hansen
Sana’a Rising – “a Venice built on sand.”
In mid-February 1978, on my first morning in Sana‘a, I woke up before first light. Illuminated by the flame of a single bedside candle, the undulating overhead ceiling beams, plastered in white gypsum,…
December 17, 2011 · Bernard O'Kane
DOME IN IRANIAN ARCHITECTURE
The Sasanian and early Islamic periods The dome on squinches first appeared in Persia in the Sasanian period in the palace at Fîrûzâbâd (q.v.) in Fârs and at nearby Qal´a-ye Dokhtar, both erected…
December 17, 2011 · Patricia L. Baker
London’s Arab Hall
“…The Arab Hall in this fine house, without being at all like the Al-hambra in detail, gives the grand impression which Eastern art awakes in many minds.” An English vicar’s wife was so…
December 16, 2011 · Victor Borges
Nasrid plasterwork: symbolism, materials & techniques
This article provides an introduction to traditional materials and techniques used in Nasrid plasterwork as well as explaining their style and symbolism.
December 16, 2011 · Victoria and Albert Museum
Illustrations of Islamic Architecture
The Alhambra Granada, Spain Built chiefly in the 13th and 14th centuries The Alhambra (from the Arabic, Al Hamra, meaning The Red) is an ancient mosque, palace and fortress complex built by the…
December 14, 2011 · Jennier M. Scarce
Domestic Culture of Cities in the Middle East (16th to 19th century)
This article invites the reader to enter and enjoy wealthy urban homes in Turkey, Egypt and Iran between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. This was a period of flourishing traditional culture and also of…
December 14, 2011 · Najib Gedal
The Great Mosque of Cordoba: Geometric Analysis
Ilm al-Miqdar (The science of proportion) is a body of knowledge concerned principally with the study of spatial order through the measure and relationships of forms. Prior to being considered solely as a…
December 1, 2011 · Samina Qureshi
The Citadel (Lahore Fort)
The Lahore Fort is one of the noblest structures of its kind in the world. Rising out of the northwest corner of the walled city, it has been a symbol of its earliest days.
November 25, 2011 · Walter B. Denny
The Met Resets a Gem
n November, after an eight-year, $50-million renovation, 15 galleries devoted to “The Arts of Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia” will open in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art….
November 20, 2011 · UNESCO
Mughal Gardens in Kashmir
By the time Kashmir passed into the hands of the Mughals in the 16th C., these gardens embedded with the Persian spirit were already established in Kashmir. What perhaps the Mughals did later…
November 19, 2011 · UNESCO
The Agra Fort
Near the gardens of the Taj Mahal stands the important 16th-century Mughal monument known as the Red Fort of Agra. This powerful fortress of red sandstone encompasses, within its 2.5-km-long enclosure walls, the…
November 12, 2011 · archmuseum
Divriği Ulucami and Şifahane (Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital)
The western section of the mosque was rebuilt after its complete destruction in the great earthquake which occurred at the beginning of the 16th century. The plan consists of five naves running perpendicular…
November 12, 2011 · Doris Behrens-Abouseif
The al-Azhar Mosque (970)
Al-Azhar is today the most celebrated of all Cairo’s medieval mosques, more because of its historic and religious importance than its aesthetic value. It was the first mosque built in Fatimid Cairo and…
November 10, 2011 · Kamil Khan Mumtaz
Crafts In Islamic Architecture
Creativity in traditional Islamic crafts At the risk of appearing to be quibbling over semantics, let me first of all state simply and clearly what I understand by the terms “creativity”, “traditional”, and…
October 20, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
A World of Beauty and Grace: Islamic Architecture of India
The architecture of Islamic mosques and tombs is an invaluable treasure of world heritage. Many countries have taken inspiration from this tradition. It is well know that the most famous Islamic monument of…
October 17, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
A World of Stars – Decorative Art in Morocco
Eight Pointed Stars This text has been taken from the book Arabesques – decorative art in Morocco by Jean-Marc Caste´ra; Franc¸oise Peuriot; Philippe Ploquin; Kirk McElhearn. Translation from French to English was carried…
October 16, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Al-Andalus – The Alhambra
Al-Andalus (Arabic: الأندلس) was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims, at various times in the period between 711 and 1492. It refers to the Umayyad…
October 16, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Arabesque Art of Islamic Spain
The arabesques and geometric patterns of Islamic art are often said to arise from the Islamic view of the world. To Muslims, these forms, taken together, constitute an infinite pattern that extends beyond the visible material…
October 15, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Historic Illustrations of Islamic Architecture
Title: Dome of the Rock Other title: Qubbat al-Sakhrah (Mosque: Jerusalem); Mosque of Omar Date: circa 687–691 Current location: Yerushalayim, Mehoz Yerushalayim, Yisra’el Description of work: The historic illustrations included in this project…
October 12, 2011 · AKDN
Bhong Mosque, Rahim-Yar Khan, Pakistan
Winner of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1986. Completed: 1982 Patron: Rais Ghazi Muhammad The Award is made in recognition of a significant attempt by a single individual to create a…
October 12, 2011 · Kamil Khan Mumtaz
Reading Masjid Wazir Khan
Wazir Khan’s Mosque, in the heart of the Walled City of Lahore, is one of the most thoroughly documented and discussed of our monuments. In 1887, Kipling (John Lockwood, father of Rudyard) discussed…
October 8, 2011 · AKDN
Restoration of the Tomb of Shah Rukn-i-Alam (Multan, Pakistan)
For the restoration of an important four-teenth-century mausoleum of the Tughluq period in Multan and for its contribution to reviving some of the great crafts of 600 years ago and promoting similar building…
October 7, 2011 · AKDN
Yaama Mosque (Yaama, Niger)
The mosque is located in the Sahel region of Niger where the economy is based on agricultural production. The construction is realized in the traditional banco technique. It is characterized by a central…
October 7, 2011 · AKDN
Mosque of Niono
Niono, Mali, completed 1973. Client: Muslim community of Niono. Designer/master mason: Lassine Minta. The Great Mosque of Niono is an example of such efforts. Lassine Minta, the master mason of the mosque,…
October 7, 2011 · Prof. Robert Hillenbrand
The Mosque in the Medieval Islamic World
Why study the mosque? For historians of architecture and culture alike, the answer is gratifyingly simple. This is the Islamic building par excellence, and as such the key to Islamic architecture. Moreover,…
October 3, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
The Umayyad Mosque of Damascus
Also known as Principal (Great) Mosque of Damascus, founded by the Umayyad caliph al-Walid in 706 CE. The Great Mosque stands in the centre of the old city of Damascus on the site…
October 3, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Damascus – history, arts and architecture
Capital city of Syria and one of the chief cities of the Middle East. Damascus is located in southern Syria on the banks of the Barada river. The area of Damascus forms an…
October 2, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
The door of the Kaaba
kaaba door kaaba Kaaba hd door of kaaba
October 2, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Prophet’s Mosque (Masjid-e-Nabawi)
The Mosque of the Prophet was built in 622 by the Muslim community after they reached the city of Yathrib, which would later be called al-Madina al-Muanwara. The mosque was situated next to…
October 1, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Domes & Arches of Shah Jehan Mosque (Thatta)
The Shah Jehan Mosque (Grand Mosque) is located in Thatta (Province of Sindh, PAKISTAN).
October 15, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Historic Illustrations of Islamic Architecture
Title: Dome of the Rock Other title: Qubbat al-Sakhrah (Mosque: Jerusalem); Mosque of Omar Date: circa 687–691 Current location: Yerushalayim, Mehoz Yerushalayim, Yisra’el Description of work: The historic illustrations included in this project…
October 12, 2011 · AKDN
Bhong Mosque, Rahim-Yar Khan, Pakistan
Winner of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1986. Completed: 1982 Patron: Rais Ghazi Muhammad The Award is made in recognition of a significant attempt by a single individual to create a…
October 12, 2011 · Kamil Khan Mumtaz
Reading Masjid Wazir Khan
Wazir Khan’s Mosque, in the heart of the Walled City of Lahore, is one of the most thoroughly documented and discussed of our monuments. In 1887, Kipling (John Lockwood, father of Rudyard) discussed…
October 8, 2011 · AKDN
Restoration of the Tomb of Shah Rukn-i-Alam (Multan, Pakistan)
For the restoration of an important four-teenth-century mausoleum of the Tughluq period in Multan and for its contribution to reviving some of the great crafts of 600 years ago and promoting similar building…
October 7, 2011 · AKDN
Yaama Mosque (Yaama, Niger)
The mosque is located in the Sahel region of Niger where the economy is based on agricultural production. The construction is realized in the traditional banco technique. It is characterized by a central…
October 7, 2011 · AKDN
Mosque of Niono
Niono, Mali, completed 1973. Client: Muslim community of Niono. Designer/master mason: Lassine Minta. The Great Mosque of Niono is an example of such efforts. Lassine Minta, the master mason of the mosque,…
October 7, 2011 · Prof. Robert Hillenbrand
The Mosque in the Medieval Islamic World
Why study the mosque? For historians of architecture and culture alike, the answer is gratifyingly simple. This is the Islamic building par excellence, and as such the key to Islamic architecture. Moreover,…
October 3, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
The Umayyad Mosque of Damascus
Also known as Principal (Great) Mosque of Damascus, founded by the Umayyad caliph al-Walid in 706 CE. The Great Mosque stands in the centre of the old city of Damascus on the site…
October 3, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Damascus – history, arts and architecture
Capital city of Syria and one of the chief cities of the Middle East. Damascus is located in southern Syria on the banks of the Barada river. The area of Damascus forms an…
October 2, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
The door of the Kaaba
kaaba door kaaba Kaaba hd door of kaaba
October 2, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Prophet’s Mosque (Masjid-e-Nabawi)
The Mosque of the Prophet was built in 622 by the Muslim community after they reached the city of Yathrib, which would later be called al-Madina al-Muanwara. The mosque was situated next to…
October 1, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Domes & Arches of Shah Jehan Mosque (Thatta)
The Shah Jehan Mosque (Grand Mosque) is located in Thatta (Province of Sindh, PAKISTAN).
September 14, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Taj Mahal – Refined Elegance
The Taj Mahal: Symbol of India, architectural jewel, and monument to a grand passion. We take a closer look at the Taj Mahal and revisit its history – why it was built and…
September 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Bukhara – History and Architecture
Oasis city in the Republic of Uzbekistan, Central Asia. Bukhara is located in the valley of the Zeravshan river 200 km west of Samarkand. The city was first mentioned by its present name…
September 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Al-Saleh Mosque in Yemen
The mosque has six minarets 100 meters high, in addition to a number of domes. The main dome is 28 meters in diameter and 22 meters high. The mosque and its accompanying buildings’…
September 13, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Samarra – the Abbasid Capital in Iraq
Samarra is now recognized as the largest archaeological site in the world and stretches for over 40 km along the banks of the Tigris. Although there were settlements in the area of Samarra…
September 13, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Cairo (Arabic: al-Qahira)
Capital of Egypt and one of the most prominent cities of the Islamic world. The English name for the city derives from the French, Le Caire, which in turn is derived from the…
September 13, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Baghdad (Madinat al-Salam)
Baghdad was founded by the Abbasid caliph al- Mansur in 762. According to historical accounts al- Mansur built a round city with four gates and a palace and mosque at the centre. Leading…
September 9, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Damascus to Aqaba– Guardians of the pilgrim wells (Hajj Forts)
Written by David L. Kennedy and Andrew Peterson Since the early 20th century, pilgrims to Makkah have sped to their destination in engine-powered vehicles. But for 13 centuries before that, they experienced very…
September 9, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan – Architecture & History
Small country (88,946 square km) located at the east end of the Mediterranean, bordering Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Jordan can be divided into four main zones, each of which extends into…
September 9, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Architecture of Fatehpur Sikri
Abandoned city in northern India founded by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1571. Fatehpur Sikri derives its name from the village of Sikri which occupied the spot before, the prefix Fatehpur, City of…
September 8, 2011 · Greg Noakes
The Other 1492
Praise be to God, who ordered that he who speaks with pride of Al-Andalus may do so without fear and as boldly as he pleases, nor meet any that may contradict him ……
September 3, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
An Islamic History of Europe
In this 90-minute documentary, Rageh Omaar uncovers the hidden story of Europe’s Islamic past and looks back to a golden age when European civilisation was enriched by Islamic learning. Rageh travels across…
September 2, 2011 · Foundation For Science Technology and Civisilation
Influence of Acoustic Data in Islamic Architectural Design
The results of our investigation to define acoustic properties of Sinan’s mosques proved the abundance of his knowledge and applied technology on acoustics and his ability in utilising them in architectural design. Especially,…
September 14, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Taj Mahal – Refined Elegance
The Taj Mahal: Symbol of India, architectural jewel, and monument to a grand passion. We take a closer look at the Taj Mahal and revisit its history – why it was built and…
September 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Bukhara – History and Architecture
Oasis city in the Republic of Uzbekistan, Central Asia. Bukhara is located in the valley of the Zeravshan river 200 km west of Samarkand. The city was first mentioned by its present name…
September 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Al-Saleh Mosque in Yemen
The mosque has six minarets 100 meters high, in addition to a number of domes. The main dome is 28 meters in diameter and 22 meters high. The mosque and its accompanying buildings’…
September 13, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Samarra – the Abbasid Capital in Iraq
Samarra is now recognized as the largest archaeological site in the world and stretches for over 40 km along the banks of the Tigris. Although there were settlements in the area of Samarra…
September 13, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Cairo (Arabic: al-Qahira)
Capital of Egypt and one of the most prominent cities of the Islamic world. The English name for the city derives from the French, Le Caire, which in turn is derived from the…
September 13, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Baghdad (Madinat al-Salam)
Baghdad was founded by the Abbasid caliph al- Mansur in 762. According to historical accounts al- Mansur built a round city with four gates and a palace and mosque at the centre. Leading…
September 9, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Damascus to Aqaba– Guardians of the pilgrim wells (Hajj Forts)
Written by David L. Kennedy and Andrew Peterson Since the early 20th century, pilgrims to Makkah have sped to their destination in engine-powered vehicles. But for 13 centuries before that, they experienced very…
September 9, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan – Architecture & History
Small country (88,946 square km) located at the east end of the Mediterranean, bordering Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Jordan can be divided into four main zones, each of which extends into…
September 9, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Architecture of Fatehpur Sikri
Abandoned city in northern India founded by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1571. Fatehpur Sikri derives its name from the village of Sikri which occupied the spot before, the prefix Fatehpur, City of…
September 8, 2011 · Greg Noakes
The Other 1492
Praise be to God, who ordered that he who speaks with pride of Al-Andalus may do so without fear and as boldly as he pleases, nor meet any that may contradict him ……
September 3, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
An Islamic History of Europe
In this 90-minute documentary, Rageh Omaar uncovers the hidden story of Europe’s Islamic past and looks back to a golden age when European civilisation was enriched by Islamic learning. Rageh travels across…
September 2, 2011 · Foundation For Science Technology and Civisilation
Influence of Acoustic Data in Islamic Architectural Design
The results of our investigation to define acoustic properties of Sinan’s mosques proved the abundance of his knowledge and applied technology on acoustics and his ability in utilising them in architectural design. Especially,…
September 2, 2011 · Dr. Saphic Omer
Light as Decorative Medium
The Muslims and their buildings favor light, both symbolically and factually, also because there is nothing simpler, plainer and clearer than the truth. Moreover, there is no better secret to a happy…
August 29, 2011 · Akel Ismail Kahera
Design of Mosques and the problem of esthetics
The hegemonic dependence of many Muslims in Europe and America to their cultural origins and history is testimony to the problem of understanding the polemics of Muslim architectural esthetics in the West. Furthermore…
August 24, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Isphahan – the great world heritage
Admin Note: Photo copyrights are embedded into each image and the captions represent the views of the photographer and not the author(s) of this blog. isphahan
August 20, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Iran’s Islamic Architecture
Iranian architecture displays great variety, both structural and aesthetic, developing gradually and coherently out of prior traditions and experience. Without sudden innovations, and despite the repeated trauma of invasions and cultural shocks, it…
May 29, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Islamic Art from Iran, Egypt, Syria, Turkey & Spain
About Yoho Yoho Media is a UK-based film production company, making documentary films for clients around the world. Theye’ve embraced ‘new school’ digital film-making and love working with the Red and Canon 5D…
March 25, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar
The museum draws much influence from ancient Islamic architecture yet has a unique design. It was the first of its kind in the Persian Gulf and has a very large collection of…
March 25, 2011 · Paul Steinhardt
Medieval Islamic Mosaics and Modern Maths
by Paul J. Steinhardt The swirling Arabesque ceramic tiles used in medieval Islamic mosaics and architecture were produced using geometry not understood in the West until the 1970s, a new study suggests. …
March 22, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Arch that never sleeps
by Rabah Saoud The original article was published by Dr Rabah Saoud on www.MuslimHeritage.com in May 2002. We present it to our readers in a new format along with a collection of over…
March 22, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Islamic Citadel in Busra (Basra)
Dr. Eng. Najwa Othman, Architect and Historian, Aleppo-Syria Roads to Busra This article is part of a series of field visits by our researchers to little known monuments and cities of Heritage….
March 22, 2011 · Foundation For Science Technology and Civisilation
The Ottoman Madrassa
Plan of the Karatay Madrassa This short article is taken from the full article which is available here as a PDF file For more than three centuries Muslims used the mosque for…
March 22, 2011 · Foundation For Science Technology and Civisilation
Al-Hambra (Alhamra) Palace
Summarised extracts from a full article, see resources below, where a homogenous survey on the Architecture of Muslim Spain, end notes, references and bibliography are given. by: Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation….
March 19, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
When the Moors (Muslims) Ruled Europe (complete documentary)
An insightful documentary into the glorious rule of the Moors in Spain Join British historian Bettany Hughes as she examines a long-buried chapter of European history–the rise and fall of Islamic culture in what is…
March 19, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Mosque of Cordoba: La Mezquita
The Great Mosque of Córdoba (commonly referred to as La Mezquita) is one of the jewels of Islamic civilisation. It is to Córdoba what the Alhambra Palace is to Granada and the Giralda tower…
March 18, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Sultan Ahmet Cami Mosque (Blue Mosque)
Commissioned by Sultan Ahmed (1606-1617), the mosque was built by Mehmet Agha who is said to have toured key Ottoman monuments before he drew the plan of the blue mosque[1]. This can be…
March 18, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Ibn Tulun Mosque
Ibn Tulun Mosque is the oldest best preserved mosque in Egypt. It is named after the Emir Ahmed Ibn Tulun, a soldier among the troops of Samara who was promoted to rule Egypt…
March 18, 2011 · Malgorzata de Latour Abdalla
Islamic Art in Poland: The Kornik Castle
By Malgorzata de Latour-Abdalla* Visitors to Spanish Granada can admire the 14th century splendid Lion Court of Alhambra palace erected by Muhammad Alhamer as a testimony to his greatness but also to his…
March 18, 2011 · John Feeney
The Minarets of Cairo
Nowhere in the Muslim world can you find such a profusion of domes and minarets as in Cairo. Rising from the haze of crowded, crumbling streets in the old, chaotic, yet picturesque medieval…
March 17, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Islam: Empire Of Faith
This three-part series covers more than a thousand years of Islamic history and culture, with emphasis on the contributions that Muslims have made in science, medicine, art, philosophy, learning, and trade. The…
March 17, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Grand Mosque Shah Jehan, Thatta
The mosque, a heavy brick structure of simple construction built upon a stone plinth, with heavy square pillars and massive walls, is centered around a courtyard 169′ X 97′. The prayer chamber is…
March 17, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Wonders of the Muslim World
A series of intimate, 10-minute portraits, explores the lives and beliefs of six young people whose usual places of worship are beautiful and historic mosques across the Muslim world. The films accompany them…
March 15, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Courtyard Houses of Syria
1. Introduction Courtyard housing dates back to the beginning of the third millennium before common era when it appeared in the buildings of Bilad al-Sham and those of the region between the two…
March 15, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Islamic Calligraphy 1450-1925 A.D.- East
This calligraphic panel is executed in black (Indian) naskh on a pink paper decorated with gold cloud motifs and pasted to a light blue backing. The poem wishes a ruler (nicknamed the…
March 15, 2011 · Pattern in Islamic Art
The Evolution of Style
‘One would enquire in vain for the masters who brought this system to its flowering or those who later opened up new ways for its development. This art is totally anonymous and it…
March 14, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Paradise Found: Islamic Architecture and Arts
Paradise Found: A Documentary on Islamic Architecture and Art We imagine many things when we think of this word. However, we do not think about Islamic Architecture, which influenced the art of Europe…
March 12, 2011 · Sheila Blair
Islamic Architecture – Abbasid Period
Under theAbbasid caliphate (750–1258), which succeeded the Umayyads (661–750) in 750, the focal point of Islamic political and cultural life shifted eastward from Syria to Iraq, where, in 762, Baghdad, the circular City of Peace…
March 9, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Sheikh Zayed Mosque – Abu Dhabi
The mosque is named after Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nayhan, the late ruler and founder of the United Arab Emirates, and is a building of extraordinary dimensions: it is the third largest…
March 7, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
When Spain was Islamic
Considering Spain was ruled for – in some parts – up to 800 years by the Moors, it’s no surprise that lasting remnants of Spain’s Islamic past are present in everything from gastronomy…
Cities
January 15, 2014 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Registan Square
The Registan was the heart of the ancient city of Samarkand of the Timurid dynasty, now in Uzbekistan. The name Registan means “Sandy place” in Persian. It was a public square, where people gathered to hear…
October 26, 2013 · Marina Alin
Baku – Arabesque in stone
Stone decoration of Baku architecture is superb. It is here when ancient craft of stone carving serves Islamic art showing the great level of craftsmanship and an elegance of artistic expression.
September 20, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
A pictorial tour of Yazd
Yazd, an architecturally unique city. Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazd
September 7, 2013 · Henri Stierlin
Bridges of Isfahan
Isfahan grew up next to the Zayandeh Rud, which feeds the oasis where people had first settled in prehistoric times. To carry the line of the Chahar Bagh across the river, Shah ‘Abbas…
October 12, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Dar al Hajar – The Rock House
There are a fair number of countries which can be identified by a single iconic landmark. When one thinks of France, the image of the Eiffel Tower often comes to mind. Dar al…
September 19, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Morrocan Pavillian in Putrajaya, Malaysia
In recreating the Moroccan ambience for the contemporary scene, the Astaka Morocco, set to become a prominent landmark in Putrajaya, showcases the unique Moroccan and Moorish architecture, which is incidentally believed to be first of its kind in the ASEAN region.Development of the Astaka Morocco is an idea mooted by the Malaysian Government. Construction of the building symbolizes the strong diplomatic ties between the two countries especially with its people and culture.
September 8, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Ornate Alhambra
A pictorial tour of the intricate and ornate architecture of Alhambra.
May 18, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Walls of Isfahan
Related articles Imam (Shah) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran (islamic-arts.org) Jameh Mosque of Isfahan (islamic-arts.org) Sheikh Lutf Allah Mosque (islamic-arts.org) schematic Isfahan Imam square
May 9, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Walls of Yazd, Iran
Yazd is of foremost importance as a centre of fine Persian mosaics and beautiful architecture. The Yazd walls demonstrate a visual continuity in color, scale and form with the built fabric of the…
April 30, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Kasbah of Telouet
The Kasbah, architecturally speaking, are imposing buildings with a square base and towers that rise above the height of the perimeter walls. The kasbah are composed of bricks made of clay mixed with water…
April 29, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Qa’it Bay Sabil in Cairo
The splendor of Cairo’s sabils probably reached its height with that of the illustrious Sultan Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qa’it Bay, who ruled from 1468 to 1496. Very large for a sabil, Qa’it Bay’s…
January 20, 2012 · Barry Hoberman
From Cuneiform to Topkapi
In the Islamic world, where reading and literacy have always been highly prized for the access they provide to the word of God and the world of knowledge, books were objects of both…
January 15, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Cairo’s Islamic Architecture – 7th to 18th Centuries
Mosque of Ali mad ibn Tulun, interior of the maqsura, 9th century. Gypsum and ash pillars accentuate the domed mihrab. The mosque, inspired by the great mosque of Samarra in the patron’s…
January 10, 2012 · John Feeney
Cairo – A City Adorned
From the late ninth century well into the 15th, mosques built as prestige projects were the most spectacular buildings in Cairo. Locals, pilgrims on their way to Makkah and even Christian pilgrims were…
January 7, 2012 · Julia Gonnella
Aleppo – Architecture and History
“The city is as old as eternity, but still young, and it has never ceased to exist. Its days and nights have been long; it has survived its rulers and commoners. These are…
January 4, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Through the lens of Peter Sanders
All Photographs by Peter Sanders © 2012 PETER SANDERS PHOTOGRAPHY LTD Makkah Madinah Saudi Arabia Jerusalem Turkey Spain Morocco Iran China Japan Malaysia …
January 3, 2012 · Doris Meth Srinivasan
The Tenacity of Tradition: Art From the Valley of Swat
High in the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan lies the Valley of Swat. The river of the same name runs through it. In ancient texts, the Swat River is called Suvastu, meaning “good dwelling…
December 22, 2011 · UNESCO
Old Walled City of Shibam
Surrounded by a fortified wall, the 16th-century city of Shibam is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. Its impressive tower-like structures rise…
December 22, 2011 · Jean Francois Breto
Manhattan in the Hadramaut
At the end of December 1984, UNESCO – the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization – issued a plea to the world to save another national treasure from disintegration: the mud-brick “skyscrapers”…
December 21, 2011 · Eric Hansen
Sana’a Rising – “a Venice built on sand.”
In mid-February 1978, on my first morning in Sana‘a, I woke up before first light. Illuminated by the flame of a single bedside candle, the undulating overhead ceiling beams, plastered in white gypsum,…
December 14, 2011 · Jennier M. Scarce
Domestic Culture of Cities in the Middle East (16th to 19th century)
This article invites the reader to enter and enjoy wealthy urban homes in Turkey, Egypt and Iran between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. This was a period of flourishing traditional culture and also of…
October 3, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Damascus – history, arts and architecture
Capital city of Syria and one of the chief cities of the Middle East. Damascus is located in southern Syria on the banks of the Barada river. The area of Damascus forms an…
September 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Bukhara – History and Architecture
Oasis city in the Republic of Uzbekistan, Central Asia. Bukhara is located in the valley of the Zeravshan river 200 km west of Samarkand. The city was first mentioned by its present name…
September 13, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Samarra – the Abbasid Capital in Iraq
Samarra is now recognized as the largest archaeological site in the world and stretches for over 40 km along the banks of the Tigris. Although there were settlements in the area of Samarra…
September 13, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Cairo (Arabic: al-Qahira)
Capital of Egypt and one of the most prominent cities of the Islamic world. The English name for the city derives from the French, Le Caire, which in turn is derived from the…
September 13, 2011 · Andrew Petersen
Baghdad (Madinat al-Salam)
Baghdad was founded by the Abbasid caliph al- Mansur in 762. According to historical accounts al- Mansur built a round city with four gates and a palace and mosque at the centre. Leading
Decorative
October 18, 2013 · Marina Alin
Biomorphic patterns in Islamic art – Tracing the origin
Islamic biomorphic patterns are usually called arabesques. The term ‘arabesque’ is relatively new; it came to Europe after Napoleon’s campaign in Africa. “In a broad sense of this term, the arabesque includes ornamentation…
September 26, 2013 · The Walters Art Museum
Tile with the Great Mosque of Mecca
The three lines of Arabic writing in the upper part of this large, ceramic wall tile are from the third chapter of the Qur’an, and exhort the Muslim faithful to make the pilgrimage…
February 24, 2013 · islamic-arts.org Team
Mosque lamp with cloisonné enamel decoration
As early as the 9th century, a large number of products were made in China for export to the Islamic world. Porcelain and textiles were the most important trade goods, but refined works…
March 30, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Enamelled Glass, Mosque Lamps
Mosque lamps of glass, enamelled and often with gilding, survive in considerable numbers from the Islamic art of the Middle Ages, especially the 13th and 14th centuries, with Cairo in Egypt and Aleppo and Damascus in Syria as the most important centres of production. These are oil…
January 31, 2012 · HAFIZ Foundation
The Farjam Collection of Islamic Art
The Farjam Collection is one of the most impressive privately-owned collections in the world today. Featuring Islamic and pre-Islamic art, Contemporary Middle-Eastern art and International Modern and Contemporary Art, the Collection is born…
January 3, 2012 · Lucien de Guise
From Middle East to Middle Kingdom
In contrast, the appreciation of Chinese–Islamic works has been negligible. For collectors of traditional Chinese art, these works are not Chinese enough; for Islamic-art collectors, they seem too alien to be considered truly…
January 3, 2012 · Anne Mullin Burnham
Silver Speaks
Throughout the Middle East, Silver, jewellery speaks about the lives of women and girls and the talents of artisans. It provides a window into social status, religion, regional identities and changing lives in…
December 10, 2011 · Louis Werner
Zillij in Fez
Zillij is an Islamic art that is based on learning, discipline, and faith. The geometric patterns reflect the Islamic belief that life is ordered by cosmic intelligence, even if people cannot always understand…
October 11, 2011 · Victoria and Albert Museum
Design of the Ardabil Carpet (1539-1540)
The entire surface of the Ardabil carpet is covered by a single integrated design – an impressive feat in view of the great size of the carpet. The basic design is relatively simple,…
October 9, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Art of the Ottomans (before 1600)
At the time of its foundation in the early fourteenth century, the Osmanli or Ottoman state was one among many small principalities that emerged as a result of the disintegration of the Seljuq sultanate…
September 29, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Album leaf with a Shii invocation, 17th century
This leaf of fine nastaliq calligraphy was conceived as an artistic endeavor, in which the writing is integrated with the ornamental background. The decorative technique of marbleizing paper spread from Iran to Turkey…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Leaf from Futuh al-Haramain
(Description of the Two Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina) Futuh al-Haramain is an example of a genre of religious writing devoted to the hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage. It serves as a guide to pilgrims…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
8th Century Woven Tapestry
This fragment of tapestry-woven cloth demonstrates the dependence of early Islamic art on traditions that predate the advent of Islam in the Middle East. Here, the influence comes from Sasanian art in Iran….
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Leaf from the Shahnama (Book of Kings)
The legendary death of the Sasanian king Yazdegerd I—who was said to have been kicked by a horse that magically emerged from a spring—is charmingly depicted in this leaf from a dispersed manuscript…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rosette (shamsa)
This shamsa is an exquisite example of the art of illumination in the Mughal period. The profusion and gem-like detail of the floral decoration of the rosette, set along scrolling vines, can be…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Vegetal Patterns in Islamic Art
With the exception of the garden and its usual reference to paradise, vegetal motifs and patterns in Islamic art are largely devoid of symbolic meaning. Vegetal patterns employed alone or in combination with…
September 2, 2011 · Dr. Saphic Omer
Light as Decorative Medium
The Muslims and their buildings favor light, both symbolically and factually, also because there is nothing simpler, plainer and clearer than the truth. Moreover, there is no better secret to a happy…
September 2, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Paper and Ink Prayer Mat
Made to fit the size of an actual Muslim prayer carpet, this piece is drawn only with black Bic pencils. Painstakingly detailed, it explores different ways and patterns to create a unique whole…
August 26, 2011 · Sardar Marika
Carpets from the Islamic World
Under the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal dynasties, carpet weaving was transformed from a minor craft based on patterns passed down from generation to generation into a statewide industry with patterns created in court…
August 5, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Qur’an case, Nasrid period (1232–1492)
Qur’an case, Nasrid period (1232–1492), second half of 15th century. Spain This small Qur’an case, a quintessential devotional and amuletic object, is inscribed with the Nasrid dynastic emblem: “There is no conqueror but…
August 5, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Amulets and Talismans from the Islamic World
A talisman is any object that is imbued with protective powers, and all cultures have manifestations of such objects. In the world of Islam, they bear Qur’anic inscriptions, astrological signs, and religious narratives….
March 16, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Nature of Islamic Art
The term Islamic art not only describes the art created specifically in the service of the Muslim faith (for example, a mosque and its furnishings) but also characterizes the art and architecture historically…
March 9, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Sheikh Zayed Mosque – Abu Dhabi
The mosque is named after Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nayhan, the late ruler and founder of the United Arab Emirates, and is a building of extraordinary dimensions: it is the third largest…
March 8, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Doris Dukes Shangri La – Center for Islamic Arts and Culture
The collection at Shangri La consists of about 3,500 objects, within which are several distinct sub-collections that shed light on Islam, Islamic cultures and Islamic art, among other traditions. Below are links to…
Manuscripts
September 26, 2013 · The Walters Art Museum
18th Century Qur’an in Maghribi Script
This manuscript, Walters W.568, is a fragment of the Qur’an, consisting of chapters 19 (Surat Maryam) through 23 (Surat al-mu’minun).
September 26, 2013 · The Walters Art Museum
Illuminated Timurid copy of the Qur’an
A large-format, illuminated Timurid copy of the Qur’an is believed to have been produced in Northern India in the 9th century AH/AD 15th.
April 3, 2012 · Sheila Canby
The Qur’an
As the word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the verses of the Qur’an are canonical and cannot be changed. Because of the centrality of the Qur’an to the religion of Islam, copying all or some of its verses in any medium is considered a pious act. Over time a wide variety of styles of writing Arabic script developed, but not all of these were considered appropriate for copying Qur’ans. Qur’an manuscripts from the first two centuries of Islam were written on parchment in an angular style called Kufic after the Iraqi city of Kufa, an early Muslim capital.
March 24, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Kitab-i Bahriye (Book of the Sea)
Originally composed in 932 AH / 1525 CE and dedicated to Sultan Süleyman I (“The Magnificent”), this great work by Piri Reis (d. 962 AH / 1555 CE) on navigation was later revised and expanded. The present manuscript, made mostly in the late 11th century AH / 17th CE, is based on the later expanded version and has approximately 240 exquisitely executed maps and portolan charts.
March 13, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Album of Ottoman Calligraphy
This album (muraqqaʿ) of calligraphy in an accordion format was compiled in Ottoman Turkey in the twelfth century AH / eighteenth CE. It consists of leaves bearing fragmentary passages from the Qur’an (chapter…
March 13, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
A 16th Century Ottoman Atlas
It is an early Ottoman atlas, perhaps dating to the 10th century AH/AD 16th. The work contains 8 double-page charts executed on parchment. Four of the maps show the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black…
January 31, 2012 · HAFIZ Foundation
The Farjam Collection of Islamic Art
The Farjam Collection is one of the most impressive privately-owned collections in the world today. Featuring Islamic and pre-Islamic art, Contemporary Middle-Eastern art and International Modern and Contemporary Art, the Collection is born…
January 25, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Morgan Treasures of Islamic Manuscripts
It was at the urging of his librarian, Belle da Costa Greene (1879–1950), that Pierpont Morgan purchased the core of his Islamic collection in 1911 and 1912. Greene had become Morgan’s librarian in…
January 25, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Fragments of a 9th Century Quran
al-Qurʼān (ajzāʼ) Fragments of an Abbasid Qurʼān, probably written in the third century A.H / ninth century C.E., containing verses from the suras: al-Dhārīyāt (سورة الذاريات),al-Ṭūr (سورة الطور), al-Najm (سورة النجم), al-Qamar (سورة القمر), and al-Raḥmān (سورة…
January 3, 2012 · Deirdre Lawrence
Sufi-Inspired Artist Books
One of the great feelings I experience at the Brooklyn Museum is when I see a true connection between the Library and art collections here. This connection was felt recently at a public…
October 20, 2011 · Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Arts
Smithsonian Museum’s Folio & Manuscript Collection
The Freer and Sackler galleries have one of the finest collections of Islamic art in the United States, with particular strengths in ceramics and illustrated manuscripts.
October 20, 2011 · Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Arts
Smithsonian collection of Qur’anic manuscripts
A collection of 9th–19th-century Korans (intact volumes and detached folios) from Iran, the Arab world, and Turkey at the Freer and Sackler galleries of Smithsonian’s Museums of Asian Art. Folio from a Koran…
October 18, 2011 · Los Angeles County Museum of Art
LACMA Collection of Islamic Calligraphy
Calligraphic Artwork at LACMA. Click on any image for more details.
October 10, 2011 · Ayşin Yoltar-Yıldırım
Turning the pages of an Ottoman illustrated manuscript
This essay is the 2004 Winner of the Margaret B. Sevcenko Prize in Islamic Art and Culture This paper focuses on an Ottoman illustrated manuscript copied in 1498-99, which is now in the…
October 9, 2011 · Sardar Marika
Arts of the book – 1600-1800
The technical aspects of calligraphy, painting, and bookbinding are important facets of the study of Islamic art. Treatises by sixteenth-century Persian authors Qazi Ahmed and Sadiqi Beq are the major sources on the…
September 29, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Shah Jehan (Emperor’s) Album
The Shah Jahan Album, also known as the Emperor’s Album or Kevorkian Album, features fifty illustrated and calligraphy folios, forty-one of which belong to the Metropolitan Museum, and nine of which reside in…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Leaf from a Qur’an manuscript, late 9th–10th century
This page is from a dispersed manuscript, many folios of which once belonged to the scholar R. M. Riefstahl. The angular kufic script is moderated by the roundness of several letters that look…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Leaf from Futuh al-Haramain
(Description of the Two Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina) Futuh al-Haramain is an example of a genre of religious writing devoted to the hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage. It serves as a guide to pilgrims…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Leaf from the Shahnama (Book of Kings)
The legendary death of the Sasanian king Yazdegerd I—who was said to have been kicked by a horse that magically emerged from a spring—is charmingly depicted in this leaf from a dispersed manuscript…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rosette (shamsa)
This shamsa is an exquisite example of the art of illumination in the Mughal period. The profusion and gem-like detail of the floral decoration of the rosette, set along scrolling vines, can be…
Calligraphy
![INKMAN – Djerbahood Project (Djerba, Tunisia) [Photo Credit: Galerie Itinerrance / Aline Deschamps]](http://islamic-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/03-300x180.jpg)
June 9, 2015 · Janet Kozak
Calligraffiti Art
Calligraffiti, as some of these artists call it, is a unique blend of traditional scripts and designs mixed with modern materials and techniques.
September 26, 2013 · The Walters Art Museum
18th Century Qur’an in Maghribi Script
This manuscript, Walters W.568, is a fragment of the Qur’an, consisting of chapters 19 (Surat Maryam) through 23 (Surat al-mu’minun).
September 26, 2013 · The Walters Art Museum
Illuminated Timurid copy of the Qur’an
A large-format, illuminated Timurid copy of the Qur’an is believed to have been produced in Northern India in the 9th century AH/AD 15th.
September 5, 2013 · JURGEN WASIM FREMBGEN
Calligraphy from Ottoman Dervish Lodges
Alongside the art of the book, which was promoted by rulers at their courts and by religious scholars in mosques and Qur’an schools, Arabic calligraphy was also cultivated in the context of everyday…
April 28, 2012 · David James
Calligraphy – the geometry of the spirit
This article appeared on pages 16-27 of the September/October 1989 print edition of Saudi Aramco World. Islamic calligraphy is without doubt the most original contribution of Islam to the visual arts, yet it is only…
April 25, 2012 · stefan.heidemann
Calligraphy on Islamic Coins
Introduction Western coinages in the Hellenistic tradition are praised for the beauty of their images complementing perfectly the circular space. The art of the portrait flowered in particular in the Hellenistic world, the…
April 24, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Calligraphy by Hassan Massoudy
Following Images are from “Calligraphie Arabe Vivante” by Hassan Massoudy (1981 edition) Hassan Massoudy is an artist for whom the word itself remains the most sublime creative force. His creations are a subtle…
April 21, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Making of Kiswa
Throughout Islamic history, it has been considered a great honor to be able to perform a service to the Ka`bah, in the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. One of these services, performed by both…
April 20, 2012 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Calligraphic Galleon, 1766 AD
Flanked by two other galleons on the horizon, this carefully drawn imperial calligraphic galleon sits on a row of waves containing aphorisms. The imperial galleon with its wind-filled sails is an example of…
April 14, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Illuminated Calligraphy
Ink, gouache and gold on paper, 6 lines of fine nasta’liq script in black ink within cloud bands filled with interlacing vines, and interspersed with polychrome flowers, headpiece with panels of coloured and…
March 13, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Album of Ottoman Calligraphy
This album (muraqqaʿ) of calligraphy in an accordion format was compiled in Ottoman Turkey in the twelfth century AH / eighteenth CE. It consists of leaves bearing fragmentary passages from the Qur’an (chapter…
February 14, 2012 · Neil MacGregor
Tughra of Suleiman the Magnificent
Calligraphy, from Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey AD 1520–1566 Between about 1350 and 1550 great swathes of the world were occupied by the superpowers of their day – from the Inca in South America to the…
January 31, 2012 · HAFIZ Foundation
The Farjam Collection of Islamic Art
The Farjam Collection is one of the most impressive privately-owned collections in the world today. Featuring Islamic and pre-Islamic art, Contemporary Middle-Eastern art and International Modern and Contemporary Art, the Collection is born…
January 26, 2012 · Kristyan Sarkis
Arabic Calligraphy and Type Design
This article presents the Diwani style of Arabic which lead to designing Thuraya, a contemporary yet faithful interpretation of the Diwani style with extensive calligraphic features. Arabic calligraphy is undoubtedly one of the…
January 5, 2012 · Sheldon Chad
Shodo Arabi – the way of Arabic writing
nside the Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo, 15 students of calligraphy raptly practice writing verses from the Qur’an. Yet when the call to prayer is heard, few stir. The instructors and students are…
January 3, 2012 · Lucien de Guise
From Middle East to Middle Kingdom
In contrast, the appreciation of Chinese–Islamic works has been negligible. For collectors of traditional Chinese art, these works are not Chinese enough; for Islamic-art collectors, they seem too alien to be considered truly…
January 2, 2012 · Kamil Khan Mumtaz
Traditional Calligraphy & Modern Art
This paper discusses the traditional art of calligraphy in the contemporary cultural context, with particular reference to recent efforts on the one hand to “modernize Islamic calligraphy” and on the other hand to…
December 16, 2011 · Victoria and Albert Museum
Calligraphy in Islamic art – beyond pen and paper
The development of sophisticated calligraphy as an art form is not unique to Islamic culture. Other examples include Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and illuminated bibles from north-west Europe including the famous Book of…
December 6, 2011 · Iftikhar Dadi
Sadequain and Calligraphic Modernism
This article examines the career of the immensely productive Sadequain Naqqash (1930-87), Pakistan’s most celebrated artis
November 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
SADEQUAIN’S Calligraphy
Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance, Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Pakistani Awards), also often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a world-renowned Pakistani artist, best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a…
October 20, 2011 · Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Arts
Smithsonian collection of Qur’anic manuscripts
A collection of 9th–19th-century Korans (intact volumes and detached folios) from Iran, the Arab world, and Turkey at the Freer and Sackler galleries of Smithsonian’s Museums of Asian Art. Folio from a Koran…
October 18, 2011 · Los Angeles County Museum of Art
LACMA Collection of Islamic Calligraphy
Calligraphic Artwork at LACMA. Click on any image for more details.
October 14, 2011 · Annemarie Schimmel
Styles of Calligraphy
From the book – ‘Calligraphy and Islamic Culture’. Come, O pen of composition and write letters. In the name of the Writer of the Well-preserved Tablet and the Pen!1 Thus begins a sixteenth-century…
September 29, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Shah Jehan (Emperor’s) Album
The Shah Jahan Album, also known as the Emperor’s Album or Kevorkian Album, features fifty illustrated and calligraphy folios, forty-one of which belong to the Metropolitan Museum, and nine of which reside in…
September 29, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Album leaf with a Shii invocation, 17th century
This leaf of fine nastaliq calligraphy was conceived as an artistic endeavor, in which the writing is integrated with the ornamental background. The decorative technique of marbleizing paper spread from Iran to Turkey…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Leaf from a Qur’an manuscript, late 9th–10th century
This page is from a dispersed manuscript, many folios of which once belonged to the scholar R. M. Riefstahl. The angular kufic script is moderated by the roundness of several letters that look…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Textile fragment, late 10th century
Cotton textiles from the eastern Islamic world were often inexpensively decorated with simple painted brushstrokes. The painted surface decoration of these textiles imitates the more luxurious type with embroidered silk inscriptions and also…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Leaf from an Arabic translation of the Materia Medica of Dioscorides
This folio is painted in the lively and appealing style of the Baghdad School: bright colors, sprightly figures in contemporary local dress, and a balanced, bilaterally symmetrical composition. The neutral color of the…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Leaf from the Shahnama (Book of Kings)
The legendary death of the Sasanian king Yazdegerd I—who was said to have been kicked by a horse that magically emerged from a spring—is charmingly depicted in this leaf from a dispersed manuscript…
September 9, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Marriage Certificate of the Last Mughal Emperor of India
mughal emperors with names mughal emperors ancient egyptian marriage ancient egyptian marriage contract
August 26, 2011 · Paul Lunde
From the Pen of a Master
Calligraphy is the supreme art form of the Islamic world; even the other Islamic arts – architecture, metal work, ceramics, glass and textiles – draw on calligraphy as their principal source of embellishment. This…
August 26, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Modern Arabic Calligraphy Works
Arabic Calligraphy artworks designed by famous teachers and designers. Calligraphy Prints by Imran Ashraf Turkish Islamic Calligraphy by Ottoman Calligraphy Arabic Calligraphy by The Fontmaker Religious Calligraphy by Sheharzad Arshad Religious Calligraphy…
August 25, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Arabic Calligraphy
Wisdom reveals herself in the dialect of the Greeks, the craftsmanship of the Chinese, and the language of the Arabs. (Arab Proverb) For nearly 14 centuries, calligraphy has been the most important medium…
August 5, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Amulet 11th Century
Centuries before block printing was introduced in Europe, the technique was used in the Islamic world to produce miniature texts consisting of prayers, incantations, and Qur’anic verses that were kept in amulet boxes….
August 5, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Tools and Materials of the Calligrapher
Beyond the years of training and practice required to master the varied Arabic scripts, calligraphers devoted long hours to producing the pens, inks, and colorants required for their art, and to modifying these…
March 16, 2011 · Siddiqua Shahnawaz
Enduring Forms of Islamic Art: Calligraphy – An Islamic Heritage
By: Siddiqua Shahnawaz Any architectural work has both a functional and an artistic dimension, which are : 1) An immediate physical context that determines the style, and 2) A wider social, cultural…
March 15, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Islamic Calligraphy 1450-1925 A.D.- East
This calligraphic panel is executed in black (Indian) naskh on a pink paper decorated with gold cloud motifs and pasted to a light blue backing. The poem wishes a ruler (nicknamed the…
March 14, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Islamic Calligraphy 1450-1925 – West
Calligraphy from the Ottoman empire and other places in the western Muslim world. This single panel praises Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law ‘Ali and his famous double-edged sword Dhu al-Fiqar. This calligraphic sheet states that…
March 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Islamic Calligraphy – 1250 to 1450 A.D.
Written in a bold muhaqqaq script with the word Allah in gold, this page is from chapter three of the Koran (the House of Imran), verses 79 and 80. The passage stresses…
March 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Islamic Calligraphy – 600 to 1250 A.D.
This fragment includes verses from the 17th chapter of the Koran entitled Bani Isra’il (the Children of Israel) or al-Isra’ (the Night Journey). Calligrapher unknown. 9th century. 7.5 x 4 cm. Kufic…
March 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Haji Noor Deen – a Chinese Muslim Calligrapher
Haji Noor Deen Mi Guang Jiang is a renowned master of Arabic calligraphy. Born in 1963 in Shangdong province, China, he brings an immense learning in traditional thought and Islamic art to…
March 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Arabic Calligraphy – a bit of inspiration
Modern Islamic Calligraphy arabic art Arabic Architecture islamic khatati
contemporary
April 26, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
Around the World with Nusret Colpan
Nusret Çolpan (October 1, 1952 – May 31, 2008) was a Turkish painter, architect and miniaturist, renowned for his paintings in Ottoman miniature style depicting cities around the world, particularly Istanbul. He painted over 300 miniatures in his 30…
November 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
SADEQUAIN’S Calligraphy
Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance, Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Pakistani Awards), also often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a world-renowned Pakistani artist, best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a…
March 13, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Arabic Calligraphy – a bit of inspiration
Modern Islamic Calligraphy arabic art Arabic Architecture islamic khatati
Objects & Ornaments
October 18, 2013 · Marina Alin
Biomorphic patterns in Islamic art – Tracing the origin
Islamic biomorphic patterns are usually called arabesques. The term ‘arabesque’ is relatively new; it came to Europe after Napoleon’s campaign in Africa. “In a broad sense of this term, the arabesque includes ornamentation…
March 30, 2012 · islamic-arts.org Team
The Enamelled Glass, Mosque Lamps
Mosque lamps of glass, enamelled and often with gilding, survive in considerable numbers from the Islamic art of the Middle Ages, especially the 13th and 14th centuries, with Cairo in Egypt and Aleppo and Damascus in Syria as the most important centres of production. These are oil…
October 15, 2011 · Louvre Museum
Safavid Ceramics and Tiles
The complex history of Safavid ceramics is due in part to the geographical position of Persia, placed as it was between the Ottoman Empire, the lands of Uzbek rulers, the Mughal empire and…
October 9, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Art of the Ottomans (before 1600)
At the time of its foundation in the early fourteenth century, the Osmanli or Ottoman state was one among many small principalities that emerged as a result of the disintegration of the Seljuq sultanate…
August 5, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Qur’an case, Nasrid period (1232–1492)
Qur’an case, Nasrid period (1232–1492), second half of 15th century. Spain This small Qur’an case, a quintessential devotional and amuletic object, is inscribed with the Nasrid dynastic emblem: “There is no conqueror but…
August 5, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Amulets and Talismans from the Islamic World
A talisman is any object that is imbued with protective powers, and all cultures have manifestations of such objects. In the world of Islam, they bear Qur’anic inscriptions, astrological signs, and religious narratives….
March 22, 2011 · Foundation For Science Technology and Civisilation
Introduction to Muslim Art and Ornaments
This short article is taken from the full article which is available here as a PDF file Muslim art differs from the art of other cultures in the form and material as well…
March 8, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Doris Dukes Shangri La – Center for Islamic Arts and Culture
The collection at Shangri La consists of about 3,500 objects, within which are several distinct sub-collections that shed light on Islam, Islamic cultures and Islamic art, among other traditions. Below are links to…
March 7, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Early Medieval Dynasties in The West: Fatimids, Ayyubids
As Abbasid authority weakened, the Shi’ite Fatimid dynasty (909−1171)—claiming descent from Fatima, daughter of the Prophet and wife of Ali—rose to power in North Africa. They expanded into Egypt and Syria, and in…
March 7, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
An Italian Portrait of Mehmet–the Conqueror
Invented in Iraq in the ninth century, the luster technique enjoyed long and wide popularity. Egypt, Syria, Iran, and Islamic-controlled Spain all developed important centers for luster production—and so eventually did Renaissance Italy….
March 7, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Mamluk Sultan
For many centuries, metalwork was a leading art form that influenced decoration in other media. Inlay with gold or silver seems to have become common from the twelfth century, spreading westward from Seljuk…
March 7, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
The “LUCK OF EDENHALL”
The beaker was probably made in Aleppo, Syria, but its fame occurred on English soil, where it had been taken by a returning Crusader. The quality of Syrian glass was renowned; in Europe…
Patterns & Geometry
October 13, 2014 · Janet Kozak
Aniconism in Islamic Art
The great majority of visual Islamic Art and Architecture is devoid of the depiction of realistic human and animal figures. But why is this? Why and how does Islam promote aniconism?
May 20, 2012 · Sebastian R. Prange
Tiles of Infinity
When Peter J. Lu visited Uzbekistan as a Harvard University graduate student in 2005, he found himself unexpectedly captivated by the complex tile patterns of a 15-th century Madrasa, or Islamic religious school,…
December 14, 2011 · Najib Gedal
The Great Mosque of Cordoba: Geometric Analysis
Ilm al-Miqdar (The science of proportion) is a body of knowledge concerned principally with the study of spatial order through the measure and relationships of forms. Prior to being considered solely as a…
December 10, 2011 · Louis Werner
Zillij in Fez
Zillij is an Islamic art that is based on learning, discipline, and faith. The geometric patterns reflect the Islamic belief that life is ordered by cosmic intelligence, even if people cannot always understand…
October 17, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
A World of Stars – Decorative Art in Morocco
Eight Pointed Stars This text has been taken from the book Arabesques – decorative art in Morocco by Jean-Marc Caste´ra; Franc¸oise Peuriot; Philippe Ploquin; Kirk McElhearn. Translation from French to English was carried…
September 28, 2011 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Vegetal Patterns in Islamic Art
With the exception of the garden and its usual reference to paradise, vegetal motifs and patterns in Islamic art are largely devoid of symbolic meaning. Vegetal patterns employed alone or in combination with…
September 2, 2011 · islamic-arts.org Team
Paper and Ink Prayer Mat
Made to fit the size of an actual Muslim prayer carpet, this piece is drawn only with black Bic pencils. Painstakingly detailed, it explores different ways and patterns to create a unique whole…
March 25, 2011 · Paul Steinhardt
Medieval Islamic Mosaics and Modern Maths
by Paul J. Steinhardt The swirling Arabesque ceramic tiles used in medieval Islamic mosaics and architecture were produced using geometry not understood in the West until the 1970s, a new study suggests. …
March 15, 2011 · Pattern in Islamic Art
The Evolution of Style
‘One would enquire in vain for the masters who brought this system to its flowering or those who later opened up new ways for its development. This art is totally anonymous and it
