Essay on Progression Of Islamic Art - 1296 Words

There exist three basic components of traditional Islamic art: calligraphy, geometric patterns, and floral and vegetal motifs. These three stylistic tools are beautifully rendered and masterfully integrated into complex works of art, but there is no question that artistic expression is severely limited under these categorizations. However, this limitation stems from Islamic theology and concept of art. The main reason for the limitation imposed on visual art is the Islamic theological prohibition of figural imagery. Social laws presented in the Hadith prevented the representation of figures because any imitation was deemed idolatrous. Also, art is considered to be decorative and imitative. Script and patterns are used to decorate†¦show more content†¦The miniatures serve the traditional Islamic functions of art of ornamentation and imitation. Oddly enough, the miniatures are second imitations; they are the imitation of the scribed words, which in turn imitate the actual lege ndary event. The Arabic words are the most important artistic representation of the page. The word is the substance of the book; the attached miniatures are merely pictorial representations of the written story. This subjugation of the picture to the word is physically demonstrated, for the text on the page, in the same fashion of all the pages in the Shahnama, is placed above the miniature. This placement has theological implications. In Islam, Arabic text is considered the literal word of God for the Qur’an was revealed in Arabic. So, if the word of Allah is reflected in the symbols of Arabic script, then symbolically Allah is manifested in the text. This is consistent within popular Islamic thought. Walter Denny writes that objects were decorated with sacred script for it was thought to â€Å"invoke good wishes on the owners of pottery and metalwork, and kept the evil eye from thresholds and hearths.† Consequently, Allah is present in the â€Å"Sufarai† minia ture not through a figural image, for that would extremely blasphemous, but through the written text. This is similar to the western tradition of using mysterious or divine light to represent God without aShow MoreRelatedIslams Influences on the Modern World1422 Words   |  6 PagesEurope is the Islamic. Islam directly translates to â€Å"submission†. It is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion, as well as an empire, (which is focused in the Middle East and Northern Africa). Islam is currently the second most practiced religion globally. 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