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CMA: Islamic Art

@cmaislamic.bsky.social

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Sharing public domain works from the Islamic Art department of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social

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CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 2h

Bowl https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.585

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 4h

Mosque Lamp https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.287

These vessels have the shape of glass lamps intended for mosques and tombs, but since they are opaque and could have emitted no light, their function was purely decorative.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 8h

Bowl with Griffin https://clevelandart.org/art/1925.1182

Animated animals such as this griffin and robust palmette scrolls characterize the bold designs that often appear on dark manganese backgrounds in Garrus ware.

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CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 11h

Qur'an Manuscript Folio (verso) https://clevelandart.org/art/1933.494.b

This page features the last eight verses of the Sura al-Sad (named for the arabic letter sad) and the opening verses of the Sura al-Zumar (the Companies); the latter begins:

The sending down of the Book is from God the All-mighty,
the All-wise. We have sent down to thee the Book with the
truth; so worship God, making thy religion His sincerely.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 1d

Princess with Wine Bottle and Cup https://clevelandart.org/art/1947.496.a

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CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 1d

Bowl https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.303

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 1d

Page from a Koran (verso) https://clevelandart.org/art/1993.39.1.b

Because of its connection with the Koran, calligraphy was elevated above all other art forms in the Islamic world. From an awkward and nearly illegible form of writing, Arabic script was transformed during the 600s and 700s to make it worthy of recording the Divine word. By the 800s, Muslim scribes were producing copies of the Koran that were true calligraphic masterpieces. This Koran, written entirely in gold, exemplifies the angular form of writing known as Kufic at its majestic best. The text on the right page is the opening of the Chapter of the Star (53: 1-21), which begins: By the star when it plunges, your comrade is not astray, neither errs, nor speaks he out of caprice. This is naught but a revelation revealed, taught him by one terrible in power, very strong...

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CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 1d

Rustam meets the challenge of Ashkabus, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020) https://clevelandart.org/art/1960.199.b

Iran was losing a battle against Turan and the armies of its assembled allies from India and China. The hero Rustam arrived to pull the Iranian army back from the brink of destruction, slaying the enemy warrior Ashkabus on foot while allowing his horse Rakhsh to rest after a long, hard journey. The vast number of armies involved in the battle is indicated by the many banners that extend beyond the illustration’s top border. This painting was probably produced at Shiraz, one of Iran’s major cultural centers, far to the south of the Safavid capital of Tabriz. Artists and works of art moved back and forth steadily between Shiraz and the Deccan in southwestern India during the 1500s and 1600s.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 2d

Page from a Koran (verso) https://clevelandart.org/art/1933.488.b

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 2d

Rustam's seventh course: He kills the White Div, folio 124 from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934-1020) https://clevelandart.org/art/1988.96

This spectacular painting, both lyrical and fierce, comes from one of the greatest Iranian manuscripts ever produced. The royal copy of the national Iranian epic, the Shahnama, or Book of Kings, was made for Shah Tahmasp during the 1520s and 1540s. The book was even acclaimed in its own day for "the coloring and the portraiture" found in its 258 paintings. The lengendary hero Rustam, identified by his tiger-skin clothing, kills the savage chief of the demons, the White Div, in an immense cave, as other demons watch from above. Completing this last of seven trials, Rustam uses the White Div's blood to cure the Iranian king Kay Kavus of his blindness. The painting is set in a spectacular spring landscape with blossoming trees and brilliantly colored rocks that bend like spectators: They wrestled, tearing out each other's flesh, Till all the ground was puddled with their blood... [Rustam] reached out, clutched the Div, raised him neck-high, And dashed the life-breath from him on the ground, Then with a dagger stabbed him to the heart And plucked the liver from his swarthy form: The carcass filled the cave, and all the world Was like a sea of blood...

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 2d

Qur'an Manuscript Folio (verso); Text Page https://clevelandart.org/art/1924.746.2.b

The sending down of the Book is from God the All-mighty, the All-wise. Surah XXXIX: 1-3 The Qur'an is the sacred book of Islam. In the view of orthodox Muslims, it is the literal word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) in the Arabic language, and thus, recorded in the Arabic script. Because of its association with the divine word, Arabic calligraphy came to be a supreme art form in the Islamic world. As the quintessential symbol of the culture, it became a pervasive decorative element in Islamic art and architecture. Although secondary to calligraphy, a splendid tradition of illumination --that is, ornamentation with colors and gold-- developed to enhance the pages of the Qur'an. Because of the prestige associated with the book arts in the Islamic world, the decorative motifs employed by illuminators (scrolling vines, blossoms, lozenges, adn cartouches) found their way into other art forms, for example, metalwork, textiles, and carpets.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 2d

Text Page, Persian Verses (Recto); The Fortieth Year of King Kisra Nushirwan's Reign. The Story of Buzrgmihr. "Kisra Nushirwan questions Buzurghmihr" in the manuscript of Shahnama of Firdawsi. https://clevelandart.org/art/1959.330.a

Mongol interest in the production of illustrated manuscripts evenutally focused on Persian epic poetry. The Shahnama, a compilation of the epics and tales of Iran's legendary heroes, was a natural choice; the book included many subjects that suited Mongol taste, such as banquets, battles, hunting, and magical or fantastic events. Seated on the throne in the center of the painting is the Sasanian ruler of Iran, Khusraw I Anushirwan (531–579), descendant of Bahram Gur (seen killing a dragon in CMA 1943.658). Above the king's head an inscription reads, "Picture of Nushirwan the Just." The figure in the elaborate turban to the left of the king is probably the young Minister Buzurgmihr, famous for his wisdom and virtue. To celebrate the explanation of a troublesome dream by Buzurgmihr, Nushirwan held a series of seven banquets. The text around this painting describes the fifth banquet.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 3d

Yusuf and Zulaykha (Recto); Illustration and Text (Persian Verses) in an Anthology with some verses from Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) of Jami; The Fifth Throne https://clevelandart.org/art/1947.501.a

The Khamsa, a suite of five poems (khamsa is Arabic for five) written in the twelfth century, was, like the earlier Shahnama, concerned with the history and legends of pre-Islamic Iran. But Nizami's interest was with love rather than war. In this, the second of the poems, he tells the story of these two famous star-crossed lovers. It is difficult to assign the illustrations here to specific episodes, but they may be concerned with Khusro's stay at the court of Shirin's aunt, the Queen of Azarbaijan. Shirin and her companions prepare bowls of pomegranates in a courtyard before the palace.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 3d

Text Page, Persian Prose, (verso), from Majmac al-Tavarikh (A Compendium of Histories) of Hafiz-i Abru https://clevelandart.org/art/1931.452.b

These two pages are from a manuscript that evidently was written and illustrated for the library in Herat of the Timurid king Shah Rukh, the son of Timur (Tamerlane). The <em>Majma' al-Tawarikh</em> traced the history of the world, beginning with the prophets of the Old Testament until the reign of Shah Rukh.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 3d

Qur'an Manuscript Folio (verso) https://clevelandart.org/art/1933.481.b

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 3d

Illuminated Folio (recto) from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213-1291) https://clevelandart.org/art/2006.148.a

The <em>Gulistan, </em>completed around 1258, is one of the most celebrated works of Persian literature. The book’s name means “rose garden” in Persian; just as a rose garden is a collection of flowers, the contents are a collection of anecdotes. Written in both prose and verse, the <em>Gulistan </em>was used for centuries as a primer for schoolchildren in greater Iran, India, and Turkey. The text on these pages is written in <em>nastaliq </em>script and comes from the first chapter, “On the Conduct of Kings.”<br><br>The exquisite borders of these two folios show lions, dragons, foxes, and peacocks in a lush landscape, painted in gold and silver that has tarnished over time.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 4d

Casket https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.652

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 4d

Text Page, Arabic Prose (verso) Text from The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (Automata) of Inb al-Razza al-Jazari https://clevelandart.org/art/1945.383.b

The Arabic title of this work is <em>Kitab fi ma'rifat al-hiyal al handasiyya</em> (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices). According to the description of the device illustrated here, the peacock is filled with water: as it flows into the vessel below, it raises a float that opens a door in the section above, causing the little figure to move forward offering soap; as more water flows, a second door will open and another figure will move forward offering a towel. Finally, the dirty water is drawn off by means of a spigot.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 4d

Youth Seated by a Willow; Single Page Illustration https://clevelandart.org/art/1947.499

Single polychrome paintings of elegantly clad youth were produced in considerable number during the 1600s, primarily for people with means who collected them and had them mounted in albums. Instead of functioning as portraits, the images of these courtly figures express ideals of youth and beauty. This young man’s lavish sash and turban enriched with costly gold thread proclaim his high status.

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CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 4d

Nushirwan Listens to the Owls (recto): Illustration and Text, Persian Verses, from a Manuscript of the Khamsa of Nizami, Makhzan al-Asrar [Treasure of Secrets] https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.487.a

This scene is from the Makhzan al-Ashrar, the first of the Quintet. Although more historically oriented than the following poems, it served more as a vehicle for moralizing tales than for historical events. In this scene Nushirwan asks the sage Buzurgmihr to explain what the owls perched on a ruined building are saying. He explains that one owl is offering the other as many ruined cities as he likes in exchange for his daughter's hand. He thus reproves Nushirwan for his love of conquest and war and the consequent destruction of many cities.

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CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 5d

Jug https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.22

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 5d

Qur'an Manuscript Folio (recto) https://clevelandart.org/art/1933.494.a

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 5d

Balustrade Fragment with Animals https://clevelandart.org/art/1938.15

This architectural relief shows a lion attacking a bull surrounded by other predators pursuing their prey, with scrolling vegetal motifs filling the spaces between. Scenes of powerful predators in the act of hunting and capturing other animals echo the royal imagery of pre-Islamic Iran.<br><br>This piece was part of a balustrade in a private home; the owner and construction date are known from another fragment from the same building. The building was embellished when the Mongols controlled Iran, and the relief shows a continuity in style from carvings made during the preceding Turkic Seljuk period (1037–1194). Under Turkic and Mongol rule in Iran, Islamic injunctions against making figural imagery were loosened.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 5d

Albarello Jar with an Aphorism https://clevelandart.org/art/1996.298

Arabic inscriptions do not usually enhance albarellos, pottery jars for pharmacists. Here the elegant text reads: "Modesty [comes] from faith, and faith [comes] from Paradise," attributed to the Prophet Muhammad.

CMA: Islamic Art @cmaislamic.bsky.social · 6d

Demon in chains https://clevelandart.org/art/1982.63