Islamic Art Essay

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Introduction Islamic Art -the term is used to encompass all the arts which were created from the seventh century to the eighteenth century by Muslim and non-Muslim people whom have lived on land influenced by an Islamic ruler and his followers and knowingly used for religious and secular every day purposes. Islamic Art can be also characterised as dynamic art which embraces influences of many cultures from a vast geographical area covering the Atlantic Ocean to India and the border of China. According to the MSN Encarta 2009 edition, the early Islamic Art is based on development of the Roman, Early Christian, and Byzantine styles. The architecture and decorative art of the Islamic world was significantly influenced by Sassanian art which highly inspired Islamic painting. Pottery and textiles were inspired by Chinese art and Central Asian styles brought in with various nomadic incursions. Even with influences by vast diversities and differences, Islamic art still retains its own coherent, distinctive character and culture with its own unique artistic language. As expressed in an article by Zarah Hussain – an Islamic artist: “Art is the mirror of a culture and its world view. The art of the Islamic world reflects its cultural values, and reveals the way Muslims view the spiritual realm and the universe”. In this assessment we focus particular attention to architectural decorative Islamic Art, to reveal meanings conveyed about Islamic society such as Dome of Cordoba mosque-cathedral built in the late early Islamic period (figure 1), and the dome of the Hall of the Two Sisters in the Alhambra Palace built during the medieval Islamic period (figure 2) in Spain. The Cordoba mosque was first built in 786 by by Abd al-Rahman I, when this sultan was trying to recall the Great mosque of history of Damascus as symbol of powerful Umayyad dynasty. Then it was extended in 836 by
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