Islamic Art from The David Collection | Part I

 

Oil lamp, cast bronze, inlaid with silver
Jazira; 1st half of 13th century
H: 14.5; Diam at foot: 7.4 cm
Inv. no. 29/2003
© The David Collection

 
 
 

The David Collection in Copenhagen, Denmark houses the most important collection of Islamic art in Scandinavia. The fine online curation of this stellar gathering of objects offers multiple intriguing pathways to explore the art history of the Islamic world. In this initial offering, we shine a light on a selection of exemplary works from four categories within the collection — Textiles, Carpets, and Leather, Calligraphy, Miniature Painting, and Metalwork, Weapons, and Jewelry.

 
 
 

Textiles, Carpets, and Leather

Woven textiles have always played an important role in Islamic society and in many cases were among the most prestigious and costly luxury goods.

Technically, textiles ranged from fairly simple tabby and tapestry weaves, through ikat, lampas, and samitum fabrics, to highly complex metal-brocaded velvets. In addition, there were embroidered, printed, and other types of fabrics.

Different materials were also used: plant fibers such as linen and cotton, wool from sheep and goats, silk, and finally various kinds of “metal thread.”

Pile carpets of wool, cotton, or silk – commonly called Oriental carpets – are justifiably associated almost exclusively with the Middle East, from which they were exported to the entire world.

Tanned animal skins were used to make parchment and leather of different types.

 
 
 
 

“Flower and lattice” carpet with silk pile and cotton foundation
India; 2nd half of 17th century
H: 251; W: 78 cm
Inv. no. 5/2010
© The David Collection

Fragment of a pile carpet, wool on a cotton ground
India, Mughal; c. 1600
H: 78; W: 67 cm
Inv. no. Tex 32
© The David Collection

Velvet, silk and silver lamella spun around silk
India or Iran; c. 1600
H: 143; W: 69 cm
Inv. no. 37/1995
© The David Collection

Pile “Mamluk carpet,” wool
Egypt; 1st quarter of 16th century
H: 199; W: 145 cm
Inv. no. 1/1987
© The David Collection

Medallion, tapestry, silk and gilded lamella of animal substrate spun around cotton
Iraq or western Iran; 1st half of 14th century
Diam: 69 cm
Inv. no. 30/1995
© The David Collection

“Salting carpet,” wool, silk, and metal lamella
Iran; c. 1600
H: 226; W: 162 cm
Inv. no. 3/1964
© The David Collection

Velvet with a chintamani pattern, silk and metal lamella
Turkey; mid-16th century
H: 95; W: 114 cm
Inv. no. 25/1962
© The David Collection

Lampas-woven textile, silk
Western India; 15th century
H: 58; W: 48 cm
Inv. no. 34/1992
© The David Collection

 
 
 
 

Calligraphy

The Arabic script began to develop in earnest when the religion of Islam emerged in the 7th century, and the most prestigious task of Muslim calligraphers was to convey the exalted words of the Koran as beautifully as possible.

The oldest script types – Ma’il or HijaziKufi, Eastern Kufi, and Maghribi – were fairly angular. More cursive forms that were easier to write evolved at the same time and were used mostly for secular purposes. At around the beginning of the 10th century, rules were formulated for how the cursive scripts – NaskhThuluthMuhaqqaqRayhaniTawqi, and Riqa – were to be written. This reform enhanced the status of cursive scripts, which gradually supplanted the more angular scripts, even for use in Korans.

The Persian script Nastaliq developed in around 1500 and was used especially for poetry. Divani was the script of the chancelleries, and regional styles were also found – Bihari in India and Sini in China.

 
 
 
 

Parchment leaf from a Koran written in Hijazi
Hijaz Province, the Arabian Peninsula, or Syria; 2nd half of 7th century
36.6 × 28.2 cm
Inv. no. 86/2003
© The David Collection

Parchment leaf from a Koran written in Kufi
North Africa; c. 900
28.6 × 38 cm
Inv. no. 77/2004
© The David Collection

Fragment of a leaf from a gigantic Koran, written in Muhaqqaq
Central Asia, Samarkand; c. 1400-1405
45 × 98 cm (the fragment was trimmed on the sides)
Inv. no. 20/1987
© The David Collection

 
 

Paper cut with a calligraphic lion
Turkey; 1280 H = 1863-1864
33 × 45.5 cm
Inv. no. 21/1974
© The David Collection

 
 
 
 

Miniature Painting

Islamic miniature painting is generally understood to mean small paintings that are or once were part of a manuscript, used as a frontispiece or an illustration for a text. Drawings and individual paintings have, however, also been preserved. They were either sketches or were intended to be placed as independent works of art in an album.

The miniatures usually had a paper base, but cardboard and in rare cases cotton or silk cloth were also used. The brilliant colors are usually opaque.

The oldest preserved miniature paintings were made in around the year 1000, but not until around 1200 were they found in larger numbers. Islamic miniature painting is often categorized rather summarily into four regional schools: the Arab, the Persian, the Indian, and the Ottoman Turkish.

 
 
 
 

Miniature pasted on an album leaf. ‘Scantily Clad Woman in a Landscape’
India, Deccan, Golconda; c. 1630-1650
Miniature: 20 × 12.6 cm
Inv. no. 11/2011
© The David Collection

Miniature. ‘Khusraw Beholding Shirin Bathing’
India, Deccan, Hyderabad; c. 1720-1740
Miniature: 27.6 × 18.4 cm
Inv. no. 52/2002
© The David Collection

Miniature from a copy of Firdawsi’s Shahnama. ‘Rakhsh Kills an Attacking Lion While Rustam Sleeps’
Iran, Shiraz?; 1480-1490
Leaf: 34 × 21.5 cm
Inv. no. 48/2006
© The David Collection

Miniature from a copy of Jami’s Yusuf wa Zulaykha. ‘Yusuf Pulled from the Well’
Central Asia, Bukhara; c. 1560
Leaf: 25 × 16 cm
Inv. no. 53/1980
© The David Collection

Oil painting on canvas. ‘An Afro-Iranian Soldier’
Iran, Isfahan; last quarter of the 17th century
122 x 79.5 cm
Inv. no. 7/2021
© The David Collection

Miniature from a copy of Rashid al-Din’s Jami al-tawarikh. ‘Tayang Khan Presented with the Head of the Mongol Leader Ong Khan’
India, Mughal; c. 1596
Miniature: 35.1 × 20.9 cm
Inv. no. 39/1980
© The David Collection

Partly colored drawing. ‘Mounted Falconer Hunting Ducks’
Iran; c. 1420
Drawing: 11.4 × 20.5 cm
Inv. no. 20/2006
© The David Collection

 
 
 
 

Metalwork, Weapons, and Jewelry

Within the field of metalwork, written sources show that Muslim princes had many magnificent objects of gold and silver, but most of them have been melted down, making our knowledge of them limited.

Today we mainly know of pieces made of the alloys bronze and brass. The most splendid are inlaid with copper, silver, gold, niello, or a combination of them.

Copper and especially tinned copper were common as well. There are also examples of fine damascened and openwork steel. A distinctive matte-black alloy, bidri, was made in India.

Metal was used for innumerable types of objects, from fittings, lamps, vessels, and other household utensils to jewelry, weapons, scientific instruments, and coins.

 
 
 
 

Rosewater sprinkler, embossed, engraved, and punched brass, inlaid with copper and silver
Afghanistan, Herat; 2nd half of 12th century
H: 15.3 cm
Inv. no. 15/1991
© The David Collection

Brass lamp with openwork decoration, engraved and inlaid with silver
Egypt; 14th century
H including hook: 71.5 cm
Inv. no. 37/1982
© The David Collection

Axe of engraved and punched steel inlaid with gold; shaft of steel overlaid with gold
Iran; 1152 H = 1739–40. The shaft possibly later
L: 56.5 cm
Inv. no. 36/2019
© The David Collection

Mortar, cast bronze, engraved and inlaid with copper
Eastern Iran or Afghanistan; 12th century
H: 16.3; Diam: 23.3 cm
Inv. no. 2/1998
© The David Collection

Door handle, cast and engraved bronze
Southeastern Turkey; beginning of 13th century
H: 27.5; W: 24.5 cm
Inv. no. 38/1973
© The David Collection

Door knocker, cast and engraved bronze, inlaid with niello
Southern Italy; 11th century
Diam: 44.3 cm
Inv. no. 50/2000
© The David Collection

Bowl, silver on a low ring base
Eastern Iran or Afghanistan; 4th-5th century
H: 7.3; Diam: 14.6 cm
Inv. no. 2/1984
© The David Collection

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Art of the Ancestors extends a special thank you to The David Collection and Sonja Wiesener.
All images and texts included in this feature have been graciously provided by The David Collection and photographer Pernille Klemp.