WA 0 / ]: I \itfVi-wAs.fi*% •42 m ..» A G H E • Sivas ___ f—^ ikhchi • Maranc igjarBakr / .Tabr Kaifa, *" ^•Mara Hamad! Nihav^K""» Damascus y anabad *""$ !—•xasH"s?r ^JZGeronW a "-agi„a. .Lerida Si /* "amanca v ® Madrid 'Wo. p-^Cirenca THE NEAR AND •ranad MIDDLE EAST • KairwanU ^ With an insert Map of Hal 'at Beni Hammad j MaUya> SPAIN and NORTH AFRICA O 50 100 200 300 40O 500 . 600 70O 800 R STATUTE MILES / °' e c o KILOMETERS 9 Ma rralcesh I \1940 TLBULLOCK ^JXancvook or aJvv ij> By M. S. DIMAND, Ph. D. Curator of Near Eastern Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art SECOND EDITION Revised and Enlarged x947 HARTSDALE HOUSE NEW YORK J947 HARTSDALE HOUSE, INC. Copyright i()jj by The Metropolitan Museum of .Art Printed in the United States of America 4pt-efretac, e The first edition of this handbook was issued in 1930 under the title A Handbook of Mohammedan Decorative Arts. Since then the Metropolitan's collection of Muhammadan art has been enriched by numerous important acquisitions and today it ranks as one of the foremost in the world. In the present edi­ tion the handbook has been revised and brought up to date in the light of recent research and excavations, particularly those at Ctesiphon and Nishapur, undertaken by the Metropolitan Museum. For better understanding of Muhammadan art, a new chapter on "The Origins of Islamic Art," dealing with East Christian (including Coptic), Parthian, and Sasanian art, has been added. Like the first edition, this new one is the onlv guide to Muhammadan art in the English language and will be useful to students and collectors as well as to visitors to the Museum. Owing to the constant growth of the collection and probable future rearrangements of the galleries, it has seemed undesirable to give this handbook the form of a descriptive "case to case" guide of each gallery. The representative character of the Museum's collection is evident from the fact that all illustrations in the handbook have been selected from our own material. The foundation of the collection was laid many years ago, in 1891, when the bequest of Edward C. Moore brought to the Museum its first important representation of Near Eastern art, including a magnificent group of enameled glass and a large collection of silver-inlaid mctalwork. A notable group of Turkish ceramics was pre­ sented by W. B. Osgood Field in 1902. The Persian illuminated books and single miniatures given to the Museum in 1913 by Alexander Smith Cochran greatly enlarged our collection in this field. In 1914 the Altman Bequest brought to the Museum many magnificent rugs and other specimens of Islamic art, and these were supplemented in 1917, through the bequest of Isaac D. Fletcher, by a splendid group of Iranian pottery and fine examples of rugs. The gift of the Morgan Collection in 1917 enriched the Museum with a large and important group of enameled mosque lamps, rare carved ivories, and Indian rugs. Other important miniatures and ceramics came through the bequest of W. M. Grinnell in 1920. Particularly noteworthy was the gift of the James F. Ballard Collection of oriental rugs in 1922. Welcome gifts or bequests have also been received, among others, from Henry G. Marquand, V. Evcrit Macy, George D. Pratt, Horace Havcmcycr, Henry Walters, Edward C. Moore, Jr., and George Blumcnthal. The author wishes to thank Hannah E. McAllister of the Department of Near Eastern Art for her assistance in the preparation of the text and in the reading of the proof and Walter Ilauscr and Charles K. Wilkinson, also of that depart­ ment, for many valuable suggestions. The design on the cover was made by Charles K. Wilkinson, the decorative map on the end papers by Randolph Bullock. M. S. DIM AND. April, 1944. e onieni$ PACK PREFACE iii CHAPTER I. Historical Introduction 1 CHAPTER II. The Origins of Islamic Art 7 CHAPTER III. Wall Painting and Miniature Painting 21 1. Umayyad and Abbasid Paintings (VIII-X Century) 21 2. The Mesopotamia!! School of Painting (XIII Century) 25 3. Saljuk Painting in Iran (XII-XIII Century) 28 4. Hie Mongol School of Painting in Iran and Mesopotamia (Late XIII-XIV Century) 28 5. The Timurid School of Painting in Iran (XV Century) 35 6. Bihzad and His School 41 7. The Safavid School of Painting (XVI Century) 44 8. The School of Bukhara (XVI Century) 51 9. Safavid Painting of the Shah 'Abbas Period and Later (Late XVI-XVIII Century) 53 10. Turkish Miniature Painting 55 11. Indian Painting: The Mughal School 57 A. Periods of Babur (1526-30), Humayun (1530-56), and Akbar (1556-1605) 57 B. Period of Jahangir (1605-28) 62 c. Periods of Shah Jahan (1628-58) and Aurangzib (1658-1707) 64 12. Indian Painting: The Rajput School 65 CHAPTER IV. Calligraphy and Illumination 67 CHAPTER V. Bookbinding 79 CHAPTER VI. Sculpture in Stone and Stucco 85 1. Umayyad and Abbasid Sculpture in Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Iran (VIII-X Century) 85 2. Saljuk Sculpture in Iran (XI-XIII Century) 91 3- Saljuk Sculpture in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Asia Minor (XI-XIII Century) 4. Stone Sculpture of the Caucasus 5. Mongol Stone and Stucco Sculpture in Iran (Mid-XIII-XIV Century) 6. Fatimid Sculpture in Egypt (X-XII Century) 7. Ayyubid and Mamluk Sculpture in Egypt and Syria (Late XII-XV Century) 8. Moorish Sculpture in Spain and North Africa CHAPTER VII. Wood Caning 1. Umayyad and Abbasid Wood Carving (VII-X Century) 2. Fatimid Wood Caning in Egypt and Syria (X-XII Century) 3. Ayyubid and Mamluk Wood Caning in Syria and Egypt (XII-XV Century) 4. Early Islamic Wood Carving in Iran and Turkestan (X-XI Century) 5. Saljuk Wood Caning in Iran and Asia Minor (XI-XIII Century) 6. Mongol and Timurid Wood Carving in Iran and Turkestan (XIV-XV Century) 118 7. Safavid Wood Carving in Iran (XVI-XVIII Century) 121 8. Moorish Wood Caning in Spain and North Africa 123 CHAPTER VIII. Ivory and Bone Carving 124 1. Umayyad and Abbasid Ivory and Bone Carving (VII-X Century) 124 2. Fatimid Ivory and Bone Caning in Egypt (X-XII Century) 124 3. Ayyubid and Mamluk Ivorv and Bone Caning in Egvpt (XIII-XIV Century) 125 4. Moorish Ivory Carving in Spain 126 5. Ivory Oliphants and Caskets from Southern Italy 128 6. Sicilian Ivories with Painted Decoration 12? 7. Intarsia and Marquetry 129 CHAPTER IX. Metalwork 132 VI i. Early Islamic Metalwork of Iran (VII-IX Century) 132 2. Saljuk Metalwork of Iran (XI-XIII Century) 135 A. Bronzes with Relief Decoration and Engraving 136 B. Bronzes with Silver and Copper Inlay 138 3. Saljuk Metalwork of Mesopotamia and the School of Mosul (XIII Century) 144 4. Fatimid Metalwork of Egypt (X-XII Century) 147 5. Ayyubid Metalwork of Syria and Egypt (XIII Century) 148 6. Mamluk Metalwork of Svria and Egypt (Second Half of the XIII to the XV Century) 149 7. Metalwork with the Names of the Rasulid Sultans of Yemen (XIII-XIV Century) 151 8. Mongol Metalwork of Iran (Mid-XIII—XV Century) 152 9. Safavid Metalwork of Iran (XVI-XVIII Century) 154 10. Venetian Metalwork (XV-XVI Century) 155 11. Moorish Metalwork of Spain and North Africa 156 12. Indian Metalwork 157 13. Arms and Armor 157 CHAPTER X. Ceramics 158 1. The Ceramic Art of the Umayyad and Abbasid Periods in Iran and Mesopotamia (VIII-X Century) 158 A. Pottery with Relief Decoration and Monochrome Glazes 159 B. Pottery with Incised Decoration and Colored Glazes 160 c. Pottery with Painted Decoration 163 D. Pottery with Undcrglaze Painting 164 i:. Pottery with Painted Luster Decoration 167 E. Pottery with Overglaze Decoration 171 G. Unglazed Pottery 171 2. Saljuk Pottery of Iran (XI-XIII Century) 173 A. Pottery with Incised, Caned, and Painted Decoration 173 B. Pottery and Tiles with Painted Luster Decoration 179 c. Pottery with Polychrome Overglaze Decoration 186 3- Saljuk Pottery of Rakka and Rusafa (XII-XIII Century) 189 4. Unglazed Pottery of the Saljuk Period (XI-XIII Century) - 192 5. Ceramic Art of the Mongol Period in Iran (XIII-XIV Century) 194 A: Faience Mosaic 203 6. Ceramic Art of the Timurid Period in Iran (XV Century) 205 7. Ceramic Art of the Safavid Period in Iran (XVI-XVIII Century) 207 A. Semiporcelains 207 B. Pottery with Luster Decoration 208 c. Ceramics with Painted Decoration 209 D. So-called Kubatcha Pottery 211 8. Tulunid Pottery of Egypt (IX Century) 212 9. Fatimid Pottery of Egypt and Syria (X-XII Century) 213 10. Ayyubid and Mamluk Pottery of Egvpt and Svria (XII-XV Century) 215 ii. Ceramic Art of Turkey 219 A. Ceramic Art of Asia Minor (XIV-XVII Century) 220 B. Ceramic Art of Syria (XVI-XVIII Century) 223 12. Hispano-Moresquc Pottery 226 CHAPTER XI. Glass and Crystal 230 1. Early Islamic Glass of Egypt, Svria, Mesopotamia, and Iran" (VII-X Century) 230 2. Eatimid Glass and Crystal of Egypt and Svria (X-XII Centurv) 233 3. Ayyubid and Mamluk Enameled and Gilt Glass of Svria and Egypt (XII-XV Century) 236 4. Iranian Glass of the XVII to the XIX Century 248 CHAPTER XII. Textiles 249 1. Abbasid and Tulunid Textiles of Egypt (VIII-X Century) 249 A. Textiles with Tapestry-woven Decoration in Polychrome Wool and Linen 250 B. Textiles with Tapestry-woven and Embroidered Decoration in Silk 251 2. Fatimid Textiles of Egypt (Late X-XII Century) 253 3. Abbasid and Fatimid Textiles with Painted and Printed Decoration 255 4. Ayyubid and Mamluk Textiles (Late XII-XIV Century) 256 5.