What are some of the significant features of Islamic art?

Islam as a religion spans most of the globe and has spread and acquired characteristics from all of the countries that observe it as the dominant form of worship. But despite this wide range of cultures from which to gather artistic influences, Islamic art does have several significant features that distinguish it from other types of art.

The basic elements of Islamic art are: calligraphy, vegetal (plant-based) patterns, geometric patterns, and figurative representation. Calligraphy is often considered the highest form of Islamic art. The Koran was transmitted to the prophet Muhammad by Allah in the Arabic language, a written language that lends itself naturally to calligraphy, as many of its written characters flow and are linked together, similar to English cursive writing. Thus, producing handmade, calligraphic versions of the Koran gained prominence in the Muslim world and was viewed as a holy pursuit.

Vegetal, or plant and vine-based, patterns are older than the religion of Islam itself. Islamic artists adapted ideas and forms from the more ancient cultures surrounding it, the Byzantine Empire and the Iranian kingdoms. The favorite style of pattern that emerged from Islamic artists is known as the arabesque, a scrolling and interlacing of leaves, stems, and foliage that can be combined and repeated endlessly, a process known as “tiling.” As the Mongol invasion came to the Islamic world in the 13th and 14th centuries many Chinese design motifs were introduced to traditional Islamic vegetal patterns.

Geometric patterns are similar to vegetal patterns. But rather than natural plant forms, a geometric pattern is created by combining, interlacing, repeating and combining very simple, idealized geometric forms like circles, squares, stars, and multi-sided shapes. The beautiful complexity and the feelings of infinity and wonder that they create in viewers has made geometric patterning one of the most recognizable features of Islamic art.

Figurative representation of the human form has a difficult relationship with Islam as a religion, which prohibits most depictions of living beings, because it is felt by some adherents that the creation of living forms is something that only God (Allah) is allowed to do. Thus there is almost an absence in Islamic art, as opposed to European Christian art, of pictorial representations of Allah, Muhammad, and scenes from the Koran. But figures were included in many book illustrations, and were somewhat acceptable as miniatures. This prohibition on figures and portraiture can account for the amazing variety of abstract patterns and fantastic calligraphy that make up the majority of Islamic art.

The techniques and mediums used to create Islamic art are varied, but a few take precedence: book making, painting (miniatures and illuminated manuscripts), weaving (the famous rugs), and ceramics (especially mosaic tile decoration, probably unequaled by any other culture or artistic movement).