In some parts of the Islamic world like Turkey, India and Persia old books used to be decorated by miniatures of human or animal figures or by scenes of daily life, war or other specifics of social or cultural activities, which reveal the individual or collective imagination in a certain age in the past. Some of these miniatures are exquisite pieces of art and may be studied for the light they throw on the unique features of Islamic art.
Starting from the second century (Hejira calendar), the ground rules began to be laid for the art of intricately illuminated Islamic manuscripts where intertwined lines seem to have a transcendental value. This richly harmonious system of decoration is based on three main elements: design motifs, calligraphy and scrollwork. These elements are used in perfect mixture with gilding and coloring to represent the innermost feelings of the artist and the typical emotions of the Muslim reader.
The three elements merge dynamically and harmoniously against a perfectly matching background according to specific mathematical rules. The remaining space in the background is often gilded and colored to add a special touch of beauty to the original design.
Design motifs
This type of decoration consists of designs based on identical basic geometric figures that form a grid of lines. The decorative elements proceed from a central circle containing small identical squares and triangles set in symmetrical formations to produce an intricate design of octagons, hexagons, star-like polygons and other geometric shapes interlaced according to the set pattern.
The central circle with which the decorative design starts vanishes completely or partly suggesting a background rich in figures and a crystalline system of organization.
In spite of the variety of designs, some patterns may be highly recurrent like the star-shaped octagons or hexagons. Drawing repeatedly overlapping squares usually creates an octagon. The designer draws an initial circle, and inside the circle draws squares intersecting at an angle of 45 degrees. The number of squares determines the final figure; two squares produce an octagon, while three, four or five squares result in star-like shapes with twelve, sixteen or twenty sides. The repetition of octagons produces polygons of various geometric shapes.
Basic geometric shapes like the triangle and the square are present in all decorative designs. The designer may either keep these shapes intact or remove some of their sides. In the latter case, the initial shape disappears and new geometric formations emerge: square-pattern grids, equilateral triangular grids, pentagonal grids and various other formations of combined polygons.
These elements merge with other shapes like circles and spirals producing richly varied decorative intersections. In spite of the apparent intricacy, the resulting formations are basically governed by a simple mathematical structure dictated by the will of the designer. The seemingly endless fabric in plastic space creates a set of niches pervaded by inscription and by metamorphosed floral and vegetal patterns based on natural figures.
Calligraphy
The use of calligraphy or Arabic script as a decorative element was essential in producing beautifully illuminated manuscripts. Arabic script was developed to such perfection that it has become the central element in Islamic art. Initially a device used to give the appropriate glory to the copies of the Quran, Arabic calligraphy developed in time into the main art of the Islamic civilization. There are various Arabic scripts which are all governed by strict rules and are all characterized by structural elegance. The play of horizontal lines, right-angled serifs and graceful loops in different Arabic scripts produces an effect of rhythmical and dynamic structure intensified by the position of the letters whose succession seems to suggest an awesome procession.
The inscription is usually set against a geometric background decorated with scrollwork of smoothly intertwining leaves, flowers and stems surrounding the letters, which, however, do not impose on or change the meaning of the words. The letters do not only remain clear but they also acquire an additional symbolic meaning from the illumination.
Scrollwork
This kind of decoration, also known as arabesque or floral design, consists of floral and vegetal patterns drawn according to strict rules and fine miniaturization although they may seem too complex. Arabesque in general consists of curving, flat, round or sharp-edged leaves flowing in all directions in intersecting or spiral formations, either interspersing the geometric designs or surrounding the inscriptions.
In the case of arabesque, the artist's work aspires to a degree of transformation and abstraction of natural elements that retains only a remote likeness to the original plants, which may have inspired the work. The resulting vegetal world dilates with the laws of succession and rhythm creating a sense of movement typical of all scrollwork.
The various forms of Islamic decoration are governed in almost all cases by a basic structure that leads to variations determined by the designer and the style used to illuminate the manuscript. A designer may choose to use vegetal decoration out of an urge to imitate natural forms, and in so doing may not strictly abide by the established rules of thumb, but tends to represent the plant world more freely.
Line, Color and
Movement
Muslim artists have excelled in using complex color palettes. They created new color compositions, which provoke the imagination by their splendor, please the eye and address the deeper feelings and emotions of the audience.
A designer usually applies colors and gold lines after finishing the geometric designs, the calligraphy and the scrollwork. A fine blue frame is first drawn by a sharp-pointed pen, then an inside frame is drawn in red with a thin margin separating the two frames, which finally become a window surrounding the decorative pattern.
Islamic decoration is characterized by great skill in mixing and producing colors, which, when applied to the page, seem to be superbly engaged in a kind of dialogue. Indeed, the colors develop new relationships based on the established rules of density, succession and contrast.
Certain colors are used more often than others because they reinforce the effect of the decorative composition, and create a special atmosphere intended by the colorist. Red and orange, for example, are associated with fire and the sun and may therefore be used to suggest warmth and heat. Shades of green and blue, by contrast, are associated with cold lunar development and may be used to suggest cold. If the colorist together on one page uses the four colors, the effect will be that of skillful succession that suggests a sense of dynamism and remarkable luster. In this way, the skillful use of colors may represent the Muslim artist's joyful appreciation of and response to external nature
By Huyam Al-Sayyed
(AFP)
