Transcript Arts of Islam and Africa

Bell Ringer
What does the word Islam mean?
 What is the Islam Holy Book called?

Arts of Islam and Africa
Islam
Islam- Arabic for “submission”, meaning
submission to God
 According to Islamic belief, God who
spoke through prophets as Abraham,
Moses, and Jesus spoke directly to
humanity for the last time. Through the
angel Gabriel He revealed His word to
the Prophet Muhammad.
 Muhammad began to preach and became
their leader- Muslims

Architecture
Mosque- place for worship or “bowing
down”
 Built of sun-dried brick around a central
courtyard
 Mosques and prayers always face the city
of Mecca
 Ex. The Congregational Mosque at
Kairouan, in Tunisia- based on Roman and
Byzantine architecture

Minaret

Large tower over the entry of the
courtyard
Byzantine Mosaics
Mosaics in a Byzantine church would
depict Jesus, Mary, and saints but in these
mosques there were none of these at all.
 The Qur’an contains a stern warning
against the worship of idols and in time
they were forbidden all together.
 Islamic patrons focused on geometric
patterns and stylized plant forms-curving
tendrils, stems, foliage, and flowers

Persian architecture
New form of mosque
 Iwan- served to mark the entry to a royal
reception hall in Persian palaces
 Used glazed tile for Mosaic art
 Ex. Taj Mahal, Friday Mosque Isfahan, Shah
Mosque Isfahan

Taj Mahal
Friday Mosque
Shah Mosque
Book Art
Calligraphy became the most highly
regarded art in Islam.
 The Qur’an was never illustrated with
images, instead used geometric patterns
and stylized plant forms, just as they did
with mosques.
 Ex. Ahmad al-Suhrawardi- page from the
Qur’an

Islamic painting
Books were the major outlet for painters
in Islamic culture
 Worked with fine pigments and brushes
that tapered to a single hair
 Ex. Bahram Gur and the Princess in the
Black Pavilion

Arts of Daily Life
Carpets and textiles were important in
Islamic art
 Ex. Ardabil carpet (Persian textile)

Ceramic Art
Underglazed and painted
 Mosque lamp- found in the Dome of the
Rock mosque in Jerusalem, Isnik

Arts of Africa

It challenges us to expand our ideas about
what art is, what forms it can take, the
impulses it springs from, and what
purpose they serve.
Africa
Kush- most famous Nubian kingdom
 The Pyramid of Queen Amanishakhetogold with glass inlay ornament
 2.5 inches tall

Kings of Africa
Traditionally each king dedicated an altar
to his father
 Ovanramwen
 1. brass statue of a king with 2 attendants
next to him
 2. brass bells are also displayed
 3. four large brass sculptures each capped
by an elephant tusk

The Asante Kingdom
Gold was the measure of wealth for the
Akan, and kings.
 Precious metals were made to be worn
by these kings as a sign of their divine
authority and absolute power.

Kente cloth

A brilliantly colored and patterned fabric
that became the royal cloth
Primordial Couple
Dogon people
 Gender role sculpture
 Wood and metal
 A couple seated side by side in an
abstract manner almost mirroring each
other
 Family oriented people

Minkisi
“medicine” containers that hold materials
that allow a ritual specialist to harness the
powers of the dead in the service of the
living
 Ex. nkondi- statue of a ferocious hunter
that punishes and hunts witches and
wrongdoers

Masquerade
Means a full costume, including a face
covering or mask
 The great African art of spiritual agency,
and perhaps the greatest of all African art.
 Involving sculpture, costume, music, and
movement
 Contacts spirits and brings them into the
community

Masks
Ex. Nowo- helmet mask that was the
guiding spirit of a Temne women’s
organization called Bondo, which
regulates affairs.
 Bondo- prepares young girls for initiation
into adult status so they can be presented
to the community as fully mature women.

Ijele
Most honored mask of the Igbo people of
Nigeria
 Means fluid and layered
 Appears at funerals of important men
 Great tree of meaning-of life itselfappearing briefly in the human community

African artists
Olowe of Ise (1875-1938)- was an
innovative Yoruba artist who lived in
Nigeria during the colonial era.
 His style of carving included figures that
had active poses appearing energetic and
fully animated.

Masks