Current approach to protection of printed layers on monuments of Islamic sacral

architecture

Abstract

Within the protection of cultural and historical heritage, there is no differentiation into sacred
and profane space, which has negative consequences in the interior of Islamic sacred architecture,
which has the status of a cultural monument, especially in the approach to the protection of material
remains of painted layers in these spaces. Namely, each painted layer is treated in the same way,
whether the existing artistic realizations are authentic or not, regardless of whether they were created
on the principles of Islamic art on which traditional patterns of Islamic art of decoration are based or
are free artistic interpretations. The various works of art that actually represent arbitrary artistic
realizations are completely foreign to the Islamic art of decoration, which means that they cannot bear
the prefix Islamic in the mere fact that they are located in the interior of the mosque. In the current
protection of cultural monuments, however, these works of art are preserved and protected, even
though they do not belong to any form of traditional Islamic decorative moderation. This approach is
based on the principles of modern protection of cultural property, which is not applicable to works of
traditional art. Namely, works of traditional and modern art that have completely different origins
represent actually different values, which implies a different and more appropriate approach to their
preservation and protection. This is especially evident when it comes to Islamic sacral architecture,
which has the status of a cultural monument, that is, the interior of the mosque as an Islamic sacred
space par excellence.

Keywords: Islamic sacral architecture, Islamic sacred space, cultural monument, modern and
traditional art, Islamic decorative art, principles of Islamic art, principles of modern restoration.

Conservation-restoration approach to sacred space

Syntagma 'sacred space', carries the basic references of this space as exclusive. Sacred as a term
in Latin, the same as in Arabic or Hebrew always signifies what is singled out or exempted. The Latin
term fanum means a fenced sacred place, implying that everything outside this fence is a profanum.
Thus, on the basis of the Latin terms fanum and profanum, the differentiation of the terms sacred and
profane is indicated, which is clearly reflected in two categories of spaces that are significantly
different from each other.

This differentiation also resulted in a special relation (approach) to sacred architecture,

especially to the prayer space itself, as the epicenter of the prayer rite. The disposition of the interior
elements of this space is directly related to the character of the prayer rite. For example, the position
of believers in prayer is completely different within the Islamic and Christian prayer space, which is
reflected in the interior of these spaces. So e.g. the mosque has no furniture since the prayer takes
place on the floor as an Islamic holy topos par excellence unlike the church where the center of the
rite is an altar. It also conditioned the way in which these spaces were illuminated; the altar is
highlighted while the prayer space of the mosque is evenly illuminated because no part of this space is
of greater value than the other. Therefore, the character of the environment in which prayer takes
place is completely dependent on the practice of prayer.

On the other hand, the very act of prayer implies and requires an environment that radiates the
spiritual messages of the religion in question, which means that the prayer space and the act of prayer
are part of one whole, that is, it implies the unity of sacred space and sacred manifestations that arose
from their spiritual-religious traditions. These traditions also resulted in sacred art forms as
transmitters of sacred ideas, the basic meaning of which is to provide the believer with a spiritual
atmosphere that facilitates or aids him in remembering the sacred Realities. Artistic interventions in

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these spaces have the meaning and function of transmitting or transmitting these messages through art
forms as carriers of their meanings. Traditional patterns of sacred art forms have an ontological
foundation which means that they alone are the legitimate carriers of these ideas. Thus, traditional art
forms, and above all sacred art forms that are only the heart of their sacred traditions, are the authentic
transmitters of the spiritual messages of the religions concerned. 1

Without exception, this applies to all sacred objects of all spiritual traditions, with each of
these traditional sacred arts having their own specific characteristics. Sacred semantics that reflect the
spiritual realities of the traditions in question are the basis of artistic forms that carry spiritual
messages, implying that each element of these interiors in a certain way represents the bearers of these
meanings.2 Otherwise, the decorative elements that 'inhabit' these spaces cease to be integral parts of
the spiritual universe of the interiors of sacral objects and become independent decorative elements
outside the system of decorative programs of traditional patterns that ensure the credibility of artistic
interventions in these spaces.3

Iako ne postiji jasna razlika izmađu islamskog sakralnog i profanog prostora budući da je namaz
moguće

The approach to the protection of the material remains of painted decorations of cultural monuments
is a problem that must be considered for each object individually. However, a common feature of the
current approach to their protection is the consideration and understanding of the material remains of
painted decorations solely and only in the context of their artistic and historical values. This approach
is reduced and limited to the physical protection and maintenance of the material remains found as
separate works of art, that is, the focus of the conservation and restoration protection of the painted
decorations in the interior of the sacral architecture is focused solely on the physical preservation of
the discovered material remains without including relationships and connections with the
metaphysical assumptions of their artistic realizations. In this approach, these works of art are viewed
solely and solely as elements of interiors that have the primary or even exclusive function of
decorating surfaces that do not necessarily correlate with the nature of these inherently sacred spaces.
Therefore, it can be stated that the current approach to the protection of the interior of the sacral space
is based primarily on the physical protection of material remains, while the metaphysical assumptions
of the traditional art forms upon which they are grounded and thanks to which they build the
environment of the sacred nature of different spiritual provinces are not considered at all.

An approach to restoration and conservation of the painted layers of the Islamic prayer space

It follows from the foregoing that the conservation and restoration approach to the protection of
the sacral space is equivalent to the access to any space and that it is equally true of Islamic as any
other sacral space.4 Therefore, the protection of material remains that have been retained on the walls
of ancient mosques that have the status of cultural monuments is tantamount to protecting any space,
whether sacred or profane, is of the Islamic or other spiritual-religious province.
Each of the interior elements of Islamic sacral architecture rests on metaphysical grounds and
represents material realizations of the intangible, that is, the physical realization of metaphysical
principles. Architectural plastics, painted decorations and decorative sequences of Islamic carpeting as
well as a specific way of illuminating the Islamic prayer space are artistic realizations of Islamic art
1
Sayyed Hossein Nasr, U potrazi za svetim, Dobra knjiga, Sarajevo, 2007., str. 99.
2
Sayyed Hossein Nasr, Islamska umjetnost i duhovnost, Lingua Patria, Sarajevo, 2005. str.60, 61.
3
Frithjof Schuon, O transcendentnom jedinstvu religija, Bemust, Zenica, 1997. Str.68., 69
4
Although there is no clear distinction between the Islamic sacral and profane space, since the prayer can be
performed in any clean place, this does not mean that such differentiation does not exist. On the contrary, in the
sources of Islam to the Qur'an and the Sunnah, the masjid or mosque was singled out and excommunicated as an
Islamic holy object of the first order, including its interior as an Islamic holy space.

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principles. Each of these elements, in their own way, carries the Islamic spiritual message. They
represent an integral and inseparable part of the mosque art universe, which is based on Islamic
spirituality and is realized through traditional patterns of various forms of Islamic fine art. 5

Bearing in mind the character of the interior of Islamic sacral architecture as a sacred space, it is
clear that this space does not belong to works of art outside the corpus of different forms.

Islamic fine arts, that is, those works that did not originate from traditional forms as the sole
carriers of Islamic artistic expression. However, we are witnessing that within these spaces there are
no longer different artistic realizations of the traditional repertoire of Islamic fine arts, but rather they
have been replaced by different non-traditional artistic creations. 6

This is especially true of the Islamic art of decoration, especially when it comes to the material
remains of painted layers on the interior walls of Islamic sacred architecture that has the status of a
cultural monument. Considering the fact that every building has been renovated several times in the
time span from its construction to the present day and that it is a natural process which involves the
maintenance of these objects in all its segments, both architectural and painting elements, then it
means that every cultural monument is dependent from age it must have had painting treatments as
part of the process of renewing them. Depending on how many times the object has been treated, it
depends on how many layers of these surfaces have been left on the walls. The stratification of these
layers usually shows a number of different painting plans that were represented in different periods
depending on how and to what extent the remains of these layers were preserved. Each layer is a
document that in the current context of the approach to the protection of cultural property is treated as
a value in itself that must be preserved in situ as such. If more than one such layer was found in the
building, which is common within hundreds of years of cultural monuments, it is understood that
these layers are discovered, preserved and restored depending on their condition and presented as such
in their original form and original position in the time of their occurrence. The imperative and starting
point of the current approach of conservation and restoration protection of cultural monuments is the
protection and preservation of material remains of painted decorations as documents of a certain time,
style or about the author as creators of the subject works of art, including conservation and restoration
interventions as separate artistic realizations.
This approach results in the disintegration or lack of unity of artistic expression, which is most often
reflected in the stylistic unevenness of the decorative sequences of the various painted layers found on
the wall surfaces of the interior of the building.

Since it is an Islamic prayer, therefore holy space, every intervention, including the restoration and
conservation of painted decorations, must respect the sacred semantics of the elements of the interior,
including the painted decorations. The remains of authentic decorations most often represent painted
layers dating from the time the monument was built. These are generally the remnants of the primary
layer, which are the oldest and therefore the least material remains of this layer. As the tradition of
Islamic mural painting has been interrupted for hundreds of years, each layer created after the original
layer represents more or less a non-traditional artistic realization or an improbable interpretation of
the traditional artistic style. This means that these artistic realizations are more or less deviant from
the original decorations if they are not conservation- restoration compared to the primary layer.
Therefore, it is necessary that the approach to the conservation, restoration and reconstruction of
painted decorations in the interior of Islamic sacral architecture be based on authentic traditional
patterns, which mainly belong to the primary layer, that is, the material remains of the painted layers,
dating from the period of a mosque construction. It is important to emphasise that these layers are the
most valuable, simply because they are the most credible and not because they are the oldest. 7

5
Sayyed Hossein Nasr, Islamska umjetnost i duhovnost, Lingua Patria, Sarajevo, 2005. str.23-23.
6
Frithjof Schuon, O transcendentnom jedinstvu religija, Bemust, Zenica, 1997. Str.68.
7
Ibidem, str.69.

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Their historical value is not in doubt as it is a cultural property, but rather that their value is of
secondary importance within the sacred objects, especially when we bear in mind that the primary
function of these spaces intended for prayer has not been altered. On the other hand, the return to the
original forms of traditional Islamic decoration leads to a stylistic harmonisation of the interior and
exterior of the mosque, that is, the stylistic characteristics of the architectural forms of these objects,
which for the most part remained original, can thus be recognised in the interior as well. The unity of
style is of utmost importance here both from the point of view of cultural values and from the point of
view of the sacral semantics of these objects based on the idea of Tewidh, which is primarily realised
in the unity of the interior and exterior of Islamic sacred architecture. 8

As the difference between religious and profane space is not respected in the theory and practice
of the protection of cultural property, this is also reflected in a specific way in the protection of the
material remains of painted decorations within the Islamic prayer space. The lack of a positive
approach to protecting these goods is very clearly recognised in the contradictions arising from this
approach. This is reflected in the space being protected, because in this way its original characteristics
are changed, that is, its authentic values are lost.

Principles of Modern Restoration and Principles of Islamic Art - Origins and Differences

In the modern approach to the conservation and restoration of the material remains of painted
decorations of traditional Islamic decorative art, there is a collision of the principles of modern
restoration and the principles of Islamic art, because these principles have completely different
origins, which again has special repercussions in the interior of Islamic sacral architecture. Therefore,
the question arises of their relationship and connection in the process of protection of these goods,
since the contradictions that arise have a reflection on the very process of conservation-restoration
intervention.

As traditional art, the Islamic art of decoration stems from the spiritual wells from which every
tradition is derived. It is based on the principles of the Islamic spiritual-religious universe which
means that they have an ontological foundation. Ideas of traditional Islamic art are theocentric ideas
that are of Divine origin, while non-traditional art forms are anthropocentric, that is, they come from
ideas that arose from the human, collective or particular mind. The authenticity of forms of traditional
Islamic art refers to original artistic creations created on the principles of Islamic art that are realised
only through traditional patterns. Being based on clear and strict rules of the traditional style, this
excludes the possibilities of improvisation and free interpretation that are characteristic of non-
traditional, modern art forms, since they always refer to the author as the creator of these works of art,
whether it is merely an interpreter of a particular style as a collective or the author of both ideas and
its realizations, as is the case with modern and postmodern art. The authenticity of the painted
decorations of the traditional Islamic decorative arts refer to traditional patterns based on the
principles of Islamic art, while the authenticity of non-traditional painted layers refers to the author of
these works of art or to the stylistic characteristics of different periods as expressions of the collective
spirit. Thus the authenticity of traditional Islamic art of decoration comes from Divine ideas, while the
authenticity of non-traditional art forms is based on the ideas of the human collective or particular
mind.9
Historicity as a principle of modern conservation- restoration protection of painted decorations
implies temporality as an essential characteristic of works of art and represents a value that must be
preserved a priori. The temporality or timeframe within which the work of art was created has
significance for works originating from human ideas, since these are essentially determined by it.
They are subject to change and disappearance, since they are directly related to transient temporal
phenomena, even when the themes of this work of art are spiritual provinces. 10 This means that the

8
Sayyed Hossein Nasr, Islamska umjetnost i duhovnost, Lingua Patria, Sarajevo, 2005. str.66.
9
Sayyed Hossein Nasr, In Search of the Holy, The Good Book, Sarajevo, 2007, p. 149-152.
10
Frithjof Schuon, On the Transcendent Unity of Religions, Bemust, Zenica, 1997, p. 77-79.

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dating of modern works of art and placing them in time frames is an extremely important stage in the
process of protecting them, since temporality is an essential category for these works of art. For works
of traditional Islamic art originating from spiritual and transcendent ideas that are timeless in origin
and meaning, historicity is of secondary importance. More specifically, in the process of their
conservation-restoration protection, dating and their authorization have a certain function and
significance but are of secondary importance. Their origins represent Realities of divine origin,
meaning that they are timeless, and as such they relate to any time. This is especially evident in the
works of Islamic traditional art of decoration that has survived the brunt of modernization. The bases
on which their patterns were created, in their basic characteristics, have remained the same today as
they were more than a thousand years ago precisely because of the invariability of the very principles
of Islamic art and not because of the invariability of the patterns themselves as artistic realizations. 11
The principle of distinction, as one of the essential principles of modern restoration and
conservation protection, is related to the previous two principles and refers to the precise and clear
authorization and timing of works of art, which enables them to distinguish one artistic realization
from another and at the same time to distinguish restoration intervention from the original artistic
realization. Since they were created during break up from transcendence, non-traditional art forms
are not related to the Divine Realities but to the human, worldly realities defined by the time frames as
well as human ideas and their realizations. Distinguishing between artistic realizations and restorative
interventions aims to emphasize the determinants that defines them, which is the timeframe and
authorization of what it implies their grounding in worldly realities. 12 The dating and authorization of
these works of art aims to emphasize their creative origin and the temporal limitation of their ideas,
which, from the standpoint of the original ideas of traditional styles, is of peripheral importance,
especially when it comes to works of Islamic art, bearing in mind their ontological foundation. They
are neither determined by the time at which the artistic realizations of their authors were created, no
matter what the range of their artistic creations are, and therefore these references are of peripheral
importance to these art forms.

Thus, works of non-traditional, modern art originate from wordly transient and temporal realities
that ultimately originate from the collective or individual human mind, while the works of traditional
Islamic art are of Divine origin.13 This is particularly emphasized in the Islamic art of decoration.
This art was created on the basis of metaphysical principles that are directly related to the attributes of
God known under the traditional name Esma-ul-husna or Allah's Beautiful Names. Each of the
principles of Islamic art stems from one of the Names of God, which speaks in the most direct way
about the origin of Islamic art and its origin. The way this art is realized is of utmost importance
because non-traditional forms are not capable of conveying Divine ideas. 14 Considering the fact that
these art forms originated from hakika, Allah's . sublime wisdoms, they are the only credible carriers
and transmitters of these ideas, implying that they must be consistently respected and transmitted
correctly, that is, they must be interpreted in the traditional way. 15 In the process of their realization,
traditional rules in Islamic terminology known as 'usul' play a key role. In here it should be
emphasized that it is very important to distinguish between the terms rule and 'usul' because the first
one is of human origin while the term 'usul' is of Divine origin. Their essential difference lies

11
It is important to note that changing artistic patterns depends on the cultural and artistic paradigms of
different traditions, meaning that these changes do not arise as arbitrary interpretations, as is the case with
modern art forms, regardless of the fact that different artistic interpretations are included in the final
performances. Thus, these differences are not essential but peripheral for the simple reason that the very
principles on which the traditional patterns are formed are invariable, as long as the tradition in question is alive.
12
Moreover, one of the basic characteristics of non-traditional, modern art forms is precisely the change of
styles from the Renaissance to the present day, when styles are virtually disappearing as a reflection of
collective ideas. This has been particularly emphasized since the emergence of postmodernity until today when
art forms emerge as a reflection of the individual and individual ideas of the authors themselves. It is therefore
quite logical that in modern art, which is anthropocentric in nature, authorization is particularly emphasized.
13
Sayyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, Lingua Patria, Sarajevo, 2005 p. 86.
14
Titus Burckhardt, Sacred Art in the East and the West, Tugra, Sarajevo, 2007, p.7.
15
Sayyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, Lingua Patria, Sarajevo, 2005. p.17.

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precisely in the immutability of the usulas, while the rules relating to non-traditional arts are a
changing category. Throughout its time, Islamic art has shown countless times that it has survived
only if it has consistently respected the principles of Islamic art through traditional patterns that have
arisen, while any deviation from these principles resulted in decline of this art.

Therefore, the principles of modern restoration are contrary to the principles of Islamic art, first of
all in the origin of these forms, but also in the manner of their realisation. As the principles of modern
conservation-restoration protection treat existing artworks as valuable, but the subject matter of this
protection is not the original traditional patterns but their artistic interpretation whether true to
traditional patterns or not. On the other hand, the temporal determination is also primary for works of
non-traditional, modern art, which is again of secondary importance to works of traditional art based
on immutable principles because they are not determined by time. For this reason, it is very important
to differentiate between the traditional and non-traditional art forms and their treatment within the
cultural and historical heritage. Such differentiation invalidates the principles of modern restoration in
the case of the protection of traditional art forms, since these principles are not relevant to them,
especially when it comes to access to the protection of the Islamic sacred space. This is specifically
reflected in Islamic decorative art, which is especially evident in Islamic calligraphy, which has
remained true to traditional patterns to this day, owing to the fact that this tradition has never been
interrupted throughout the Islamic world, including Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Conclusion

The differentiation of the terms sacred and profane analogous to the Latin terms fanum and
profanum is reflected in two categories of space, the sacred and the profane, which differ significantly
from each other. This difference is reflected in the character of the interior of the sacral and profane
architecture. This differentiation also resulted in a special relation to sacred architecture, and
especially to the prayer space itself, as the epicentre of the prayer rite. The disposition of the interior
elements of this space is directly related to the character of the prayer rite, which implies the unity of
sacred space and sacred manifestations that arose from different spiritual-religious traditions. From
these traditions, art forms emerged as transmitters of the spiritual messages of the respective religions,
which is true of every sacred space, as well as of Islam.

The lack of differentiation into the sacred and profane space within the activities of cultural and
historical heritage protection has negative consequences in the interior of Islamic sacred architecture,
especially in the approach to the protection of the material remains of the painted layers in these
spaces. Namely, each painted layer is treated in the same way, regardless of whether the artistic
realizations found are authentic or not, ie whether they were made on the principles of Islamic art or
are free artistic interpretations. Since the authentic artistic realizations of Islamic decorative art are
based on the foundations of Islamic spirituality, that is, its principles necessarily imply a return to
these principles. That is, it implies a return to the traditional patterns of Islamic decorative art,
since they were created on these principles.

On the other hand, the protection of cultural monuments is based on modern principles for the
protection of cultural property, which are substantially different from the principles of Islamic art
because they have completely different origins. This again has special repercussions in the interior of
Islamic sacral architecture, which has the status of a cultural monument, and therefore raises the
question of their relationship and connection in the process of conservation and restoration protection
of painted layers that have sedimented on the walls of these objects. The principles of modern
restoration of cultural property are relevant to works of non-traditional or modern art, but they conflict
with the principles of traditional Islamic art. The contradictions that arise from the conflict of these
principles have a negative impact on the interior of Islamic sacral architecture, that is, Islamic sacred
space, which is transformed in this way as it assumes the attributes of the museum and thus loses its
sacred semantics.

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 Therefore, a feature of the current approach to the protection of cultural monuments is the
consideration of the material remains of painted layers in the interior of sacral objects solely and only
in the context of their artistic and historical values. This implies the physical preservation of
discovered material remains without including relationships and connections with the metaphysical
presuppositions of their artistic realisations, that is, with the traditional patterns of Islamic decorative
art based on metaphysical principles. The existing artistic relics that have been sedimented on the
walls in the interior of Islamic sacral architecture do not correlate with the nature of these immanently
sacred spaces. Namely, in the process of protection of these cultural monuments, the contextualisation
of sacral space and artistic realisations in the form of painted layers in these spaces is not considered,
which results in both the cultural devastation of these spaces and their desacralisation.