Ch24: The Development of Islamic Art in North Africa, West Asia, and Central Asia (600 – 1000)
Fill in the blanks to complete the passage. Refer to these images.
Abbasid architectural ornamentation had a lasting effect on Islamic art. Walls could also be ornamented with patterns impressed or carved in stucco. The patterns include plant-inspired shapes, curving lines, and repeated geometric shapes—all of which are nonrepresentational. Interior spaces could be further embellished with textiles, whether rugs on the floors or draperies on the walls. The fragment shown here has a pattern of medallions inset with equestrian kings with falcons in their hands.
Who is represented in this stucco portrait sculpture?
An Umayyad prince
Fill in the blanks to complete the passage. Refer to this image
Arabic is written only in cursive, and letters appear differently depending on their place within a word. In Arabic script, letters represent eighteen of twenty-eight sounds. The remaining sounds are indicated by diacritical marks, such as dashes and dots, which appear above or below letters. This example of Arabic writing uses Kufic calligraphy for a page from the Qur'an.
At the Great Mosque of al-Mutawakkil, what purpose does the tower with the ramp wrapping around it serve?
A call to prayer maybe issued from there
Fill in the blanks to complete the passage. Refer to these images.
The Dome of the Rock is the third most holy site in Islam—the other two are the Ka'ba in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. This monument, commissioned by 'Abd al-Malik, who held the title of caliph, adopts earlier artistic traditions. The central plan follows Roman and Christian precedents such as the Pantheon and Santa Costanza, respectively.
Fill in the blanks to complete the passage. Refer to this image.
The central practices for Muslims are called the Five Pillars of Islam. They are the profession of faith; praying five times daily toward the Ka'ba in Mecca; giving a percentage of income to charity; fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan; and, if able, performing the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in one's lifetime.
Besides the name of the calligrapher, Ibn al-Bawwab, what additional information about this Qur'an is given by the colophon page?
The date
Islam is an Abrahamic faith, meaning that it—like Judaism and Christianity—recognizes Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, as the first monotheist.
True
The Arabic language gained a new, sacred status after the founding of Islam because it is the language of the Qur'an.
True
Fill in the blanks to complete the passage. Refer to these images.
Using the Blue Qur'an as an example, we could define Islamic art as art related to the religion of Islam, but that definition would not include the stoneware bowl. Even though the bowl bears ornamental Kufic script, something it shares with the Blue Qur'an, the bowl is not religious. Another definition of Islamic art sees Islam as referring to both a religion and a culture. This definition refers not only to art made between the seventh and nineteenth centuries in the regions of North Africa, West Asia, and Central Asia, but also to art made during the Muslim dynasties of Spain and India.
