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频道整理发布托福
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Islamic Art and
the Book
The arts of the Islamic book, such as
calligraphy and decorative drawing,
developed
during A.D. 900 to 1500, and luxury books are some
of the most
characteristic examples of Islamic art
produced in this period. This came about
from two major developments: paper
became common, replacing parchment as the
major medium for writing, and rounded
scripts were regularized and perfected so
that they replaced the angular scripts
of the previous period, which because of
their angularity were uneven in height.
Books became major vehicles for artistic
expression, and the artists who
produced them, notably calligraphers and
painters, enjoyed high status, and
their workshops were often sponsored by
princes and their courts. Before A.D.
900, manuscripts of the Koran (the book
containing the teachings of the Islamic
religion) seem to have been the most
common type of
book produced and decorated, but after that date a
wide range of
books were produced for a broad
spectrum of patrons. These continued to include,
of
course, manuscripts of the Koran, which every
Muslim wanted to read, but
scientific works,
histories, romances, and epic and lyric poetry
were also
copied in fine handwriting and
decorated with beautiful illustrations. Most were
made for sale on the open market, and
cities boasted special souks (markets)
where books
were bought and sold. The mosque of Marrakech in
Morocco is known as
the Kutubiyya, or
Booksellers
’
Mosque, after
the adjacent market. Some of the
most luxurious
books were specific commissions made at the order
of a particular
prince and signed by the
calligrapher and decorator.