Islamic Metalwork; Muslim artisans crafted elaborate boxes, basins, bowls, jugs and incense burners decorated with arabesques, inscriptions, and other highly stylized plant forms, specializing also in brass and bronze, luxuriously inlaid with gold, silver and copper.

Metalwork has always enjoyed great prestige in the Islamic world. The beautifully shaped metal wares used at meals and banquets were regarded as status symbols and tokens of a family's prosperity. As in ancient times, bronze household goods were prized for their durability and natural beauty. The exact appearance of the metal's shimmering or shining surfaces and nuances of color depended on the specific alloy used. The invention of bronze was sometimes attributed to persons of rank and name, such as the Mughals ruler Akbar during the 16th century, though it was also claimed to be the work of legendary artisans of the distant past, such as Gushtasp the Smith, who was said to have labored to perfect the craft of metalwork. Apart from a variety of different bronzes, alloys based on copper (70-80%) and large proportions of tin, lead, or zinc were particularly widely found.

The early Islamic vessels were based on ancient models. They were mostly cast, and their timeless forms were embellished only with simple grooves or bosses. On a ewer signed and dated by the master craftsman Ibn Yazid with an inscription saying that it was produced in Basra (Iraq), the need for ornament felt in Islamic art is satisfied in the engraved arabesques and the leaf-shaped thumb-rest that rises up from its handle. A 19 inch (49 cm) tall bronze jug expresses the ornamental tendencies of Islamic art with its arabesque garlands, which cover the whole surface, following one another in an ordered, recurring pattern adapted to the diameter of the vessel, the form of which reflects pre-Islamic traditions. Some vessels from the 8th and 9th centuries even have raised arabesques inlaid with red copper.

This metalware is usually characterized by balanced, practical forms. For example, oil lamps were not only made with a single spout, but also with up to four wick holes, so that they gave off more light. The early hanging mosque lamps were spherical vessels with funnel-shaped necks. Their sides were perforated with fine honeycomb patterns, which often surround Quranic inscriptions. When the lamps were lit, these inscriptions stood out in expressive starkness to inspire the faithful. Piercing reached its highest level of development in the eastern Islamic lands, where lampshades and large incense burners were manufactured. Some of these goods even reached Scandinavia along the extended trading routes that followed the River Volga. Incense burners were used to burn expensive perfumes from India or the Arabian Peninsula. They were designed with domes, or in the shape of birds or wild cats. The examples that have survived are evidence of the refined life-style enjoyed by the prosperous stratum of the population that lived on trade.

The heavy door knockers made in the 12th and 13th centuries in the area around the Euphrates and the Tigris standout from the mass of functionally designed products. They were mounted in pairs and formed the focus of the huge doors made of wood and completely covered with bronze panels that were installed in palaces and mosques. Stylized dragons were believed to scare off evil spirits and prevent them from crossing the threshold. They were attached loosely with pins that ended in lions' heads. Solid casting with the aid of a reusable wooden mold made it possible to produce them in pairs. AI-Jazari, who made a door for the Artuqid palace in the late 12th century that was 4.6 meters (15 ft.) high and completely covered with cast bronze stars, describes this process, which opened the way to mass production.

AI-Jazari also provides an exposition of inlaying techniques, in which various metals were combined together. The design would first be cut out of the background metal and its surface roughened. Then sheet copper, silver, or gold would be hammered into it, sometimes using a black resin as an adhesive. This particularly labor-intensive technique established the fame of Islamic metalwork, the reputation of which had spread beyond the bounds of the Islamic world at the latest by the 14th century.

Islamic Metalwork Part two >

ISLAMIC ART

Astrolabe, Toledo, 1029/30, Berlin, Staatsbibliotek. The astrolabe, a portable instrument for sighting the fixed stars and planets, can be used for measuring time at places with known geographical coordinates, for determining the direction for prayer towards Mecca, and the daily times for prayer. Manufactured in Toledo by the Cordoba scholar Muhammad ibn al-Saffer, this astrolabe comprises nine inset disks with 16 registered places, from Cordoba, Toledo, and Saragossa, to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, as far as the "Ruby Island" of Ceylon and the "limits of the known world." The grid on the front of the astrolabe indicates 29 stars with the curved star pointers. On the back there are additional scales for the zodiac and the solar year, a Spanish innovation. The instrument makers of al-Andalus not only paid attention to perfect astronomical workability but also to artistic styling.

"Ya Ali" - the ax of Ali, Ottoman battle-ax, 16th century, Istanbul, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art. At the time of the Crusades, Ali's courage and moderate treatment of his enemies made him a model of the righteous Muslims fighting for his faith. This chivalric ideal, as represented, for instance, by Salah ad-Din (Saladin), the greatest Islamic hero of the period of the Crusades, became famous in the west as well.

Silver gilt Vase Decorated with Attacking Lions from the 7th - 8th century A.D. The lion attacking a weaker animal is a symbol of imperial authority and a well-known theme in ancient Near Eastern art but is also found in Islamic art. Perhaps the most notable and earliest Islamic example is a floor mosaic in an early Umayyad palace excavated at Khirbat al-Mafjar, near Jericho, Jordon.

Carved stucco figures of lions, cap-rids, and birds there are also stylistically related to the animal imagery on this silver vase, particularly the animals' wide, deep-set eyes. The depiction of the lion's head in nearly full-front view, as on the vase, is a characteristic of early Islamic art and is not a feature prevalent in Sasanian times.