The British Museum exhibition I visited in January was called ‘Inspired by the East, how the Islamic world influenced western art’ so I made a special effort to attend. What I found was a focus on 'fine art' and Orientalist painting. It touched only briefly on other media or on how Islamic art could have influenced European art and design. The exhibition shop offered a catalogue entitled 'Beyond Orientalism How the West was won over by Islamic Art’ which I thought would provide more background. The cover image is of a ceramic tile, so I was hopeful. I read it in conjunction with two other much shorter and specialized books that I already had: Iznik Pottery by John Carswell (published by the British Museum in 1998) and Islamic Ceramics by James W Allan (Ashmolean Museum 1991). I have not been disappointed. ‘Beyond Orientalism’ is published by the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) and was written to accompany an exhibition of the same name in the IAMM in 2008. THIS was the exhibition I had wanted to see. The book covers a wide range of craft forms and geographical sources; is well written, and lavishly illustrated with pictures of the western pieces alongside the Islamic originals in metal, glass, textile, paper and ceramic it was thought had inspired them. The curators, editors and catalogue author make a great case for their argument that Islamic art and culture exerted huge influence in Europe and beyond over many thousands of years. It started early. King Offa of Mercia (he of Offa’s Dyke) who reigned from 757 to 797 AD had in his treasury at least one gold coin bearing his name together with Islamic script reading ‘There is no God but Allah. Muhammad is his messenger’. It is a copy of an Abbasid dinar dated 157AH (774 AD). Four hundred years later King Alphonso VIII of Castille (1158 to1214 AD) was still using Islamic style script on his coins, but whether by accident or design the calligraphy was unreadable. Not so the Bishop of Maguelone who was reprimanded by Pope Clement IV in 1266 for ‘having the title of Muhomet’ on his coinage. Venice, being a great trading state and close to the Arab lands, experienced strong Islamic influence both in female fashions and the crafts. In the 15th century a Milanese priest described Venetian women as ‘so completely covered up that I do not know how they can see to go along the streets’ and a 16th century nobleman called his city ‘the emporium of the whole world’. Vittore Carpaccio (1465 to 1520) included Islamic artefacts in his paintings suggesting that they were normal household goods; it is not clear whether the objects he depicted were the Islamic originals or the imitations Venice had started to produce. As well as copies the Venetians (and then other parts of Italy) created Islamic inspired wares that we now think of as typically Italian. Apothecary jars (Albarelli) were first made in Iran and Syria in the 13th century and sometimes decorated with lustre.
The classic 14thC mosque lamp (left) inspired 19th C European glass and ceramic versions, though the latter was probably intended as a vase. Similarly, Iranian Kashan star shaped lustre-ware tiles from the 13th and 14th centuries are echoed in the design of the 16th C Dutch delftware. Islamic designs spread further. The Palace of Fontainbleau was restored in the 16th century, introducing what had become the Italian renaissance style to France, and with that many Islamic elements. By 1780, there was growing interest in the Islamic influence in Spain, further reinforced by Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt in 1798. Construction started on the Royal Pavilion in Brighton with its definite ‘Moorish’ architecture in 1897. ‘Tales from the Alhambra’ was published in 1829 further stimulating curiosity. Owen Jones (1809-74), Architect and Designer, visited the Alhambra in 1834 though it was not until 1842 that he published a book of his drawings, and in 1856, the ‘Grammar of Ornament’. William Morris and William De Morgan (R) were both greatly influenced by Islamic design, with the strong diagonals and ‘s’ shaped ‘saz’ leaves prominent on Iznik ceramics both being adopted into Art Nouveau style. Subsequently Islamic designs in metalwork and ceramic were copied in Europe, notably by Theodore Deck, whose blue basin is so similar to the brass bowl from 14th C Iran that he was probably inspired by the original held in the Victoria and Albert Museum. In contrast to many, Deck took care that his inscriptions were correct. The author of the ‘Beyond Orientalism’ catalogue praises Morris and De Morgan who he says were influenced rather than simply copying designs; for sharing a love of nature and stylisation into 2D pattern. One of the other main characteristics of Islamic design is symmetry and complex repetition, echoed in the work of Escher(left), Matisse and even Charles Rennie Mackintosh (right) In this wonderful and extensive account from IAMM, I think there are artists and design styles that could have had a further mention. The book discusses briefly the advent of Art Nouveau, and that although the influence of Japan (opened up to foreigners in 1854) was very strong, the Islamic style is still there. This can be illustrated in the work of Tiffany and of Mucha (who is not discussed). This Czech painter was also a classic Art Nouveau designer. On many of his biscuit tins and posters the female figure is set against a symmetrical rondel which could have been seen on an Iraqi 9th or 12th century bowl. Similarly Vilmos Zsolnay in Hungary had been interested in the 1873 Vienna exhibition which had a strong Ottoman presence and in 1880 sent his son to the middle east to collect ceramics. ‘Beyond Orientalism’ makes passing mention of the influence other cultures may have had on Islamic styles. Although the Chinese are acknowledged as exporters of ceramic into the middle east, little is said beyond the adoption of blue and white colour schemes. 'Islamic Ceramics' from the Ashmolean Museum is less coy, showing evidence that Iranian potters at least adopted the Chinese shapes and may have copied designs. This second bowl from the early 18th C has a classic Chinese picture in the centre, within an Islamic surround.. There may have been other influences, and certainly the lustre bowl from 13th century looks very unislamic. This book and my further reading certainly taught me many things and to appreciate more. There were 3 main learning points:
Bibliography
de Guise, Lucien.Beyond Orientalism How the West was won over by Islamic Art . Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. 2008 Carswell, John. Iznik Pottery. British Museum 1998 Allan, James W Islamic Ceramics Ashmolean Museum 1991 Huszar, Zoltan Zsolnay Ceramics. Art Publications of Jannus Pannnonius Museum. 1988.
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AuthorI am indulging my passion for ceramics by undertaking studies for an MA at UCLAN Archives
August 2021
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