Islam Art and Architecture Questions

Strong answers will include 1. a description of the object/monument, 2. some context for it, and 3. a clear and convincing response to the question.

1. Architecture of the Early Period

Using one of the following two examples, describe how Early Islamic architecture communicated religious and non-religious messages to its viewers:

a. The Dome of the Rock

b. The Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus  

2. Architecture of the Middle Period 

Using one of the following two examples, describe how Middle Islamic architecture/architectural decoration draws meaning from its political or intellectual context.

a. Muqarnas Dome, Alhambra 

b. Sultan Hasan complex

3. Early Islamic Arts of the Book

Using one of the following two examples, describe the way in which  Arabic calligraphy and other aspects of book design produce specific meanings for readers over and above the meanings of the words on the page. 

a.   Dublin Qu’ran page

b.  Harvard Blue Qu’ran

4. Early Islamic Textiles

Using one of the following two examples, describe the significance of Early Islamic textiles for historians of Islamic art.

a.  Zandaniji silk

b.  Tiraz silks

5. Characteristics of Islamic Art 

In their Chapter “Pots, Pans and Pitchers: The Decorative Arts” (Chpt. 4) Bloom and Blair identify four characteristics of Islamic art in general, that are visible in the objects on slide #13 (two earthenware dishes and an incense burner). The characteristics are: surface decoration; layering; ambiguity; transfer of motifs. Choose one of these four characteristics and provide two illustrations for it from anywhere in the textbook’s first five Chapters. Compare and contrast these two illustrations in order to answer the following question: What meanings can be assigned to your chosen objects on the basis of the characteristic they share?