Within the world
of Islamic art, illustrated manuscripts play an important role in the dissemination
of the knowledge of the Muslim culture. Not only were these manuscripts tomes
of information which told the tales of both the history and the myths of the
Muslim world but they were lavish pieces of illustrative craftsmanship. In this
paper I will argue that through the merging of both the written word and
illustration that the creators of these manuscripts produced a unique form of
literature. Although, the written word combined with stylized illustrations is
prevalent throughout the history of the Muslim culture, some periods of Islamic
history are known for profound changes in style and production of illuminated
manuscripts.
Although there are
isolated cases of illustrated Qur’ans from the Umayyad period (Dutton, Journal
of Qur'anic Studies), it is in the Abbasid period (750 to 1258 AD), where we
encounter a formalization of style for presenting calligraphy. Before the
Abbasid period, we find early examples of Hijazi script being used to create
the Qur’an. From these early examples, we find irregular letterforms, uneven
lines of text, small examples of illumination and a simple lack of effort to
focus on the general aesthetics of these manuscripts. Within the Abbasid
period, this indifference to the visual affect was replaced by a more
disciplined approach. Horizontal sheets, made of parchment, were often filled
with no more than four lines of text. This practice led to very large Qur’ans.
These Qur’ans often reached a size of 30 or even 60 volumes. Extremely stylized
letters would be spaced so as to intentionally slow the reader’s eyes. Through
the use of extension and contradiction, calligraphers would be able to balance
the words on the page in a compositionally pleasing manner. These attributes
are evident in the Koran leaf with sura (chapter) heading in gold, parchment, perhaps 90th
century, Iraq (Hillenbrand).
During the 12th
and 13th centuries the major center of book painting was Iraq.
During the Seljuq period, the verse romance Varqa
va Gulshah, written in Persian by the poet ‘Ayyuqi and signed by the
painter Abd al-Mu’min al-Khuyi is a good example of the manuscripts produced
during this time. The manuscript has 70 brightly colored illustrations in strip
format against a plain colored or patterned background. The paintings are
supported by a concise storyline which is supported by intricate iconography
where animals represent such features as watchfulness, fidelity, treachery and
courage (Hillenbrand).
In 13th
century Syria and Iraq, we find the first “golden age” of Islamic manuscripts. Although,
up to this point, most of the high grade illuminations were found in the
religious world, the secular manuscripts came of age during this period. The
idea that illustrations merged with text could be fun seems to stem from this
period of time. During this time the world began to turn towards works of
literature or belles-lettres, which
were cherished simply for their entertainment value (Hillenbrand).
During this time, The Maqamat (assemblies) of al-Hariri (D.
1120) was a popular work. The Maqamat
was a collection of stories comprised of 50 episodes chronicling the escapades
of a con man named Abu Zaid. The main characters cunningness relied on his use
of the Arabic language. The varied settings in which our protagonist finds
himself in lends the artists the chance to produce scenes of both realistic and
fantastic settings. Its illustrations were filled with life. From scenes of
husbands and wives bickering, drunkards in taverns to musicians strumming lutes
the artists visually let us into scenes of intrigue, fraud and drama
(Hillenbrand).
It was fashionable
to own one of these works. If one would not gain enjoyment from reading it, one
can simply gain some enjoyment from looking at the pictures. In this work the
use of bright colors, strong, dramatic profile poses and simple symmetrical
compositions help in the overall effectiveness. In a sense, this work is one of
the earliest coffee-table books (Hillenbrand).
Although during
the Mamluk period we find little accomplishments in the secular world of
manuscript creation, we find some of the most stunning examples of illuminated Qur’ans
in the history of Islamic art. These Koran’s were commonly donated by the
patron to the local mosques where they would be displayed. These endowments
served as a proclamation of the patron’s piety. Some patrons would even go as
far as to copy out of the Koran with their own hand. These Koran’s were of a
grand scale, with some being of 30 volumes, at times each page containing no
more than three lines. These pages would be gilded with gold and embellished
between vegetal scrolls. (Hillenbrand).
In 1507 the
Safavid Empire captured the city of Herat. Now the Timurid library and its
craftsman were under Safavid control. These spoils were relocated to the new
capital of Tabriz, under the control of shah isma’il I. During this time, the
masterpiece known as the Shahnama-yi
shahi (the King’s book of Kings, formally known as the Houghton Shahnama) was produced. The shahnama contained 258 paintings and is
regarded as the most richly illustrated shahnama
in all of Persian history. This book has been termed “a portable art gallery”
because all of the best painters of that time contributed work to it (Hillenbrand).
Throughout this
investigation of illuminated manuscripts within the Muslim culture I have
created a chronological journey from the beginnings of the culture. Although
each period has attributed something to the evolution of this art form, a few
attributes seem consistent. One is the evolution of the art of calligraphy.
Throughout this investigation we see how the written word has changed and
evolved throughout the ages, by the changing of language and the stylization of
different scripts. We also witness the evolution of illustrative embellishments
and pictorial representations.
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