SOAS Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art

Islamic Art Module 2022

Assignment One (AS1)

AS1 - Object Analysis Assignment

Select one of the below images and write a 3,500 word object analysis, indicating the word count at
the end of the essay. Word count is defined as the number of words contained in the submitted work
including quotations, footnotes, titles, abstracts, summaries and tables of contents. Appendices and
bibliographies are not included in the word count. Please read the Writing an Essay Notes on Moodle
for further guidance. Please note that penalties will be incurred for word counts exceeding 3,850, per
SOAS guidelines.

Submit your essay to Turnitin by 23.59 Sunday 5th June (UK time). All essays must be submitted
completely anonymously. Please do not include your name or student number anywhere in your
essay document or title.

Please use ‘AS1’ as your document name, make sure it is clear which object you are writing about
and make sure your pages are numbered.

Essays submitted after the deadline are automatically penalized by 2% for every day of lateness.

Extensions will only be given in exceptional circumstances. Requests must be in writing to the
Programme Manager at pm50@soas.ac.uk and must be submitted before the essay deadline date.

Further Instructions
In the opening of your assignment you should provide a brief introduction to the object, identifying
the type, material, time, where it was made, originally found and its current location.

The body of the assignment should contextualise the object and position it within the history of
Islamic art and archaeology. Why is it important? What information does it provide about Islamic
civilisation (e.g. daily life, the political order, religious beliefs, technology, regional and interregional
interaction, material culture and the arts etc)?

The following are some questions you might ask in developing your analysis:

• Who made it and for whom?

• How was it made (e.g. materials, techniques)? Was there any particular significance in the
materials and techniques used?

• What was its original function, significance and/or meaning to the individual and/or society?

• What were the political, social, and historical configurations that produced it?

• What political, religious and/or social messages were conveyed through the subject matter,
iconography and/or decoration.

• Did its function and/or meaning change over time and if so, how and why?

Not every question will be applicable to every object.

(For more on writing a contextual analysis see Anne D’lleva ‘Chapter 3: Contextual Analysis’, Look!
Art History Fundamentals (Pearson, 2010)) (scan on moodle in week 2 files)
British Museum (1891,0623.4)
British Museum (G.486)
British Museum (1890,0716.12)
British Museum (1947,1108,0.1)
British Museum (OA+.1123)
Victoria and Albert Museum (T.226-1923)
Victoria and Albert Museum (131-1885)
Victoria and Albert Museum (1841-1876)
Victoria and Albert Museum (323-1900)
Victoria and Albert Museum (1056-1869)
Victoria and Albert Museum (M.709:1 to 2-1910)
Victoria and Albert Museum (A.580-1910)
Victoria and Albert Museum (ME.12-2013)
MET (2017.232)
http://www.bl.uk/turning-the-pages/?id=0354faf0-a67a-11db-87d3-0050c2490048&type=book&_ga=2.65984551.827000015.1649348146-2103202109.1630074114

Qur’an - Mamluk (Sultan Baybars' Qur'an) BL (all digitalised)

British Museum (2010,6017.1.a-b)