Arabic miniatures (Arabic: ٱلْمُنَمْنَمَات ٱلْعَرَبِيَّة,Al-Munamnamāt al-ʿArabīyyah) are smallpaintings onpaper, usually book or manuscript illustrations but also sometimes separate artworks that occupy entire pages. The earliest example dates from around 690 AD, with a flourishing of the art from between 1000 and 1200 AD in theAbbasid caliphate. The art form went through several stages of evolution while witnessing the fall and rise of severalIslamic caliphates. Arab miniaturists absorbedChinese andPersian influences brought by theMongol destructions, and at last, got totally assimilated and subsequently disappeared due to theOttoman occupation of the Arab world. Nearly all forms of Islamic miniatures (Persian miniatures,Ottoman miniatures andMughal miniatures) owe their existences to Arabic miniatures, as Arab patrons were the first to demand the production ofilluminated manuscripts in the Caliphate, it wasn't until the 14th century that the artistic skill reached the non-Arab regions of the Caliphate.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Despite the considerable changes in Arabic miniature style and technique, even during their last decades, the earlyUmayyad Arab influence could still be noticed. Arabic miniature artists includeIsmail al-Jazari, who illustrated his ownBook of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices,[7] and the Abbasid artist,Yahya Al-Wasiti, who probably lived inBaghdad in the late Abbasid era (12th to 13th-centuries), was one of the pre-eminent exponents of the Baghdad school. In 1236-1237, he is known to have transcribed and illustrated the book,Maqamat (also known as theAssemblies or theSessions), a series of anecdotes of social satire written byAl-Hariri of Basra.[8] The narrative concerns the travels of a middle-aged man as he uses his charm and eloquence to swindle his way across the Arabic world.[9]
With most surviving Arabicmanuscripts in western museums,[10] Arabic miniatures occupy very little space in modern Arab culture.[11]
The following manuscripts are listed in a chronological order, however the date estimates of a codex may be concurrent or similar to those of other manuscripts due to the wide range of date estimates offered byradiocarbon dating:[12][13][14]
TheBirmingham Quran manuscript is aparchment on which two leaves of anearly Quranic manuscript are written. In 2015 the manuscript, which is held by theUniversity of Birmingham,[15] wasradiocarbon dated to between 568 and 645CE (in the Islamic calendar, between 56BH and 25AH).[16][17] It is part of theMingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts, held by the university'sCadbury Research Library.[16] The manuscript is written in ink on parchment, using anArabicHijazi script and is still clearly legible.[17] The leaves preserve parts ofSurahs18 (Al-Kahf) to20 (Taha).[18] It was on display at the University of Birmingham in 2015 and then atBirmingham Museum and Art Gallery until 5 August 2016.[19] The Cadbury Research Library has carried outmultispectral analysis of the manuscript andXRF analysis of the inks.[20]
There are nodiacritical marks to indicate short vowels, but consonants are occasionally differentiated with oblique dashes. The text is laid out in the format that was to become standard for complete Quran manuscripts, with chapter divisions indicated by a decorated line in the form of basic geometric shapes painted withred lead, an ancient pigment used from 300 BCE onwards, such motifs vary in color and shapes in this manuscript, in one folio, three wavy threads of orange-red colour separated by dots run parallel over the entire span of the page, In the outer margin, the three lines are interlaced to draw a highly stylizedpalm leaf, in another folio, the separator is covered with blackheads. The verse endings are indicated by intertextual clustered dots.[21][22][23]
In thecodex Parisino-petropolitanus, one of theoldest extant manuscripts of theQuran. With its largest part of the fragmentary manuscript being held at theBibliothèque nationale de France,Paris, as BnF Arabe 328(ab), with 70folia. And another 46 folia are kept in theNational Library of Russia inSaint-Petersburg.
Two additional folia have been preserved, one kept in theVatican Library (Vat. Ar. 1605/1) and the other in theKhalili Collections in London (KFQ 60), attributed to the 7th century, six oval dots ranked in three pairs also punctuate the verses. Every fifth verse is marked by a redalif surrounded by dots (rather than hollow circles like in Codex B. L. Or. 2165). Thesurahs are separated by a space.[24][25][26]
In the Codex B. L. Or. 2165, a Qur'ānic manuscript from the 1st century Hijra, with its fragments in theBritish Library,London (United Kingdom);Bibliothèque Nationale,Paris (France) and inDār al–Athar al–Islāmiyyah,Kuwait city (Kuwait). Six oval dots ranked in three pairs punctuate the verses. Every tenth verse is marked by a red hollow circle surrounded by dots.[27][28][29]
Simple ornaments of the borders and openings of the surahs in the pages of the 1st centuryhijra Qur'ans are also found. A notable example is theTIEM ŞE 321Mus'haf (This manuscript belongs to the Şam Evrakı ‘Papers of Syria’ collection, at theTurkish and Islamic arts Museum). The surah headings of this codex are illuminated but do not represent the text found in the pages. The decorations of this Qur'an resembles those of the Umayyad mosaics of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It's dated to the period after 72 AH / 691–692 CE or more probably during the last quarter of the 1st (early 8th) centuryhijra.[30][31][32]
The “Umayyad Codex of Fusṭāṭ” (Codex Marcel 13) of the 1st century of hijra, is a manuscript that may have been one of the mus'hafs that were sent byal-Hajjaj to many important cities includingFusṭāṭ that contained reformed orthography, it is written in theKufic or perhaps lateḥijāzī script.
This copy was written with 25 lines to the page on folios in vertical format. The average height of the line is about 11.5 mm. With homogenous quires with five bifolios. The surah headings of this codex are illuminated but irregularly.[33]
Another manuscript housed in theTurkish and Islamic Arts Museum is the "Qur'an of 'Uthman", due to itscolophon that attributes the scribal work of the mus'haf to'Uthman bin' Affan, the thirdRashidun caliph, however, the style of script and decorations seems to go against this claim. Therefore, it is more likely that this manuscript dates back to the second half of 1st century or first half of 2nd centuryhijra. The codex was restored byDāwūd bin ʿAlī al-Kaylānī on 3 December 1437 CE.
The manuscript is written on parchment made out ofgazelle skin. While the folios from the restoration of 1437 CE are made out of paper. Every tenth ayah is marked with a circular gold medallion surrounded by blue, green, and red dots.[34][35][36][37][38]
TheTopkapi Mushaf, also called “Qur'ān Of ʿUthmān” (Topkapi Museum,Istanbul,Turkey), From 1st / 2nd Century Hijra, is traditionally attributed to Uthman Ibn Affan. But the paleographic assessment indicates that the Topkapi manuscript comes closest to those writings that date back to the 8th century. Its illuminations are similar to those found in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the Umayyad Mosque inDamascus and otherUmayyad monuments.
Its surahs are separated by ornamented horizontal bands. The manuscript also contains large circular rosettes, these are found after every 5 and 10Ayahs, while rectangular shaped signs are found after every 100 verses and signs of similar shape following every 200 verses in some surahs.[39][40]
As for the“Qur'ān Of ʿUthmān” (also known as the Uthman Quran, Samarkand codex, Samarkand manuscript and Tashkent Quran) at Tashkent (Samarkand),Uzbekistan, based onorthographic andpalaeographic studies, it probably dates from the 8th or 9th century.[41] Radio-carbon dating shows a 95.4% probability of a date between 775 and 995.[41] However, one of the folios from another manuscript (held in the Religious Administration of Muslims in Tashkent) was dated to between 595 and 855 A.D. with a likelihood of 95%.[41]
Written in the territory of modern Iraq in theKufic script. Now kept in theHast Imam library, inTashkent,Uzbekistan.[42][43] Its verse endings are marked by small panels of diagonals lines; the tenth verse is marked with a square medallion illuminated in blue, green, red andmanganese with astellar design.[44]
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The only surviving Arabic illuminated manuscript dating from before the 11th century is the "Great Umayyad Qur'an". Found inthe Great Mosque in Sana'a, ornamentation of this manuscript incorporated motifs that are very similar to those used to decorate theDome of the Rock, theGreat Mosque of Damascus and thedesert castles of Umayyads. Because of this the time of production of this Qur'an has been narrowed to between 691 and 743 CE. It is the only lavishly illuminated Qur'an codex extant that can be securely placed in the Umayyad period. It's currently housed in theDar al-Makhtutat. The manuscript includes full illustrations that take up entire pages, and alsosūrah dividers and ornamental borders. One of the miniatures representingJannah is based on acosmogram, and, on the reverse, amosque.[4]
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The first illustrated Arabic manuscript still preserved from the 11th century isAbd al-Rahman al-Sufi'sBook of Fixed Stars, dated from around 1009 (Bodleian Library, Marsh144). Thisastronomy work was copied by the author's son himself, from models that already existed in the previous century. It is then necessary to wait until the end of the twelfth century to find a boom in miniatures in theArab world.[45]
Several Islamic monarchs enjoyed a long reign, such as the Abbasid caliphAn-Nasir or the regent then king ofMosulBadr al-Din Lu'lu' (1218-1259), contributing to the prosperity of the region and the emergence of a rich cultural background. It is also in this city the class of wealthymerchants were likely to order such works. The manuscripts still conserved today correspond to the end of this period of prosperity, the first half of thefourteenth century.[46]
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The Arab society present at that time showed a great interest intheatrical shows and particularly inpuppets andshadow theatre. The appearance of the characters depicted in theminiatures are reminiscent of the figurines from these shows. In addition, the epoch featured a great enthusiasm for the sessions orMaqamat al-Harīrī, tales featuring ajester character to whom manyadventures happen. The combination of these elements of interest may explain the commissioning of illuminated manuscripts of this text. It also explains the birth of a new genre of painting, representing realistically the details of daily life contemporary to the painter of the illustration. Finally, this emergence of the image is also explained by the weakening of theban on figurative representation in the arts during this period.[47] One of the most famous centers in the Arab world was theBaghdad School, also known as the Arab school, it was a relatively short-lived yet influential center of Arab art developed during the late 12th century in the capitalBaghdad of the ruling Abbasid Caliphate. The movement had largely died out by the early 14th century, five decades following the invasion of the Mongols in 1258 and the downfall of the Abbasids' rule.
Another example are the Fatimids who fueled a renaissance in Arabic figurative arts, thus developing a stylized and distinct style. The prevalence of books within the Fatimid empire was demonstrated by the existence of theDār al-'Ilm, or theHouse of Knowledge. In 1045 CE, the Dār al-'Ilm was reported to contain 6,500 volumes[48] ofscientific andliterary subjects. When theFatimid dynasty dissolved during the twelfth century, the libraries and collections of books that existed inCairo were dispersed, making it difficult to locate any complete manuscripts.[49] Only fragments of text and paper are able to provide information of the content and style of Fatimid manuscripts.
It is rare to have an example of both text andillustrations of the same page, which makes it difficult to gather information aboutilluminated manuscripts. In some cases, it is possible that illustrations were added to an already existing text at a later date.[48] Fatimid illustration style can be demonstrated by one surviving piece of paper, which was excavated in Cairo. This single sheet of paper has drawings on both sides; one side showing a lion, and the other, a hare. While it is unclear whether this page originated from a work of, potentially, scientific orzoological subject matter, it is an example of larger patterns of naturalistic and figural representation withinFatimid art.[50]
Mamluk painting marks the last revival of miniature paintings in the Arab world. In this style, a more rigid style is found most commonly. A new interest is developed in the field of war treatises. Formalism is the main characteristic of the manuscripts of this period: the decorations are schematic and reduced to a minimum,geometric compositions, stylized folds of clothing. The features of the characters sometimes take on those of Mongol rulers, depicting "Asian eyes", similar to those of certain turkic Mamlukemirs andmonarchs. The oldest manuscript of this style dates back to 1273 withIbn Butlan'sBanquet of the Physicians (Ambrosian Library, A.125 Inf.). One of the most exemplary manuscripts of this style is theMaqamat of Vienna, probably painted inEgypt in1334.[51]
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Cairo,Damascus, andAleppo were among the main centers of manuscript production. Mamluk-periodQur'ans were richlyilluminated and exhibit stylistic similarities with those produced under the contemporaryIlkhanids in Iran.[52] The production of high-quality paper at this time also allowed for pages to be larger, which in turn encouraged artists to elaborate newmotifs anddesigns to fill these larger formats. Some manuscripts could be monumental in size; for example, one Qur'an manuscript produced for Sultan Sha'ban measured between 75 and 105 cm (30–41 in) tall.[52] One of the stylistic features that distinguished Mamluk manuscript decoration was the presence ofgilded foliatescrollwork over pastel-coloured backgrounds set within wide margins.Frontispieces were often decorated with star-shaped or hexagonal geometric motifs.[52]
Thesack of Baghdad in 1258 by the Mongol armies marked the beginning of a decline in the art of illuminated books. The miniature survived inSyria andEgypt, underMamluk rule, however, the style became less refined, and morenaïve. With the fall of the Mamluks following theBattle of Anjar, most Arab countries became peripheral regions of theOttoman and Persian empires and only the centers far away from the Arab world of these empires perpetuated this art.[53]
Arab miniaturists had to adapt to the tastes of their new rulers and theMongols who brought with themChinese influences. This influence is felt in particular in the book ofManafi' al-hayawan by IbnBukhtishu (Pierpont Morgan Library, M.500), theVestiges of the past of theUniversity of Edinburgh (Ms.161) dated 1307 or evenThe marvels of creation and their peculiarities from theBavarian State Library (C.Ar.464). However, this art continued regressing,Iraq gradually becoming a satellite region of theIlkhanate and the network of local sponsors gradually disappeared.[54]
One of the last important illustrated Arabic manuscripts is a copy ofAl-Qazwini'sWonders of Creation dated around 1370 and 1380 in Baghdad (Freer Gallery of Art, 54.33-114). It shows both Mongol and Persian influences, although it still remains faithful to the caliphal classical Arabic tradition. Subsequently, the few rare manuscripts still produced in this region lost their originality and almost totally assimilated to theOttoman orPersian style.[55]
Figurative art has been known toArabs sincepre-Islamic times. Many examples of figurative representations such asfrescoes andreliefs of humans and animals adorn the palaces of theUmayyad period, as on theMshatta Facade,[56] or thedesert castles of theLevant, or the harems of the Abbasid era.[57]
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Several Arabic manuscripts havefrontispieces representingprinces surrounded by their courts. Among these works, although intended for commoners, wealthy merchants or others, some have retained the frontispiece of thePersian manuscripts from which they were inspired. These princeportraits representhieratic (highly formalised) and frozen characters. These are generally literary works intended for entertainment.[58]
At the end of the twelfth century, a new influence appeared; it was medieval painting that came through Byzantine illumination developed inSyria.Christian iconography was taken up but adapted to the Muslim context. The manuscript ofDioscorides ofTopkapi takes up models taken fromByzantine manuscripts that can be found in theDioscorides of Vienna copied inConstantinople in thesixth century. But this influence can be found in manuscripts without any relation with ancient subjects, as in several manuscripts of theMaqamat. For example, In the Hariri of 1222 (BNF Ar.6094), the figures in the miniatures wearturbans while having Byzantine features and attitudes close toChrist or hisapostles.[59]
| Color(s) | Source(s) |
|---|---|
| Red/pink أَحْمَر/وَرْدِي |
|
| Yellow أَصْفَر |
|
| Blue أَزْرَق | Plant-based substances such as:
Chemical- and mineral-based colors, including:
|
| White أَبْيَض |
|
| Brown بُنِيّ |
|
| Green أَخْضَر | Green was achieved by using a base ofcopper, such as: |
Two types of works were illustrated; scientific books and literary manuscripts.Baghdad,Mosul and northern Syria were the main centers for the manufacturing of manuscripts, usually the origin of the works is often difficult to determine.
The main field in which illustrated manuscripts proliferated were scientific works. Usuallybestiaries,veterinary medicine and particularlyfurūsiyya andhippiatry such as theBook of Veterinary Art byAhmed Ibn Hussein. There are also books onpharmacopoeia oranti-poison, often drawn from the texts of ancient doctors. TheBook ofTheriac is the most famous example, inspired byGalen. Books onmechanics andautomata used to be written, and in particular the most famous of them,The Book of Knowledge of Mechanical Tricks byAl-Jazari in 1206, Who was the engineer of theArtukid sultanNasir ad-Din Mahmoud.Treatises oncosmogony orcosmography were also written.[61]
TheMaqamat manuscripts provide an opportunity to employ aniconography directly inspired by daily life in the Arab towns of the time.[62] Love stories are present inArabic literature, but only two illustrated manuscripts are known, the most famous of which isHadith Bayad wa Riyad. The other particularity of the manuscript is being one of the rare illustrated works produced in theMaghreb orAl-Andalus at that time.[63]
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