Studies in Early Islamic Art and Archaeology
- Course Code:
- 15PARC001
- Unit value:
- 1
- Taught in:
- Full Year
The seminar deals with selected topics on the formative period AD 600-1300, concentrating on the central as well as the more peripheral regions of the Islamic world. The topics addressed by the seminar are intended to give a broad coverage of the various cultures of Islam in the period. Topics will include Umayyad and Abbasid settlement patterns, the art and archaeology of Arabia and commemorative architecture.
Objectives and learning outcomes of the course
The course covers the cultural and historical background of the rise of Islam with particular respect to Arabia and Bilad al-Sha’m. There will be a discussion of the formation of a distinctively Islamic art and architecture down to about the 14th C. with respect to religious and secular architecture, paintings and mosaics, ceramics, the arts of the book and calligraphy. There will be a particular concentration on Umayyad and ‘Abbasid mosques and palaces and on the architecture of the Zangids, Ayyubids, Seljuk and its impact. Where relevant, there will be reference to architectural traditions of much later times—especially in Arabia—which preserve earlier forms of building. There will be a discussion of the impact of Indian Ocean trade contacts in the Middle East and the importance of Chinese ceramics in the Islamic world.
Method of assessment
3 x Coursework (75%) Slide Test (25%)
Suggested reading
- Grabar O, 1966, 'The earliest Islamic commemorative structures: notes and documents', Ars Orientalis 6, 7-46.
- Grabar, O, 1973, The Formation of Islamic Art, New Haven & New York.
- Raghib Y, 1970, 'Les premiers monuments funeraires de l'Islam', Annales Islamologiques, 21-36.
