Lahore University of Management Sciences

HIST 216
Islamic Art and Architecture:
A Historical Introduction
Spring 2020

Course Outline
Instructor: Dr. Tehnyat Majeed
 Lahore University of Management Sciences
216 HIST – Islamic Art and Architecture: A Historical Introduction
Spring 2020

Instructor DR. TEHNYAT MAJEED

Room No. 239 J (Old HSS Wing)
Office Hours Mondays & Wednesdays 10.30am –12.15pm
Email tehnyat.majeed@lums.ed.pk
Telephone 2383
Secretary/TA AROOBA GHAYAS
TA Office Hours
Course URL (if n/a
any)

Course Basics
Credit Hours 4
Lecture(s) Nbr of Lec(s) Per Week 2 (MW) Duration 1 hour 50 minutes (4pm – 5.50pm)
Recitation/Lab (per week) Nbr of Lec(s) Per Week Duration Academic Block, A5
Tutorial (per week) Nbr of Lec(s) Per Week Duration

Course Distribution
Core
Elective
Open for Student Category
Close for Student Category

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course introduces the major artefacts and monuments of the Islamic world from 600-1700 AD and integrates this
material with its historical, religious and cultural contexts. It traces the development of both sacred and secular art of
Islam originating in Arabia to across a vast geographical terrain encompassing Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Turkey,
Central Asia, Egypt and Spain. Broadly, following a thematic approach, it explores cross-cultural influences and artistic
exchanges that made the art of the Islamic lands so eclectic and stylistically diverse. Most of all, this course by viewing
artefacts in the contexts of patronage, religious doctrine, cultural appropriation, regional artistic traditions, and
technological innovation, reveals some of the mechanisms by which the art of Islam, despite its earlier borrowings
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from Byzantine and Sasanian visual cultures, developed its own unique and rich cultural and artistic forms of
expression.
The course also highlights some of the essential problematics of Islamic art. These range from the widespread
misconception about the absence and prohibition of figural iconography, the proliferation of commemorative
funerary structures and the cult of shrine architecture, as well as, the representation of Islamic beliefs, customs and
peoples in museum exhibits, and in the study of Islamic material culture within western institutions of higher
learning. Within the thematic framework of the course, the class sessions deal with a selection of historical and
modern sources to understand central concepts and contexts, and generally, follow a chronological trajectory to
enable students to track artistic changes, identify regional trends, and make stylistic connections in the artistic
production of Islamic societies.
The course addresses some of the following important questions:
 What is Islamic about Islamic art?
 What principles guided the formation of Islamic aesthetics?
 How leading historical, political, social and economic circumstances transformed the nomadic Arabs into a
sophisticated civilization that produced for centuries an art of tremendous vitality and diversity?
 What kinds of perceptions have been brought into the study of Islamic material culture by western
scholarship?

COURSE PREREQUISITE(S)

 Basic knowledge of early Islamic history

 Acquainted with the fundamentals of Islamic beliefs and practices
 Some familiarity with the Arabic script

COURSE OBJECTIVES

 To familiarize students with the historical contexts for Islamic artistic and cultural heritage
 To introduce the discourse prevalent in the study of Islamic art and archaeology
 To review frameworks, methodologies and approaches used in the field
 To develop art historical skills, critical inquiry and independent analytical thinking in the discipline

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the successful completion of the course students will:
 Gain a historical and visual knowledge of major Islamic artefacts and monuments
 Be able to identify, interpret and evaluate a range of Islamic objects, stylistic periods and source materials
 Gain the ability to use artefact as primary source along with textual sources in order to build contexts
 Acquire knowledge of the broad concepts and key issues in the discipline
 Understand the linkages between trade, politics, technology, society, religion and cultural expression
 Develop the ability to appraise the methods and approaches used by art historians, archaeologists and
scholars who document and interpret Islamic material culture
 Become conversant in the artistic and technical vocabulary of Islamic art
 Be able to conduct independent research on topics related to Islamic artistic forms and cultural traditions
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
The principles of truth and honesty are recognized as fundamental to a community of teachers and students. This
means that all academic work will be done by the student to whom it is assigned without unauthorized aid of any
kind. Plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited. Any instances of academic
dishonesty in this course (intentional or unintentional) will be dealt with swiftly and severely. Potential penalties
include receiving a failing grade on the assignment in question or in the course overall. For further information,
students should make themselves familiar with the relevant section of the LUMS student handbook.

GRADING BREAKUP AND POLICY

Class Participation, Attendance, Class Assignments & Field Trip: 15%

Group Presentations: 20% [Analysis of an Object from a Required Reading/Topic]
Mid-Term Exam: 20%
Essay Project & Presentation (Theme TBD): 25%
Final Examination (Mind Mapping|Essay Questions| Slides| Object Analysis): 20%

Students are strongly encouraged to participate actively in class discussions. This entails not only a close reading of
the assigned material which is fairly difficult, but also requires advance preparation of key concepts and historical
contexts. Class sessions, most often, will begin with a set of questions related to the readings by means of which
students will be guided to carry out rigorous analysis and critical evaluation of the content. This is an essential
exercise as the content knowledge presented in the readings sets the framework for the study of artefacts and
monuments covered in the lecture.

Oral presentations are based on the required readings and will be presented in groups. One of the methods employed
in group presentations, is the device of peer assessment. The group presenting will be questioned by their peers and
assessed on the basis of structure, reasoning, content and delivery. The midterm exam will be predominantly
composed of objective test questions, in addition to a section on visual slides which students will identify with full
attribution. Therefore, students are advised to pay careful attention to the visual material in class. Most of all, in both
the exams, each student must display the ability to describe artefacts in a systematic and comprehensive manner, as
well as, demonstrate the skill to carry out contextual analyses of artefacts by using historical documents and textual
sources.

Topics for the research paper will be based on one of the themes covered in the course, and will be decided in
consultation with the course instructor. Submissions after the due date will not be accepted.

EXAMINATION DETAIL
Yes/No: Yes
Combine Separate:
Midterm
Duration: 1hr 15 min
Exam
Preferred Date:
Exam Specifications: Objective/Visual Slides/ Architectural Descriptions

Yes/No: Yes
Final Exam Combine Separate:
Duration: 2hrs
Exam Specifications: Short Essay Questions/Visual Slides
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SESSION TOPICS REQUIRED READINGS
PART I: ORIENTATION, MAPPING & SOURCES
Introduction: Arts of the Islamic Lands Al-Ghazali (1996), Reflections on
1 Islamic View of Art and Literature,
- Overview: Course Outline – Geographical terrain | Dynastic
(20 Jan) pp.425-434.
Coverage | Approaches & Methodologies
Mapping the Islamic Empire I & II Brotton (2014), Exchange: Al-Idrisi,
2
AD 1154, pp.54-81.
- Sacred Cities (Pilgrimage) | Caliphate| Craft Centres | The Seven
(22 Jan)
Climes |
3 Mapping the Islamic Empire II Krahl (2010), Shipwrecked, pp.54-
81.
(27 Jan) -Imperial Capitals | Empire & Exchange | Trade Networks
Islamic Art and Archaeology: An overview of the discipline Vernoit (1997), Rise of Islamic
4
Archaeology, pp.1-10.
- Colonization & Orientalism | Documentation & History of
(29 Jan)
Collecting | The Great Exhibitions & Museums
Sources for Islamic Art & History Finlay (2003) Green in Color,
5 pp.245-278.
-Primary Evidence; Art Historical Analysis
(3 Feb) -Primary, Secondary Tertiary; Analysing Texts| Historiography
|Shaping Narratives
Visual Literacy Skills: Islamic Art & Architecture Patterson, Visual Literacy Skills,
6
pp.31-37.
[Ground Plans| Buildings| Portable Objects| Illustrated Pages|
(8 Feb)
Calligraphic Folios
PART II: SACRED GEOGRAPHY
Hijaz: Mecca & Medina Broadhurst (2001), Travels of Ibn
7
Jubayr, pp.69-121.
- Pre-Islamic Arabia | The Ka’ba | Meccan society, trade &
(10 Feb)
commerce | Earliest Islamic community | Prophet’s Mosque
Jerusalem: Masjid al-Aqsa Abdul Hadi (2013). Al-Aqsa
Mosque. Al-Haram ash-Sharif
- al-Haram al-Sharif | Ground Plan | Evolution
8
- A Virtual Walking Tour: al-Haram al-Sharif
(12 Feb)
-Video excerpt: Omar Ibn al-Khattab (conquest of Jerusalem)

Jerusalem: Qubbat al-Sakhra Akkach (2005), al-Nabulusi’s

9 Encounter, pp.110-127.
- Abd al-Malik’s Jerusalem
(17 Feb)

PART III: ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE & ITS CONTEXTS

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The Earliest Mosque Types Alami (2011), Al-Jahiz in the
10
Mosque at Damascus, pp.159-188.
- Great Mosque of Damascus |Great Mosque of al-Mansur,
(19 Feb)
Baghdad
11 -The Great Mosque of Cordoba Ruggles (2011), The Stratigraphy of
Forgetting, pp.51-67.
(24 Feb) - The Umayyads of Spain | Appropriation & Transplantation
- Video Documentary (with historian Bettany Hughes) The Great
12
Mosque of Cordoba
(26 Feb)
- Video: When the Moors ruled Europe

Saturday Wazir Khan Fieldtrip Aga Khan Trust (2012),

Conservation of the Wazir Khan
29 Feb Mosque.
13 Commemorative Structures Blair (1990), Sufi Saints and Shrine
Architecture, pp.35-49.
(2 Mar) - Death & Burial in Islam |The Tomb | The Funerary Complex
Student Presentations: Wazir Khan Mosque: Form & Function
14
- Historical Context |Architectural Plan & Layout | Decorative
(4 Mar)
Scheme
PART IV: ARTS OF THE BOOK
Divine Revelation I: The Qur’an and the Kufi Script Bloom (1991), The early Fatimid
15
Koran Manuscript, pp.171-178.
- Arabic Script – Fundamentals |Early Quran folios |Development
(9 Mar)
of the Kufic script
16 MID-TERM EXAM (Objective | Slides)
(11 Mar)
Divine Revelation II: The Master Calligraphers Blair (1999), The Standardization of
17
Arabic Script, pp.77-100.
- Abbasid Caliphate |Ibn Muqla | Ibn al-Bawwab | Yaqut al-
(25 Mar)
Mustasimi
18 Visual Literacy Skills Exercises: Writing & Image
(28 Mar)

19 Islamic Illustrated Manuscripts I: The Arabic Book Toprak (2012). Oral Narrating
Traditions, pp.133-142.
(30 Mar) - Scientific texts | Medical texts |Literary texts

20 Islamic Illustrated Manuscripts II: The Persian Tradition Askari (2016). Portrayal of Ardashir
in the Shahnama, pp.84-124.
(1 Apr) - The Ilkhanids | Historical Texts | Shahname (The Book of Kings)
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21 Islamic Illustrated Manuscripts III: Poetry and Mysticism Kamada (2010), Illustrated
Manuscript of Mantiq al-Tayr,
(6 Apr) - The Safavid Royal Atelier | Mantiq al-Tayr
pp.129-175
PART IV: CULTURAL APPROPRIATION & REPRESENTATION
22 Islamic Ceramics I Kadoi (2009), Ceramics, pp.39-73.
(8 Apr) - Centres of Production | Technical Innovations | Aesthetics of Clay
- Video: Earthenware pottery
23 Islamic Ceramics II Stanley (2011), Iznik Ceramics
between Asia and Europe, 1470s-
(13 Apr) - Iznik Potteries of the Ottoman Empire
1550s, pp.123-132.

24 Islamic Metalwork Spuhler (2007), On the Long

Journey from East to West, pp.251-
(15 Apr) - Centres of Production | Techniques | Iconography
262.

25 Islamic Coinage Treadwell (2009), ‘Abd al-Malik’s

Coinage Reforms, pp.1-25.
(20 Apr) - Appropriation & Modification | Umayyad Coinage Reform
Video documentary: Islamic Art in the West Bloom (2009), A Global Guide to
26
Islamic Art.
Video: Building the MET Moroccan Court
( 22 Apr)

ESSAY PRESENTATIONS
27 Student Essay Presentations
(27 Apr) - 5 minute presentations | Tutorial feedback

28 Student Essay Presentations

(29 Apr) -5 minute presentations |Tutorial feedback
Submission: Research Essay
29 - FINAL EXAM

TEXTBOOK(S)/REQUIRED READINGS

REFERENCE TEXTBOOKS:
Ettinghausen, Richard and Oleg Grabar (1987). The Art and Architecture of Islam, 650-1250, London, New Haven: Yale
University Press.
Blair, Sheila S. and Jonathan M. Bloom (1995), The Art and Architecture of Islam, 1250-1800, New York: Yale
University Press and Penguin Books.
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Bloom, J. (2009). A Global Guide to Islamic Art, Saudi Aramco World, January-February, pp.32-43, available at
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200901/a.global.guide.to.islamic.art.htm (accessed on 25
September 2014).
Robinson, Chase F. (2016) Islamic Civilization in Thirty Lives: The First 1,000 Years, Thames & Hudson.
REQUIRED READINGS:
Abdul Hadi, Mahdi (2013). Al-Aqsa Mosque: al-Haram ash-Sharif, Palestine Academic Society for the Study of
International Affairs, Jerusalem.
Akkach, Samer (2005). The Poetics of Concealment: Al-Nabulusi’s Encounter with the Dome of the Rock, Muqarnas,
Vol.22, pp.110-127.
Alami, Mohammed Hamdouni (2011). Al-Jahiz in the Mosque at Damascus: Social Critique and Debate in the History
of Umayyad Architecture, in Art and Architecture in the Islamic Tradition. Aesthetics, Politics and Desire in
Early Islam, London: I B Tauris & Co Ltd, pp,159-188.
Al-Ghazali, Muhammad (1996). Reflections on Islamic View of Art and Literature, Islamic Studies, Vol.35, no.4
(Winter), pp.425-434.
Askari, Nasrin (2016). The Protrayal of Ardashir in the Shahnama, in The Medieval Reception of the Shahnama as a
Mirror for Princes, pp.84-124.
Beyer, Vera & Isabelle Dolezalik (2012). Contextualising Choices: Islamicate Elements in European Arts, The Medieval
History Journal, Vol. 15, pp.231-242.
Blair, Sheila S. (2006). The Standardization of Arabic Script, in Islamic Calligraphy, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
Press, pp.77-100.
Blair, Sheila S. (1990). Sufi Saints and Shrine Architecture in the Early Fourteenth Century, Muqarnas, Vol.7, pp.35-49.
Bloom, Jonathan (1991). The early Fatimid blue Koran manuscript, Graeco-Arabica, Vol. 4, pp. 171-8.
Broadhurst, Roland C.J. (2001). The Travels of Ibn Jubayr. A medieval Spanish Muslim visits Makkah, Madinah, Egypt,
cities of the Middle East and Sicily, translated by R.J.C. Broadhurst, first published in 1952, London: Goodword
Books.
Brotton, Jerry. (2014). Exchange: Al-Idrisi, AD 1154, A History of the World in 12 Maps, New York: Penguin Books,
pp.54-81.
Finlay, Victoria. (2004). Green in Color: A Natural History of the Palette, New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks,
pp.245-278.
Kadoi, Yuka (2009). Ceramics, in Islamic Chinoiserie. The Art of Mongol Iran, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,
pp.39-73.
Kamada, Yumiko (2010). A Taste for Intricacy: An Illustrated Manuscript of Mantiq al-Tayr in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Orient, Vol.45, pp.129-175.
Krahl, Regina et al. (eds) (2010). Shipwrecked. Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds. Washington DC: Arthur M. Sackler
Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, National Heritage Board, Singapore.
Patterson, Carrie. (2019). Visual Literacy Skills: How to See. Chantilly, Virginia: The Great Courses, The Teaching
Company.
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Ruggles, D. Fairchild (2011). The Stratigraphy of Forgetting: The Great Mosque of Cordoba and its contested Legacy in
Contested Cultural Heritage: Religion, Nationalism, Erasure, and Exclusion in a Global World, ed. Helaine
Silverman, New York: Springer, pp.51-67.
SAW (Saudi Aramco World), A Virtual Walking Tour: al-Haram al-Sharif, available at
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200901/a.virtual.walking.tour.al-haram.al-sharif.htm (accessed on
25 September 2014).
Spuhler, Friedrich (2007). On the Long Journey from East to West – Dragons from Tibet, in Facts and Artefacts. Art in
the Islamic World, eds. Annette Hagedorn, Avinoam Shalem, Leiden, Boston: Brill, pp.251-262.
Stanley, Tim (2011). Iznik Ceramics between Asia and Europe, 1470s-1550s, Arts of Asia, Vol.XLI, no.6 (Nov-Dec),
pp.123-132.
Toprak, Filiz A. (2012). The Influence of Oral Narrating Traditions on a frequently Illustrated Thirteenth-Century
Manuscript, in Islamic Art, Architecture and Material Culture, ed. Margaret S. Graves, BAR International Series
2436, pp.133-142.
Treadwell, Luke (2009). ‘Abd al-Malik’s Coinage Reforms: The Role of the Damascus Mint, La Revue Numismatique,
tome 165, pp.357-381.
Vernoit, Stephen (1997). The Rise of Islamic Archaeology, Muqarnas, Vol.14, pp.1-10.
WEB RESOURCES:
Encyclopaedia Iranica, http://www.iranicaonline.org/
Museum with No Frontiers, Discover Islamic Art, http://www.discoverislamicart.org/index.php
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History,
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hi/te_index.asp?i=Islamic
Saudi Aramco World, http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201405/
Archnet, http://archnet.org/timelines/48
David Collection (Copenhagen), http://www.davidmus.dk/en/collections/islamic
V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum (London), http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/i/islamic-middle-east/