development of the Arabs is the most remarkable. The wide appreciation
and liberal patronage of the arts by the Khalifs; the influence of its
religion and precepts upon contemporary and later periods of art; the
distinct individuality and geometrical arrangement of its ornamentation;
all had a most marked effect upon tradition and craftsmanship.
The history commences with Mohammed, A.D. 570-632, who founded and
consolidated the empire, of which, under Omar, A.D. 635, Damascus became
the capital; in A.D. 638 Kufa and Bassora were founded in Persia. In
A.D. 641 Egypt was conquered and the Mahometan capital, Fustât, founded.
Persia was conquered in A.D. 642, Spain invaded in A.D. 711, Bagdad in
Persia became the capital of the Arabian Khalifs in A.D. 762, and in
A.D. 827 Sicily was conquered; but it was not until the dynasty of
Ibu-Tūlūn, A.D. 868-914, that the history of Cairene art begins, of
which the mosque of Ibu-Tūlūn in Fustât, or old Cairo, is the earliest
example. Under the Fatimy dynasty, A.D. 867-1171, Cairo was founded, and
the arts, receiving further encouragement, were now introduced into
Sicily and Europe. In A.D. 997 the Mahometan invasion of India took
place. In A.D. 796-965 the mosque of Cordova was built, and in A.D. 1236
the kingdom of Granada was founded and the Alhambra was built by
Mohammed ben Alhamar, A.D. 1248, and Mahometan art, as exemplified in
the architectural decorations, arms and armour, woodwork, ivory, textile
fabrics, and illuminated books, reached its culmination under the Mamlūk
dynasty, A.D. 1250-1516.
Thus the Arabs, from a roving tribe, became, by religious zeal and
conquests, the most powerful and wealthiest nation of mediæval times,
assimilating and influencing the customs and the arts of the different
nations and provinces.
The term MAHOMETAN ART includes ARABIAN, MORESQUE, PERSIAN, INDIAN, and
SICILIAN, all having the same characteristics yet distinguished by the
racial influence and custom. The Arabian is marked by its flowing,
interlacing, and symmetrical lines, geometrical arrangement (doubtless
derived from Byzantine sources), and its prevalence of inscriptions or
texts from the Koran. In Spain a more complex geometrical arrangement is
found, intermingled with a flowing foliage or arabesque of a purely
conventional type. This style is noticeable for its entire absence of
any natural forms and its abundant use of inscriptions, and glazed and
enamelled tiles, distinctly influenced of Persian tradition though
purely geometric and formal. These tiles cover the lower part of the
wall, the upper portion, as also the ceiling being decorated with
arabesques of modelled plaster in flat relief, of two or more planes,
enriched with red, blue, white and gold; this is typical of the Moresque
style. The Sicilian work is remarkable for its beautiful fabrics of silk
and the prevalence in its ornament of birds, animals, and heraldic
forms, showing the continuity of the traditions of Persia.
[Illustration:
PERSIAN ORNAMENT. Plate 21.
]
PERSIAN ORNAMENT.
The early art of Persia was similar to that of Assyria and Babylon,
having the same forms, materials, and traditions. With the accession of
the Sassanides (A.D. 223) came the introduction of the elliptical dome,
so typical of eastern architecture. This dome rested on pendentives
which occupied the angles of the square base. These pendentives and the
elliptical dome are distinctive features in Mahometan architecture.
The industrial arts of Persia were largely influenced by the traditional
arts of Assyria and Chaldea; this tradition was carried on with rare
skill and selective power by the Persians, culminating in the splendid
period of Shah Abbas A.D. 1586 to 1625. The vitality, beauty, and
interest of detail, combined with perfect decorative adaptation to
material, are characteristic of the textiles, pottery, metal work, and
illuminated manuscripts of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries.
The Mahometan conquest of Persia, A.D. 632 to 637, by Abu Bekr, the
successor of Mohammed, largely influenced the development of the arts of
the Persians, who adopted the customs and habits of contemporary races,
yet preserved all the characteristics of their art; and there is no
doubt that the art of the Arabs was founded upon the traditional arts of
Persia.
[Illustration]
Persian decoration is characterised by a fine feeling for form and
colour, and for the singularly frank renderings of natural plants, such
as the pink, hyacinth, tulip, rose, iris, and the pine and date. These
are used with perfect sincerity and frankness, and are essentially
decorative in treatment, combining harmony of composition of mass,
beauty of form, and purity of colour. It was doubtless owing to these
qualities, together with the perfect adaptation of ornament to material,
that the Persian style so largely influenced contemporary work, and
especially the European textile fabrics of the 16th and 17th centuries.
The illustrations given are of some familiar types of Persian
adaptations of natural flowers, doubtless chosen for their significance,
beauty of growth and form, and appropriateness of decorative treatment.
Purely Arabian forms, as given in plate 21, are frequently associated
with the Persian floral treatment, showing the influence of the Artists
of Damascus. Many fine examples of lustred wall tiles, dating from the
10th and 11th centuries, are in the South Kensington Museum, of which
the blue, brown, and turquoise colouring is of a splendid quality. They
often have Arabic inscriptions interspersed with the floral enrichments.
Examples of wall tiles of the 8th century have been found in the ruins
of Rhages.
These lustred tiles are a remarkable instance of tradition or hereditary
proclivity. This art, beginning with the enamelled bricks of Babylon,
and the later frieze of Susa, page 16, with its brilliant enamel and
fine colour, was continued by the Persians, and, passing to the Arabs,
the tradition was carried to Cairo, Spain and Majorca; thence into
Italy, where enamelled lustred ware was made, differing from the
original Persian by its frequent absence of utility, which was
fundamental to the art of the Persians.
Mahometan ornament has four broad divisions, viz.: Arabian, Moresque,
Indian, and Persian; and they are characterised by strongly-marked
compartments or fields which are filled with finer and more delicate
enrichments. These compartments are most pronounced in the Moresque with
its complex geometric interlacing and entire absence of natural forms
(figs. 4, 6, 7, and 8, page 62). The Arabian style is somewhat similar,
but less formal. The Indian has a conventional rendering of plants, and
the introduction of the lion, tiger, and the elephant (fig. 2, plate
23); while in the Persian work there is a still less formal constructive
arrangement, with floral forms clearly defined in line and mass, and the
introduction of the human figure with the horse, the lion, the tiger and
birds. Note the illustration in Textiles which is taken from a fine
carpet in the South Kensington Museum. In this carpet, animal forms,
chosen with rare selective power and judgment, are combined with the
typical floral enrichment of Persia, with the wealth of colour,
admirable spacing of detail and mass, beauty of incident and vigour, and
appropriateness of treatment. These are features that distinguish the
industrial designs of Persia, and it is doubtless due to the interest
and vitality of their ornament that we owe the remarkable influence of
Persian art upon the contemporary and latter craftsmanship of Europe.
[Illustration:
PERSIAN ORNAMENT. Plate 22.
]
[Illustration:
INDIAN ORNAMENT. Plate 23.
]
INDIAN ORNAMENT.
The civilization of India dates from the remote past, but the oldest
remains of its art and architecture are connected with the Buddhist
religion, introduced by the prophet Sakya Muni, B.C. 638. This
influenced the arts of India till A.D. 250, when the Jaina style was
adopted. The examples of Buddhist architecture consist of Topes (which
were sacred or monumental temples, either detached or rock-cut), and
monasteries. The rock-cut temples usually consist of a nave and aisles,
and a semi-circular recess containing a statue of the seated Buddha. The
hall has square or octagonal columns, with bracket capitals (fig. 1).
The finest examples of these temples are those at Ajanta, which are
richly-decorated in colour with incidents of Hindoo mythology. The fine
temples at Ellora, which are cut entirely out from the rock, are of the
Jaina period, A.D. 250. The pagodas at Chedombaram are of the Brahmin
period, as is also the great hall of 1,000 pillars, which is 190×340
feet, containing the sacred image of the god Siva.
Alexander the Great conquered India B.C. 327, and doubtless left the
influence of the Persian tradition in India. This influence was still
further developed by the commercial intercourse of Persia and India, and
by the Arabian invasion of India in A.D. 711, when a Mahometan dynasty
was established, 711 to 1152. This largely controlled and influenced the
arts under the Mogul dynasty, 1525-1837, when the decorative arts and
the manufacture of the beautiful woven brocades and silks were fully
developed. The splendid carpets and rugs, printed cottons, metal work,
and fine enamels of this dynasty bear a remarkable tribute to the
vitality, originality of ideas, and the practical utility of the
industrial arts of India.
Indian ornament has the typical Mahometan division of spaces, but is
more flowing and graceful than the pure Arabian style. These divisions
are filled with fine conventional floral forms, as the lotus, the date
or hom, the iris, the rosette and the pine. This pine is treated
occasionally as a single flower, but more frequently as a cluster of
flowers, which still retains the distinctive form of the pine (figs. 2,
4 and 6).
Typical also of this period is the judicious treatment of the elephant,
lion, tiger, peacock, and the human figure, as accessories in the
decorative arts of India. They were applied with rare knowledge and
skill, combined with an artistic perception of applied art, showing a
very strong affinity with contemporary Persian ornament.
Indian ornament has a more conventional rendering of natural forms, than
the frank treatment of Persian ornament. Block printing upon silk and
cotton fabrics reached a high degree of perfection during the last
century. The inventiveness and significance of detail; the charm of
composition of line and mass, and the beautiful colour of these printed
fabrics are a reflex of the decorative feeling for beauty by the people
of India.
[Illustration:
CHINESE AND JAPANESE
ORNAMENT. Plate 24.
]
CHINESE AND JAPANESE ORNAMENT.
The early bronzes, enamels, porcelain and textile fabrics of China are
indicative of the perfection and luxuriance of the decorative arts of
that ancient Empire. This perfection is shown by a Splendid technic and
a fine appreciation of colour and ornamentation, differentiated from the
western nations by myths, traditions, and the remarkable persistency of
a few typical forms through many centuries, doubtless owing to the
profound ancestral worship and veneration for the past. The Dragon was
represented under many aspects, frequently forming vigorous lines of
composition (fig. 3, 4). The beautiful flora of the country largely
influenced Chinese art. The peony and chrysanthemum (frequently highly
conventionalized), are typical examples, forming the elements of
decorative design. Geometric forms, such as the hexagon, octagon, and
the circle, enriched with flowers or the fret, are largely used. The
many splendid examples of bells, gongs, and incense-burners in bronze
and iron:--the carvings in wood, ivory, and jade:--the beautiful woven
silks and embroidered fabrics, and the richness and purity of their
porcelain, all testify to the versatility and vitality of the Chinese
decorative arts in the past. Their architecture was usually of wood,
distinguished by complexity and quaintness of form rather than beauty of
proportion and detail, but their pagodas or temples were of brick
encased with glazed tiles, the most remarkable of these erections being
the Nankin Pagoda of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1412-31), with its imperial
yellow tiles.
The arts of Japan, though doubtless owing their origin to China, are
differentiated by a keener observation of nature and a more literal
treatment of landscape, bird and animal life, and the beautiful flora of
the country--the “kiki” or chrysanthemum, the “botan” or peony, the
“kosai” or iris, the “yuri” or lily, the “kiri” or paulawina imperialis
(somewhat resembling our horse chestnut), the “ume” or plum, the “matsi”
or fir, and the “taki” or bamboo,--likewise the peacock, the crane, the
duck, the pheasant and many smaller beautiful birds, together with
reptiles, insects, and fishes; all are elements in the decorative arts,
being rendered with remarkable fidelity and delicacy of touch, united
with a fine feeling for composition of line. It is this literal
treatment of natural types, the marvellous technic and especially the
significance of the forms chosen that constitutes the charm of the
earlier Japanese art. It is singular that the materials used by the
Japanese should be of little intrinsic value. Having no jewellery, they
use little of the precious metals; iron, bronze, enamels, wood and lac,
being the chief materials utilised in the decorative arts of Japan.
[Illustration:
IVORIES. Plate 25.
]
IVORY,
doubtless owing to its beautiful texture, colour and adaptability for
delicate carving, has been in use from a remote period. Egypt, Assyria,
and India have each contributed many beautiful examples of fine
craftsmanship, indicative of the artistic culture of the centuries
preceding the Christian Era. Of Solomon we read in I Kings, 18, x:
“Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the
best gold.” This traditional use of ivory was most probably derived from
Egypt, the source of so many of the decorative arts.
In the Periclean age of Greece, ivory was used for the figure of Athene
Parthenos by Pheidias, placed inside the Parthenon. This statue of the
standing goddess, 40 feet high, was of gold and ivory (called
_chryselephantine sculpture_), the drapery being of beaten gold and the
exposed parts of the figure of carefully-fitted pieces of ivory. A
seated _chryselephantine_ figure of Jupiter, about 58 feet high, in the
temple of Olympia, was also by Pheidias. Pausanias the Roman traveller
enumerates some ten _chryselephantine_ statues which he saw in his
travels, A.D. 140.
The Roman period is noted for the many beautiful Consular diptychs,
which may now be seen in our national museums. They consist of two ivory
leaves usually 12 by 5 inches, the inside having a slightly sunk plane
covered with wax for writing upon, the outside being enriched with
delicate carved reliefs (figs. 7, 8, and 9). These diptychs were given
by new consuls on their appointment, to their friends and officers of
the state. The consul is usually represented seated on the cushioned
curule chair, or chair of state, and his name is generally written
across the top of one leaf.
The Byzantines enriched the covers of their manuscripts with ivory, of
which an illustration is given in fig. 6; the ivory throne of Maximian,
Archbishop of Ravenna, A.D. 546-556, is also of this period. A beautiful
treatment of ivory was used in the 13th and 14th centuries by the
Saracens of Egypt; they frequently worked a fine geometric inlay of
ivory upon ebony; in other examples ivory panels were pentagonal,
hexagonal, or star-shaped, and carved with delicate arabesques, the
framing of the panels being of cedar or ebony. In India ivory carving
reached a high degree of perfection, especially in the many ivory combs,
with pierced and relief work representing the figure of Buddha
surrounded with foliage and richly caparisoned elephants.
In the Carlovingian period, 8th to 10th centuries, ivory was largely
used for coffers or small chests. During the early Gothic period in
Italy and France, ivory crucifixes, pastoral staffs, croziers,
statuettes and triptychs were made in large numbers; and the ivory combs
and mirror cases of the Renascence period have fine reliefs of legendary
or allegorical subjects. Of pictorial ivories the modern Japanese
craftsmen show the highest technical skill, combined with a keen
perception of nature and movement, yet their ivories lack the beauty and
dignity of composition and the decorative treatment of the early and
Mediæval ivories.
[Illustration:
MOSAICS. Plate 26.
]
MOSAICS.
The durability, range of colour, and appropriateness of material and
treatment to architectural conditions, has placed the art of Mosaic as
the chief decorative enrichment of architecture. Its antiquity is
unquestionable, for in the Book of Esther, i, 6, we read “of a pavement
of red, and blue, and white, and black marble.”
Mosaic is the art of forming patterns by means of pieces of
variously-coloured materials, fitted together, and is broadly divided
into three classes: (1) OPUS TESSELATUM, or clay mosaic; (2) OPUS
LITHOSTRATUM, or stone mosaic; (3) OPUS MISERUM, or glass mosaic. These
divisions are again sub-divided into: (1) _Opus Figlinum_, or ceramic
mosaic, formed of a vitreous composition and coloured with metallic
oxides; (2) _Opus Signinum_, small pieces of tile; (3) _Opus
Vermiculatum_, sub-divided into (a) _Majus_, black and white marble, (b)
_Medium_, in which all materials and colours were used, and (c) _Minus_,
of minute tesseræ, principally used for furniture inlay; (4) _Opus
Sculpturatum_, slabs of marble hollowed out and filled in with grey or
black marble; (5) _Opus Alexandrinum_, inlay of porphyry and serpentine;
and (6) _Opus Sectile_, formed of different laminæ or slices of marble
of various colours.
It was in Rome that the art of Mosaic was brought to its greatest
perfection, during the 1st and 2nd centuries, A.D., and many splendid
examples of this period are now in the museums of the Vatican and at
Naples. The finest example came from the House of the Faun, Pompeii, and
represents the battle of Issus, between Alexander and Darius. This
mosaic, of the 3rd century B.C., is probably a copy of a Greek painting.
Many fine Roman mosaics have been found in England at Cirencester,
London, Lincoln (fig. 6), Leicester, and at Brading in the Isle of
Wight.
The tradition was carried on in Italy at Ravenna and Venice, where the
_Opus Miserum_ reached its culmination. Of the Ravenna mosaics, those of
the Baptistery, A.D. 450, and of S. Apollinare are typical examples of
the earlier Byzantine mosaics, having dark green and gold back-grounds
with tesseræ about 3/8 inch square. The beautiful frieze of male and
female saints in S. Apollinare extends along both sides of the nave, and
is 10 feet high. The vaulting and domes of St. Mark are entirely covered
with the characteristic 11th century Byzantine gold ground mosaic,
formed by fusing two pieces of glass together with gold leaf between. At
Santa Sophia, Constantinople, other fine mosaics exist of the 6th and
7th centuries. In Italy under the Cosmati (a family of mosaicists of the
13th and 14th centuries), fine geometrical inlaid mosaics were used for
the enrichment of marble tombs and altars; some good examples of this
style are in Westminster Abbey on the tomb of Edward the Confessor
(finished under Henry III, A.D. 1270).
[Illustration:
GREEK CERAMICS. Plate 27.
]
GREEK CERAMICS.
It is difficult in the 19th century to realise the importance of vases
in ancient life. To the Greeks a vase was a receptacle for food, liquid,
or storage, and for the adornment of the home. It was used in the daily
life of the living and buried with the dead. Most of the finer Greek
vases have been found in Etruscan tombs, but of Greek workmanship,
imported from Greece or Grecian Colonies. Some black unglazed Etruscan
vases have been found, but painted vases of Etruscan origin are rare.
Early Greek pottery, dating probably from the 10th century B.C., has
been found in Greece, the Colonies of Rhodes, Cyrene in Africa, and
Naucratis in the delta of Egypt--these, showing an historic development,
are arranged in groups, each with its distinctive characteristic:--(1st)
Primitive vases, simple in shape, handles small or absent, decorations
in simple line, punctured or incised, or in raised slip. (2nd) MYCENÆ or
COLONIAL (B.C. 900-700) vases, often covered with a creamy slip; the
designs painted in brown and black, being derived from geometric
patterns with marine and animal forms. (3rd) DIPYLON or GEOMETRIC (B.C.
700), with fret pattern enrichment, and panels with rude figures of men
and animals in black and brown. (4th) PHALERON WARE (B.C. 700-550), with
continuous bands of animals, probably derived from Phœnicia or Assyria
(fig. 4). Among the animals depicted, are placed portions of the fret
pattern, a survival of the previous style. The details are incised
through the black or brown figure, showing the colour of the clay body.
A development of this Phaleron Ware was the introduction of the rosette,
taking the place of the fret pattern, between the figures or the
animals. (5th) BLACK FIGURE PERIOD (B.C. 600-480), vases, fine in
profile, and with good handles, the body of the vase, in red ware, being
painted with subjects of Grecian mythology in black, and the details
incised; the faces, arms, and legs of the female figures afterwards
painted in white or red slip, and fired at a lower heat. The AMPHORA
(fig. 5) was the chief form of this black figure period, some fine
examples are signed by Exekias and Amasis. (6th) the Transitional period
(B.C. 500-470), when the black silhouette figures on a red ground gave
way to the RED FIGURE PERIOD on a black ground. Artists of this style
were Epiktetos, Pamphæios, Nicosthenes, and Pythos. Many of the vases by
Nicosthenes resemble contemporary metal work in their shape and handles.
The 7th group (B.C. 470-336), also red figures on the black ground, was
the period when Greek fictiles reached their highest perfection, the
chief form employed being the KYLIX. A fine series of these _Kylikes_,
signed by Cachrylion, Euphronios, Duris, Pethenos, and Hieron, are in
the British Museum.
A vase produced specially for funeral purposes was the ATHENIAN
LEKYTHOS, the body of which was covered with white slip, then painted in
polychrome with subjects of singular appropriateness.
[Illustration:
CERAMICS. Plate 28.
]
CERAMIC ART.
The antiquity of Ceramic Art and its scientific and artistic qualities,
render this subject one of considerable interest to art students.
The plasticity of clay and its hardening qualities under the influence
of intense heat, its adaptability to the most refined and appropriate
forms, its affinity for the beautiful glazes and enamels so often
associated with pottery, and its splendid traditions of craftsmanship,
of colour, form and decorations, so beautiful and varied in
character,--all combine to invest the subject with a charm or
fascination of its own. Intrinsically valueless in its natural state, it
is capable of being rendered almost priceless by scientific workmanship
and artistic skill. The history of this material, and of its easy
adaptation to the most refined and intricate, as well as the simplest of
forms, affords invaluable lessons for present day artistic students.