[Islam-Online- Art]

The following discussion characterizes inscriptions and ornamentation, which are the dual components of mosque surface arts. It deals with such topics as the themes of calligraphic inscriptions, the options of Kuµfic and cursive scripts used, the dedicated agents of ornamentation (geometry, arabesque, and polychromy), and the effect of the architectural spatial context both on the locational deployment of surface arts and on the potential engendering of three-dimensional plastic schemes of ornamentation.
The themes conveyed by inscription and celebrated by ornamentation vary. Conceivably, many themes were derived from and communicated through the language of the Qur'an. The choice of the verse or phrases to be displayed correlate well with the intended message and nature of the building part on which the message would appear. This feature is evident on numerous components and objects of the mosque, such as the minaret, mihrabs, domes, and even glass light lamps. For example, the shahaµdah (profession of faith) often appears at the top of minarets.47 The mihrab phrase of Qur'an 3:37 adorns the surface of many mihrabs,48 as does the Verse of the Throne (2:225), which exalts the attributes of God.49 Light, a very recurring theme in the Qur'an, graces medieval mihrabs through text from the Qur'an's Suµrat al Nuµr (the Chapter of Light) inscribed around or within the mihrab niche.50 The same verse also graces mosque lamps made of Syrian glass.51 The basmalah, the opening phrase of every Qur'anic suµrah except one, is found in great abundance on a variety of locations within the mosque.
In addition to the Qur'anic text, glorious names and patronage phrases appear throughout in the mosque. The names of God, the prophet Muhammad, and the Rightly Guided Caliphs occupy, often separately, conspicuous positions on surfaces. The names of 'AlEµ and H\usayn, rather than those of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, dominate ShEµ'Eµ sanctuaries.52 Oftentimes, inscriptions depict historical information concerning patronage, the date of construction, and other facts.53
Mosque surface epigraphy employed a repertoire of contemporary Kuµfic and cursive scripts that had already burgeoned on the pages of the Qur'an or the surfaces of existing buildings. Indeed, the cursive scripts actually reach their apex in mosque applications.54 The ever-developing nature of this repertoire put at the inscriber's disposal a growing number of scripts that could be for diverse applications. Inscribers chose from the arrays of Kuµfic and cursive scripts and applied them individually or in combination to building interiors and exteriors. For example, "ornamental" Kuµfic inscriptions are the sole adornments of the stucco mihrab found in the Mosque of Ibn T\uµluµn (1094) at Fust\aµt\, Egypt.55 This same type of script surrounds mihrabs in the Great Mosque of Co?rdoba (began 786) and the mosque of the Aljaferia Palace in Zaragoza (second half of the eleventh century).56 One of the earliest applications of cursive inscriptions belongs to the early Umayyad Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Here, a band of Thuluth fine script crowns the eight-sided exterior wall, and a similar Thuluth band above the springing of the dome encircles the round drum.57 Another striking example of a dominant cursive script in stucco work is found in the Il-Khaµnid mihrab of Uljaytu (1310), located in the Jaµmi' Mosque of Is\fahaµn, Iran.58
Cursive and Kuµfic inscriptions coalesced to engender large numbers of calligraphic patterns, with the Kuµfic component often fusing an orthodox character to the composition. The inscriptions on the dome of the S\afavid Masjid-i Shaµh (c. 1613) in Is\fahaµn integrate not only types but also levels of inscriptions.59 The dominant inscription band on the drum located just below the dome base displays JalEµ Thulth, and the lower bands depict square ornamental Kuµfic praising the Prophet and glorifying the power and unity of God. A second and more subtle level of inscription occupies the background of the lower bands without encroaching on the visual integrity of the principal script. A more ornamental scheme of composite calligraphy in brickwork bands rises high on the exterior wall of Arahi-DEµn-ka-Jhonpra Mosque in Ajmer, India (c. 1200). Here, the first band of knotted and foliated Kuµfic juxtaposes two parallel bands below Indian Thuluth, and all inscriptions project out to add a bold three-dimensional, plastic quality.60
Regardless of the theme sought or the script elected, calligraphic inscriptions almost always integrate a rich realm of ornamentation.61 Indeed, inscriptions and ornamentation unite to offer the best visual design that the capabilities of architectural materials and implementation techniques could muster. The results are dazzling.
Mosque ornamentation makes an impressive use of the diversified repertories of geometry, arabesque, and polychromy. In this sense, mosque ornamentation is comparable with Qur'anic illumination, although its use differs in a number of aspects. Two salient aspects include the extent of the field and plasticity. Mosque spaces offer an extensive amount of surface, whereas the Qur'an presents a defined area limited by the requirements of a fixed body of text. The mosque edifice, although it has a two-dimensional surface, also offers a potentially three-dimensional, plastic treatment, whereas the Qur'an possesses only a two-dimensional plane surface. The difference in each aspect has implications for the use of ornamentation in the mosque.
The extensiveness of the mosque's surface fields influences the use of ornamentation in relation to calligraphic inscriptions, for it is accepted that architectural ornamentation enhances calligraphic inscriptions on the available mosque surfaces. The examples given earlier in regard to inscriptions support this postulate. However, our understanding of the relationship or spatial integration between the two arts is conditioned considerably by their spatial proximity on the actual surface. This proximity premise allows a set of relationship levels that may be described as close, associative, or independent. These levels, which are verifiable by endless case examples, are generalized for convenience and may not always have clear boundaries. A close level relationship brings ornamentation into a high order of spatial integration with inscriptions located within a well-defined and unified scheme. Many mihrabs are rich environments for this level of integration.62 An associative level relationship maintains some degree of spatial integration, as when the ornamentation occurs around a specific surface already occupied by a scheme of the close relationship type.63 An independent level of relationship maintains hardly any spatial integration, as when the ornamentation is located far away from an inscriptional treatment, thus declaring no direct alliance with that treatment.
The ability to manipulate the three-dimensional nature of a given architectural form engendered a vast array of innovative plastic works in mosque ornamentation.64 Skilled building designers and ornamentors imparted the quality of plasticity through the simple principle of spatially positioning ornamental devices in planes deviating from the receiving surface plane. The task, in other words, involves effecting projections and recessions in relation to a reference two-dimensional plane surface, such as a wall, for example.65 The devices and materials employed in plastic, or relief, work are abundant and varied.
The plastic ornamentation schemes use devices similar to those of the two-dimensional ornamentation. These ornamental motifs and patterns involve such items as circles, polygons, stars, chevrons, spirals, medallions, rosettes, flowers, leaves, shells, and lamps.66 An ornamental device that adds to the grandeur of religious as well as secular buildings is the muqarnas\. Originally thought of as having the structural function of helping to fit weighty round domes over a square compartment below, the muqarnas\ developed into a visually expressive device67 that, when combined in groups, yielded a striking honeycomb-like composition. In addition to its use at the meeting points of the dome and the upper corners of square rooms, the muqarnas\ was used ornamentally in mosque portals, mihrabs, and Eµwaµns (an Iranian shrine feature consisting of a large niche with portals opening onto a mosque court).68 No exterior or interior part of the mosque escaped, at one time or another, relief composing worked out from the wide range of devices previously outlined. The result is an innumerable variety of compositions on entrance portals, building friezes, domes, minarets, walls, mihrabs, minbars, and windows. In effecting the relief artwork successfully, ornamental schemes capitalize on the properties of the materials used. Although wood, stone, and various metals were used in relief work, stucco and brick were probably the most common because of their workability and the abundance of raw material. Stucco, a highly shapable material, appeared in carved and molded forms and was sometimes painted lavishly. Carved stucco prospered in all parts of the Islamic world and was given an added impetus by inventive Iranian artisans, who adapted it to accommodate curvilinearly-based floral patterns.69 This innovative development was responsible for such splendid stucco works as seen in the mihrab of Uljaytu of the Masjid-i Jaµmi' of Is\fahaµn (1310).
Brick, a material that is conveniently workable into structures, is of inherent visual expressiveness when exposed. Ornamentally patterned brickwork prospered more in the East, especially in the Saµmaµnid tombs of Bukhaµraµ in the first half of the tenth century and the monumental Sejluq minarets, such as those of the Mosque of Damghaµn, Iran (1026-29).70 Seljuq masons introduced unique projection or recession techniques in laying out brickwork and even went to the length of carving or molding plaster joints to further ornamental effects.71

Culture & Art Next Back End