ART
Arab culture
Culture and art of the Arab peoples
The peoples of the Arab East have an important place in the history of human culture.
It is no accident that medieval geographers called the Arab East the breast of the world: the heart of world civilization has been beating here for many centuries.
The Arab medieval culture developed in Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and North Africa, as well as on the territory of Southern Spain during the existence of the Cordoba caliphate and Arab principalities there.
The medieval Arab culture at one time was a major step forward in the progressive development of mankind.
The great merit of the peoples of the Arab East was also that they preserved (especially in the field of science) and passed on to subsequent generations many valuable achievements of antiquity.
In historical science, the correct idea of Arab culture was not developed immediately.
In the last century, and even now, there is a widespread erroneous opinion among many bourgeois scientists, according to which there was a single “Arab” culture in all the countries that were part of the Arab caliphate in the VII—IX centuries and adopted Islam.
Such an understanding of Arab culture, uncritically following the medieval Muslim tradition, leads to the denial of the independence of the development of the culture of Iranians, Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Tajiks and many other peoples in the Middle Ages.
In fact, in countries with non Arab populations that were part of the caliphate, local cultures developed, relying on ancient traditions, which, like the culture of the Arabs, were a valuable contribution to the development of medieval civilization.
Of course, there was a complex and important interaction between the peoples of the Near and Middle East in the conditions of the Middle Ages, which gave rise to common features.
The culture of the peoples who inhabited the Arabian Peninsula has been known since ancient times.
Ancient geographers called southern, agricultural Arabia "happy".
There have been rich states here since the middle of the first millennium BC: Minaean, and later Sabaean.
In the first millennium BC, the Nabataean state emerged in the northwestern part of the peninsula (the so called “rocky Arabia”).
The prosperity of these kingdoms was determined by a favorable economic position on the world's communication routes and extensive intermediary trade with Egypt, Near Asia and India.
The architecture and art of the ancient South Arab states, which have not yet been studied sufficiently, are by their type included in the circle of cultures of the slave owning societies of the Near East.
The remains of powerful fortifications, dams and cisterns, as well as works of sculpture and applied art have been preserved.
On the stone steles covered with inscriptions, there are images of people, animals and ornaments.
The bulk of the population of Arabia since ancient times were nomads engaged in cattle breeding in the steppes and semi deserts of the peninsula.
The deep and complex process of class stratification within Arab society and the political situation associated with the struggle between Iran and Byzantium created the conditions for the emergence of a medieval Arab state.
The political unification of the Arabs at the beginning of the VII century took place under the auspices of a new, soon — to become world religion Islam.
The original place of residence of the founder of Islam and the head of the Arab state — the Prophet Muhammad and his successors — the Caliphs (hence the name of the state — the caliphate) were the Arabian cities of Medina, and then Mecca.
In the seventh century, the Arabs conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Iran.
In 661, Muawiya, the Arab governor in Syria, seized power and laid the foundation of the Umayyad dynasty.
Damascus became the capital of the Umayyads.
At the end of the VII and the beginning of the VIII century, a huge territory was annexed to the caliphate, which included the Iberian Peninsula and all of North Africa in the west, Transcaucasia and Central Asia to the borders of India in the east.
The Arab caliphate became a large early feudal state, although in some of its areas slavery and even primitive communal relations were preserved for a long time.
The Arab nobility cruelly exploited the peasants and artisans of the conquered countries.
The victorious military campaigns and the success of the new religion could not hide the growth of class contradictions.
The struggle of the broad masses of the people against feudal oppression resulted in powerful uprisings and often went under the slogan of liberation from the foreign yoke.
Already in the IX—X centuries, social upheavals, in fact, caused the collapse of the caliphate into separate states.
At the same time, the creative forces of the peoples who were part of the Arab caliphate, awakened by the liberation and class struggle, led to a high rise in the medieval culture of the Near and Middle East; its flourishing continued even when the caliphate as a whole actually no longer existed.
The Arab caliphate included countries that stood at different levels of social development, had different cultural and artistic traditions.
However, the similarity of the forms of development of feudalism in the Near and Middle East gave rise to features of commonality in ideology and in other superstructure phenomena.
These deep socio economic reasons, and not the spread of religion — Islam — are at the heart of the unity that takes place in the medieval culture of the Arab countries.
An important role in the development of Arab culture was played by its interaction with the high medieval culture of Iran, Central Asia and Transcaucasia.
Arabic was not only the language of the holy book of Muslims the Koran, but it, like Latin in Western Europe, was used by many scientists, writers and poets in all parts of the multilingual caliphate.
The history of literature of the peoples of the East has preserved vivid examples of creative interaction.
The artistic creativity of many peoples was embodied in the famous poem "Leila and Majnun".
The romantic image of Majnun dying of love and his beloved Leila the Romeo and Juliet of the East born at the dawn of feudalism in the Arab environment, inspired the creation of wonderful works by the best poets of medieval Azerbaijan, Iran and Central Asia.
However, not only interaction and a certain community are important, but also the high level of culture of the peoples of the Near and Middle East for that time.
In the IX—XIII centuries, Arab, as well as Iranian, Azerbaijani and Central Asian cities were the largest centers of scholarship, famous for their libraries, schools, universities and other educational institutions.
The popular sayings of that time are characteristic: "The greatest adornment of a person is knowledge” or “The ink of a scientist is as worthy of respect as the blood of a martyr” It is not surprising, therefore, that the 12th century Syrian writer Osama ibn Munkiz , the author of the Book of Edification, assessed the mores of modern Franks, whom he had to face not only in the military field, but also in peaceful life, from the standpoint of a person of immeasurably greater culture A certain influence on the development of medieval art of the Arabs, as well as other peoples who professed Islam, was exerted by religion.
The spread of Islam marked the rejection of the old, pre feudal religions, the establishment of monotheism the belief in one God.
The Muslim idea of the world as a single whole created by God was important for the formation of the aesthetic idea of a certain, albeit abstract, harmony of the universe, characteristic of the medieval era.
At the same time, Islam, like all medieval religions, ideologically justified and consolidated feudal exploitation.
The dogmas of the Koran obscured the human consciousness, hindered its development.
However, the views of the people of the medieval East, including their artistic views, cannot be reduced to religious ideas.
In the worldview of a person of the Middle Ages, idealistic and materialistic tendencies, scholasticism and the desire for knowledge of real reality were contradictory.
One of the greatest scientists and philosophers of the medieval East, Abu Ali ibn Sina (Avicenna), recognized the divine origin of the universe and at the same time argued that scientific and philosophical knowledge exists independently of religious faith.
Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Firdousi, Navoi and many other outstanding thinkers of the medieval East, in whose works and poetic works the progressive features of the era were especially clearly manifested, asserted the power of the human will and mind, the value and richness of the real world, although, as a rule, they did not openly speak from atheistic positions.
When it comes to the influence of Islam on the visual arts, it is usually indicated that it is forbidden to depict living beings on pain of religious punishment.
There is no doubt that from the very beginning, the teachings of Islam contained an iconoclastic tendency associated with overcoming polytheism.
In the Koran, idols (most likely, sculptural images of ancient tribal gods) are called "the obsession of Satan".
The religious tradition strongly rejected the possibility of depicting a deity.
It was also not allowed to place images of people in mosques and other religious buildings.
The Koran and other theological books were decorated only with ornaments.
However, initially there was no prohibition in Islam to depict living beings, formulated as a religious law.
Only later, probably in the IX X centuries, the iconoclastic trend of Islam was used to ban a certain category of images under penalty of punishment in the afterlife.
"Misfortune to him —" we read in the comments to the Koran — " who will portray a living being!
On the day of the last judgment, the persons whom the artist presented will come down from the picture and come to him with a demand to give them a soul.
Then this person, who cannot give his creatures souls, will be burned in an eternal flame”; "Beware of portraying the Lord or a person, and write only trees, flowers and inanimate objects."
History has shown that these restrictions, which left their imprint on the development of certain types of art, were not important in all Muslim countries and were strictly implemented only during periods of a particularly strong ideological reaction.
However, the explanation of the main features of the medieval art of the Arab peoples should not be sought in religion, which influenced, but did not determine its development.
The content of the artistic creativity of the peoples of the Arab East, its ways and features were determined by two new ideological and aesthetic tasks that were put forward by the progressive course of development of society that entered the era of feudalism.
The specifics of the medieval art of the Arab countries, as well as the entire Near and Middle East, are very complex.
It reflected the living content of reality, but, like the entire culture of the Middle Ages, deeply imbued with a religious and mystical worldview, it did this in a conditional, often symbolic form, having developed its own special figurative language for artistic works.
The innovation of medieval Arabic literature and at the same time its vital basis is characterized by an appeal to the spiritual world of a person, the creation of moral ideals that had universal significance.
The fine art of the Arab East is also imbued with a great imaginative force.
However, just as literature used primarily a conventional form to embody its images, so in the visual arts the vital content was expressed in a special language of decorative art.
The conventionality of the” language " of medieval fine art among most peoples was associated with the principle of decorativeness, characteristic not only of external forms, but also of the structure itself, the figurative structure of an artistic work.
The richness of decorative fantasy and its masterful implementation in applied art, miniature and architecture are an integral and valuable quality of the remarkable works of artists of that era.
In the art of the Arab East, decorative art acquired especially bright and peculiar features, becoming the basis of the figurative system of painting and giving rise to the richest art of pattern, which has a complex ornamental rhythm and often increased coloristic sonority.
In the close framework of the medieval worldview, the artists of the Arab East found their way to embody the richness of the life around them.
With the rhythm of the pattern, its "carpet like", the subtle plasticity of ornamental forms, the unique harmony of bright and pure colors, they expressed a great aesthetic content.
The image of a person was not excluded from the attention of artists, although the appeal to him was limited, especially during the period of strengthening religious prohibitions.
Images of people fill illustrations in manuscripts and are often found in patterns on objects of applied art; monuments of monumental painting with multi figure scenes and sculptural figurative reliefs are also known.
However, even in such works, the human image is subordinated to a general decorative solution.
Even giving many vital features to the figures of people, the artists of the Arab East interpreted them flatly, conditionally.
In applied art, human figures are most often included in the ornament, they lose the meaning of an independent image, becoming an integral part of the pattern.
The ornament — ” music for the eyes " - plays a very important role in the medieval art of the peoples of the Arab East.
To a certain extent, it compensates for the visual limitations of some types of art and is one of the important means of expressing artistic content.
The arabesque, which is based on classical antique motifs, which became widespread in the countries of the medieval East, was a new type of ornamental composition, which allowed the artist to fill the planes of any shape with a complex, braided pattern, like lace.
Initially, the arabesque was dominated by plant motifs.
Later, girih became widespread — a linear geometric ornament built on a complex combination of polygons and multipath stars.
In the development of arabesque, which was used to decorate both large architectural planes and various household items, the masters of the Arab East achieved amazing virtuosity, creating countless compositions in which two principles are always combined: a logically rigorous mathematical construction of the pattern and a great spiritualizing power of artistic imagination.
The peculiarities of medieval Arabic art also include the widespread use of epigraphic ornament — the text of inscriptions organically included in the decorative pattern.
Let us note in passing that the religion of 113 of all arts especially encouraged calligraphy: it was considered a righteous deed for a Muslim to rewrite a text from the Koran.
The peculiar decorative and ornamental structure of artistic creativity was expressed in different ways in certain types of art.
The architectural features common to many peoples of the Near and Middle East were associated with the natural and climatic conditions of the countries and the capabilities of construction equipment.
In the architecture of dwellings, techniques for planning houses with courtyards and terraces protected from the heat have long been developed.
Construction equipment gave rise to special structures made of clay, brick and stone.
Architects of that time created various forms of arches — horseshoe shaped and especially pointed, invented their own systems of vaulted ceilings.
They achieved exceptional skill and artistic expressiveness in the masonry of large domes based on tromps (a constructive system that arose in the pre feudal period).
Medieval architects of the Arab East created new types of monumental religious and secular buildings: mosques that housed thousands of worshippers; minarets towers from which believers were called to prayer; madrassas — buildings of Muslim religious schools; caravanserais and covered markets that corresponded to the scope of commercial activity of cities; palaces of rulers, fortified citadels, fortress walls with gates and towers.
Arab architects, the authors of many masterpieces of medieval art, paid great attention to the decorative possibilities of architecture.
Therefore, one of the characteristic features of the synthesis of arts in monumental architecture is the important role of decorative forms and the special significance of the ornament, which sometimes covers the walls and arches of buildings with monochrome lace, then with a colorful carpet.
Stalactites (mukarns) are widely used in the architecture of the Arab East — decorative filling of vaults, niches and cornices in the form of prismatic figures with a thread like cutout, arranged in rows protruding one above the other Stalactites emerged from a constructive technique — a special laying of bricks to create a transition from the square of the walls to the circle of the dome in the corners of the rooms.
An extremely important role in the artistic culture of the countries of the Arab East belonged to applied art.
The economic basis for this was the intensive development of the craft.
Local ancient traditions of art, closely connected with folk life, have found a vivid expression in artistic crafts.
The Arabs - masters of applied art were characterized by a high aesthetic " sense of the thing”, which allowed, without violating the practical functions of the object, to give it a beautiful shape and skillfully place a pattern on its surface.
In the applied decorative art of the Arab East, the importance of the culture of ornament was especially clearly manifested, its huge artistic possibilities were revealed.
The ornament brings aesthetic content to the perfect oriental fabrics, carpets, painted ceramics, bronze and glass products.
Another important quality is inherent in the works of applied art of the Arab East: they usually make up a very integral and expressive decorative ensemble with an architectural interior.
The main type of painting that developed in the Near and Middle East in the Middle Ages was the illustration of secular manuscripts.
Arab masters made extensive use of this opportunity, creating, along with the rich ornamental ornaments of the manuscripts, an excellent series of colorful miniatures that give a poetically imaginative story about the fates of the heroes of the literary work.
In the XVI century, most of the countries of the Arab East were captured by Ottoman Turkey, whose domination was later replaced by the oppression of Western European colonizers, who hindered the development of national culture and art.
However, even at the time of decline, when foreign invaders planted forms in architecture and fine art that were alien to the peoples of the Arab East, truly national artistic creativity did not die.
It lived in the works of Arab peasants and artisans, who, despite poverty and difficult living conditions, sought to embody their ideas of beauty in patterns on clothes and folk utensils.
Let us consider in more detail the culture of Arab countries on the example of the art of medieval Egypt.
THE ART OF MEDIEVAL EGYPT
The history of medieval art in Egypt begins with the Coptic period.
The art of Copts Egyptians professing Christianity developed in the IV VII centuries AD, during the period when Egypt was part of the Byzantine Empire.
From this time, the basilicas in the White and Red monasteries on the edge of the Libyan Desert and numerous domed tombs have been preserved.
The development of architecture was associated with the flourishing of sculptural patterns and wall paintings executed on religious subjects.
Works of applied art were distinguished by a great originality: bone and wood carving, and especially fabrics.
In the art of the Copts, the desire common to all regions of Byzantium to subordinate late Antique artistic traditions to the requirements of a new medieval religious ideology found expression.
On the other hand, purely local features that had their roots in ancient Egyptian culture were also strong in it.
The struggle of these trends determined the uniqueness of Coptic art, which developed its own specific artistic language and prepared the ground for the high rise and flourishing of Egyptian art in the era of the mature Middle Ages.
In the middle of the VII century, Egypt became part of the Arab caliphate, but already in the IX century it was actually an independent feudal state.
Since the middle of the tenth century, having become the center of the powerful Fatimid state, Egypt began to play a particularly important role in the medieval history of the Middle East.
In the XI—XII centuries, he conducted extensive trade with Byzantium and Western Europe; in the hands of the Egyptians, the transit trade of the Mediterranean with the countries of the Indian Ocean also turned out to be in the hands of the Egyptians.
Later, in the XIII century, after the destruction of Baghdad by the Mongols, the main city of Egypt — Cairo claimed to be the general Muslim capital.
However, it was even more important that Cairo became the center of culture, one of the largest centers of the development of science and art in the Arab world.
Along with the exact sciences, the study of history flourished in Cairo; in the XIV century, Ibn Khaldun, who is called the world's first sociologist, moved from Tunisia to Egypt; a major historian of the Middle Ages, Ahmed Makrizi, also wrote his works in Cairo.
Medieval Egypt gave the world excellent literary works: a cycle of Arab chivalrous novels and the final edition of the folk tales "One Thousand and One Nights".
ARCHITECTURE
The best monuments of medieval architecture of Egypt have been preserved in Cairo.
The city has lived a great history.
In 641, the Arab commander Amr ibn al As founded Fustat, the ruins of which are located on the southern outskirts of modern Cairo.
According to legend, the first mosque was erected on the site of Fustat.
The small building was already expanded in 673 by increasing the colonnade and courtyard.
Despite the latest alterations and repairs, the Amra Mosque is deservedly considered one of the oldest Arab columned mosques that have preserved the grandeur and simplicity characteristic of early Arab monumental architecture.
In the great hall of the mosque there are more than a hundred marble columns topped with carved Corinthian capitals that support high semicircular arches.
The beautiful perspective of the columns and arches stretching into the distance makes you feel the grandeur of the hall space.
The greatness of early Arab architecture is extremely vividly embodied in the architecture of the great mosque of Ibn Tulun, which perfectly preserved its original appearance, built in 876-879 in the residence of this first ruler of medieval Egypt, independent of the Baghdad caliphate.
A huge square courtyard with an area of almost a hectare (92x92 m) is surrounded by a pointed arch, which, unlike the Amra Mosque, does not have round columns as supports, but rectangular pillars—pylons with three quarter columns at the corners.
Wide passages between the pillars unite the hall in front of the mihrab and the detours from the other three sides of the courtyard into a single spatial whole.
The mosque easily accommodates thousands of praying Muslims.
In the rhythm of the pillars and arches covering the courtyard around the perimeter, the strict tectonics of the mosque's architecture is expressed, which also subordinates decorative motifs.
The archivolts of the large and small arches, the capitals of the columns and the cornices are decorated with a stylized floral pattern carved on the knock.
The spotlights of large arches have more complex ornamental compositions and decorative details, decorating and harmoniously highlighting the main planes and lines of the building, their location emphasizes the tectonics of the whole.
Thus, the pattern and architectural elements that make up the appearance of the building are imbued with a single ornamental rhythm.
It is interesting to note that the pointed profile of the large and small arches of the mosque seems to be repeated in the pointed bends of the stem, which forms the basis of a continuous ornament running along the outline of the arches and along the pylons.
From the outside, the Ibn Tulup Mosque has the features of severe fortress architecture characteristic of the early medieval monumental structures of the Middle East.
The traditions of fortress architecture, and perhaps the real need to turn the mosque into a bulwark of defense in the event of an attack on the city, caused a peculiar method of surrounding the cult building with an external wall, which created a free, undeveloped wide bypass around the mosque.
Nevertheless, the monumental surface of the external walls of the Ibn Tulun mosque is not without decorative treatment: the upper part of the walls is divided by a kind of frieze of lancet windows and arches, contrastingly highlighted by chiaroscuro; in addition, an openwork parapet crowns the walls.
Similar in nature, the decoration of windows and arches was made in the IX century and on the facades of the Amra mosque.
Thus, as in Samarra, in the early Cairo buildings, an artistic reworking of the oldest techniques of monumental fortress architecture is visible.
An important role in the architectural appearance of the mosque is played by the minaret, which rises next to the building, between the double walls.
Researchers believe that it originally had the form of a stepped round tower, outside of which a staircase spiraled.
With its location and shape, the minaret strongly resembles the Malvia of the great mosque in Samarra.
As there, the upward pointing body of the Minaret was opposed to the horizontally stretched archature of the courtyard.
The fact that along with local artistic traditions, Mesopotamian construction techniques also played a well known role in the construction of the mosque is also evidenced by the use of brickwork, which is not characteristic of Egyptian architecture.
In 1926, a domed pavilion was erected in the center of the mosque courtyard over the ablution pool and, apparently, at the same time, the lower part of the minaret was enclosed in a cubic tower.
By the middle of the IX century, the earliest surviving monuments of civil architecture of medieval Egypt — the Nilometer, built on the island of Roda near Fustat, belongs to our time.
The structure is a deep well with a high column in the middle, which measured the water level in the Nile.
The walls of the well are lined with stone, decorated with decorative niches and friezes with Kufic inscriptions.
VISUAL ART
Studies conducted over the past few decades indicate the development of monumental painting in medieval Egypt, as well as miniatures, especially in the XI—XII centuries.
A remarkable mural depicting human figures in large pointed frames found during excavations in 1932 is kept in the Cairo Museum of Islamic Art.
In one of these niches there is a figure of a sitting man in a colorful robe, with a turban on his head and a cup in his right hand.
His rounded face is not devoid of lively expressiveness.
The painting is executed in a flat manner, in light colors; the contours of the figure are indicated by a wide free line.
A significant number of miniatures belonging to the Fati Mide era are collected in the Museum of Islamic Art and in private collections in Cairo.
These miniatures have a pronounced originality, which allows us to speak about the existence in Egypt at this time of a completely independent school of miniature art—one of the earliest in the history of medieval art in the Middle East.
The applied art of Egypt has long been distinguished by high artistic perfection and a variety of types.
Richly ornamented linen and silk fabrics, products made of rock crystal, glass and metal were especially distinguished.
Artistic weaving has ancient traditions in Egypt.
The main centers of medieval textile production — Alexandria, Damietta, Tinnis were famous for their products even in Roman and Byzantine times.
The artistic traditions of Coptic fabrics of the III IV centuries continue to live with some changes in Egyptian textiles until the end of the Fatimid period.
This is not surprising: the luxurious fabrics in the workshops of the Caliphs were still produced in large part by the hands of Coptic masters.
The fabrics of the late VIII IX centuries are characterized by a simple, strict pattern, usually consisting of narrow strips filled with Kufic inscriptions containing good wishes and often the name of the ruling caliph, or a simple geometric ornament.
At the same time, most of the background of the fabric remained free.
In the fabrics of the Fatimid period (X XII centuries), all the richness of technical and artistic techniques of Coptic weaving is revived, however, refracted in the spirit of the requirements of the new era: the picturesque compositions and individual figures on mythological subjects, so common in Coptic textiles, disappear.
Images of various birds and animals acquire a stylized ornamental character.
Polychromy plays an important role in the artistic structure of the decor.
Already in the early Fatimid fabrics of the turn of the X—X1 centuries, the techniques of decorative composition and ornamentation characteristic of this period are revealed with complete clarity.
So, on one of the silk fabrics, narrow stripes with kufic inscriptions (black and white letters on a carmine red background) distinguish a wide stripe decorated with oval medallions with stylized images of an eagle in the middle and four ducks on the sides.
The coloring of the details changes in each medallion: the field of one of them is red with a thin green border, the figures of birds are blue or light blue on a yellow background; inside the figure of an eagle is a red shield with a white pattern outlined in black.
In another medallion, the background is green with a red border, ducks are red on a white background, an eagle is yellow on a red background with a light blue internal pattern on a black shield.
Such an alternation of colors with a small scale pattern enhances the impression of a variety of ornaments and creates a rich and subtle play of color spots.
The fabrics of this time are also characterized by stripes with kufic inscriptions on the edges and images of animals and birds (hares, dogs, ducks) in the middle band.
In the artistic textiles of a later time (the XII century), certain changes are observed: the inscriptions are executed in a rounded handwriting instead of an angular kufi, the drawing becomes more schematic, the golden background becomes a favorite.
At this time, wide decorative stripes are very common, where oval or diamond shaped medallions are located between narrow borders with stylized letter ornaments, in which images of animals and birds alternate.
The coloring of these fabrics is dominated by a soft yellow gold color of the pattern on a carmine red background.
The stripes with inscriptions are often separated by thin light blue lines.
The ornamental stripes, much wider than in the products of the previous period, are located close to each other, leaving little free background.
Along with patterned linen and silk fabrics, various types of embroidery were very common in Egyptian textiles.
Precious fabrics were also made, woven with heavy gold and silver threads with a very thin base, on which lush patterns stood out in relief.
Since the XIII—XIV centuries, Egyptian artistic textiles have been dominated by fabrics completely covered with narrow multicolored stripes with a small geometric pattern formed by combinations of various stars, triangles and other shapes.
Along with the development of new decorative trends, the old local traditions and techniques were firmly held in the pattern of wood carving.
This is evidenced, in particular, by the spread of figured images on many carved panels and boards.
One of the outstanding examples of early Fatimid carved wood is the iconostasis of the Church of Barbara in Cairo; although it is undoubtedly the work of a Coptic master, it reveals all the features and motifs characteristic of this time.
The panels of the iconostasis are decorated with Arabesque scrolls, which are composed of images of birds, animals and perfectly executed hunting and genre scenes.
All these plot images are interpreted purely decorative, and the figures of animals and birds are often placed in a symmetrical, heraldic composition.
Another interesting example is several panels located in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The composition of the pattern decorating them is generally the same, consists of rounded interlacing of flowering stems interpreted in the spirit of Arabesque; only the central images change: in some cases, these are figures of birds and animals standing in front of each other in a heraldic pose, a sitting musician is depicted on one panel.
Due to the significant deepening of the background (about 1.5 cm), a very rich and contrasting play of chiaroscuro is created, clearly revealing the drawing.
Similar features are also distinguished by panels with images of horse heads (the Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), where a deeply selected background further emphasizes the contours of the pattern.
On some panels there are carvings in several plans.
Outstanding examples of artistic wood carvings that once decorated the Small, or Western, Palace of the Fatimid Caliphs (it was completed between 1058 and 1065) were found in the complex of the mari camp of Sultan Kalaun, where these carved boards were reused in the XIII century.
Initially, they formed a frieze decorated with numerous images of hunters, musicians, dancers, traders with camels, animals and birds.
All these images are placed against the background of plant shoots, given a lower relief than the figures.
The drawing here is freer and more lively than in the early monuments, but much less detailed.
In the carved wood of the XII century, figured images acquire an increasingly generalized, silhouette interpretation, which was relatively rare in the works of the X XI centuries; their execution itself becomes less thorough.
But the ornamental carving is being improved and enriched.
An outstanding monument of this time is the mihrab of the Sayyida Nafisa Mosque, executed between 1138 and 1145 (Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo).
Its pattern consists of beautifully executed arabesques and weaves of vines combined with geometric stripes forming polygons.
Another example is the wooden carved tombstone of al Husayni in the middle of the XII century, the entire surface of which is covered with Arabesque, consisting of geometric polygonal patterns and plant motifs.
Among the Egyptian artistic bronze products of the X—XII centuries, decorative figures and vessels in the form of various animals and birds stand out.
A typical example is the aquarius in the form of a peacock (X XI centuries, Louvre); its handle ends with a stylized head of a falcon or a gyrfalcon, clinging to the neck of a peacock with its beak.
A long, elegantly curved neck rises above the rounded body of a bird with voluminously transmitted wings, carrying a small head with a half open beak.
The plumage is conveyed by a thin embossed ornament.
In a later monument of this kind — a large winged griffin (XI—XII centuries, museum in Pisa), the ornamental principle dominates the plastic form — almost the entire surface of the figure is covered with ornaments imitating the details of the plumage, stripes of kufic inscriptions, stamps with images of sirins and various fantastic animals.
In the XIII century, when Egypt's close ties with Syria and Iraq were established, a significant number of artistic products of famous Iraqi, especially Mosul masters appeared in Egypt.
The inscriptions engraved on some objects have preserved the names of Mosul masters who worked in Cairo and influenced the work of Egyptian artisans.
An interesting example of artistic bronze products of this time is a spherical incense burner dated 1271 with the name of Emir Beisari (British Museum. London).
On the surface of the incense burner, between the belts of the inscriptions, there are round medallions with openwork images of double headed eagles; the field around the medallions is filled with vegetable arabesque.
A fine example of the artistic work of 113 metals is the hexagonal inlaid table of Sultan Qalaun, made by the master Muhammad non Sunkur 113 of Baghdad in 1327 (the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo).
Its openwork side walls and doors, as well as the upper plane are decorated with calligraphic inscriptions (arranged in medallions or belts), rosettes and inlaid images of a flock of flying birds.
Slotted tables, incense burners, metal caskets, etc.became very common products in Egypt, Syria and Iraq in the XIV — XV centuries.
Artistic metalworking was also used in the decoration of monumental buildings.
An outstanding example of this kind is the bronze inlaid doors of the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo, decorated with masterly multi dimensional geometric ornaments, openwork carvings and belts of decorative inscriptions.
The art of processing rock crystal was especially developed in the X XI centuries.
Jugs, glasses, cups, vials, various chess and other pieces were skillfully carved from large crystals, their surface was often faceted or covered with engraving.
The historian Makrizi reports that about two thousand precious crystal vessels were kept in the treasury of the Fatimid caliphs.
The products of Egyptian lapidaries were very highly valued in medieval Europe.
Among the beautiful works of this kind, two large jugs, located in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, stand out in particular.
On one of them, large birds of prey pecking at a defeated fallow deer are depicted in relief engraving among large curly stems and half palmettes.
The drawing is somewhat schematic and generalized, but it is very confident and bold and perfectly integrated into the space allocated to it.
The other jug is devoid of any ornamental decoration; its main advantage consists in the striking clarity and proportionality of the shape and the impeccable quality of the facet, giving give him the radiance of a diamond in the rays of light.
Artistic glass, which had a long tradition in Egypt, reached its greatest heyday in the XIII XIV centuries, when the previously known methods of decoration — faceting, engraving, relief, colored and twisted glass — were joined by painting with gold and colored enamels.
The main centers of art glass production were Fustat, Alexandria, Fayum.
In its forms and the general nature of the decor, the art glass of Egypt is close to the Syrian one, but large inscriptions with benevolent wishes are typical for it, often covering almost the entire surface of the vessel with wide belts.
Egyptian artistic ceramic products faience and clay vases, bowls and dishes painted with chandeliers and various colors are often decorated with images of animals, fish, birds and human figures along with various plant and geometric motifs.
Especially beautiful are the large greenish yellow chandelier dishes of the XI century with large figured images executed in a free picturesque manner.
Among the images there are figures of a musician, a man pouring wine into a cup, a horseman, two and three figure genre and battle scenes, as well as real and fantastic animals, motifs of the struggle of animals.
The style of painting on ceramics of the XI century is very close to the Fatimid wall painting mentioned above.
In the XIII XV centuries, the art of ceramics in Egypt again experienced an upsurge: vessels with fine multicolored paintings depicting animals and birds among plant motifs were executed.
The traditions of painted ceramics, as well as other types of applied art, continued to live in Egypt throughout the Middle Ages and now form the basis of folk art crafts.
The art of medieval Egypt, which developed over many centuries, represents a large, original school in the history of Arab art, which played a major role in the process of interaction between the artistic cultures of the Middle East and Western Europe.
AFTERWORD
It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of the Arab peoples to the history of world art and architecture.
They made a great contribution to the treasury of world art culture, created works of art inspired by a peculiar and subtle understanding of the beautiful.
However, if there are common features, the art of each region of the Arab world is strongly connected with local artistic traditions, has passed its own path of development, has pronounced features.
Features of unique originality distinguish the monuments of medieval art in Syria from the monuments of Iraq, Egypt, North Africa and Moorish Spain.
The work of medieval Arab artists had a fruitful impact on the art of many countries, including the art of Europe.
Arab or, as it was more often called in Europe, “Moorish” artistic influence can be traced, especially in fabrics, ceramics, decoration of weapons and other branches of applied art, not only during the heyday of the medieval Arab states, but also many centuries after their fall.
LITERATURE
"The Art of the Arab peoples” by B. Weimarn, T. Kaptereva, A. Podolsky; "The Red Book of Culture", edited by V. Rabinovich.
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