What are the opening hours?

Friday 10am - 9pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

CMA: Islamic Art

Home
United States
Cleveland, OH
CMA: Islamic Art

Sharing public domain works from the Islamic Art department of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Not asso

07/04/2020

Black and White Bird Perched on a Shrub, Shafi' Abbasi, 1651-1652

In Iran between the 1630s and 1650s, the court painter Shafi’ ‘Abbasi, son of the renowned painter Riza ‘Abbasi, specialized in a new fashion depicting naturalistic plants and birds, some adapted from European sources such as botanical engravings or herbals. Several have been identified as patterns for textiles, evidenced by pricked holes along the contours, which allowed designs to be transferred to another surface. The inscription indicates that Shafi’ ‘Abbasi made this painting for Shah Abbas II in 1651-52. Presumably, he copied this composition from a European engraving.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1971.84

07/04/2020

Plate, 13th Century

https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.590

07/04/2020

Inscribed Tombstone of Shaikh al-Husain ibn
Abdallah ibn al-Hasan (died 1110), 1110

Arabic calligraphy, the supreme art form in the Islamic world, enhances this tombstone. The elegant Arabic script embellished with leaf tendrils at the top of the tall letters is called floriated Kufic. Verses about paradise from the holy Koran border the central arch-shaped niche that resembles a mosque's mihrab, located in the wall closest to the holy city of Mecca. The name of the deceased and the year of his death are recorded within the niche above the names of the carvers: "The work of Abaidallah Murra(?) and 'Umar(?)." The inscriptions from the Koran translate as follows: Outer border (read from right to left): "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Every soul shall taste of death; and ye shall only receive your recompenses on the Day of Resurrection. And who so shall escape the fire, and be brought into Paradise, shall be happy And the life [of this world is but a cheating fruition]" (3:185). Inner border: "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. But as for those who say, 'Our Lord is God'; and who go straight to Him, the Angels shall descend to them and say 'Fear ye not, neither be ye grieved, but rejoice ye in the Paradise which ye have been [promised]'" (41:30).

https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.9

07/04/2020

Bowl, Early 13th Century

https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.639

07/03/2020

"Nushirwan Sends Mihran Sitad to Fetch the Daughter of the King of China" in the manuscript of Shahnama of Firdawsi Illustration and Text (Persian Verses) (Recto), c. 1482

The Iranian tendency to create conceptual space, symmetry, and decoration characterize this painting illustrating a scene in the life of the Shi’a Imam Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. The inscription over the door reads "the just sultan."

https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.25.a

07/03/2020

Youth Holding a Pomegranate; Illustration from a Single Page Manuscript, Riza-yi Abbasi, c.1600-1650

This single painting of a youth holding a favored pomegranate reflects the style of the most gifted painter at the court of Shah ‘Abbas, Riza-yi ‘Abbasi, whose work inspired numerous adaptations and copies by other artists. In this painting, the youth is attired less extravagantly—with less gold thread than those in the two paintings nearby—presumably conveying a lower status. Gold thread was so expensive that rulers occasionally burned old fabrics for the monetary value of the gold.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1947.497

07/03/2020

Luxury Ewer Extending Good Fortune to the Owner, Ahmad al-Dhaki al-Mawsili, 1223

The lavish silver inlaid surface features a wide band displaying medallions with scenes of court and daily life and an inscription band on the shoulder, written in plaited and animated kufic (angular) script, extending good fortune, generosity, and charitable giving to the owner. This celebrated ewer is dated 1223 and signed by the master craftsman Ahmad al-Dhaki of Mosul.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1956.11

07/02/2020

Qur'an Manuscript Folio (recto; verso); Left side of Bifolio, 800s

Because of its connection with the Koran, calligraphy was elevated above all other art forms in the Islamic world. From an awkward and nearly illegible form of writing, Arabic script was transformed during the 600s and 700s to make it worthy of recording the Divine word. By the 800s, Muslim scribes were producing copies of the Koran that were true calligraphic masterpieces. This Koran, written entirely in gold, exemplifies the angular form of writing known as Kufic at its majestic best. The text on the right page is the opening of the Chapter of the Star (53: 1-21), which begins: By the star when it plunges, your comrade is not astray, neither errs, nor speaks he out of caprice. This is naught but a revelation revealed, taught him by one terrible in power, very strong...

https://clevelandart.org/art/1993.39.2

07/02/2020

Text page from a Materia Medica of Dioscorides, Abdallah ibn al-Fadl, c. 1224

This page is one of about thirty folios, now dispersed among various public and private collections, originally belonging to a codex in the Suleymaniye Library, Aya Sofya, Istanbul. The manuscript, of which the major part is still in Istanbul, contains a colophon giving the name of the scribe -- who may also have been the painter, 'Abd Allah ibn al-Fadi -- and the date, Rajab 621 (June-July, 1224).

https://clevelandart.org/art/1977.91.a

07/02/2020

Albarello Jar, 1200s

https://clevelandart.org/art/1940.968

07/01/2020

Preface, verso of the left folio from a double-page frontispiece of a Shahnama of Firdausi (940-1019 or 1025), c. 1444

https://clevelandart.org/art/1956.10.b

07/01/2020

Bowl, 1100s-1200s

https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.483

07/01/2020

Balustrade Fragment with Animals, 1303-1304

This architectural relief shows a lion attacking a bull surrounded by other predators pursuing their prey, with scrolling vegetal motifs filling the spaces between. Scenes of powerful predators in the act of hunting and capturing other animals echo the royal imagery of pre-Islamic Iran.This piece was part of a balustrade in a private home; the owner and construction date are known from another fragment from the same building. The building was embellished when the Mongols controlled Iran, and the relief shows a continuity in style from carvings made during the preceding Turkic Seljuk period (1037–1194). Under Turkic and Mongol rule in Iran, Islamic injunctions against making figural imagery were loosened.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1938.15

06/30/2020

Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Novice of San Secondo, Jacometto Veneziano, c. 1490

Despite the distinctive costume, the young woman’s identity remains in doubt. Her headgear may be secular, while others connect it to a Benedictine or Franciscan order of nuns. Venetian portraits of the late 1400s often presented young woman in saintly guises, underscoring the Renaissance idea that portraits should display virtues more than the sitter’s actual character.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1976.9

06/30/2020

The Tale of the Twelve Faces. "Bizhan Addresses the Army": Illustration from the Firdausi Shahnama (recto); The Tale of the Twelve Faces. "The Warriors Engage in Combat": Illustration from the Firdausi Shahnama (verso), 1341

https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.479

06/30/2020

Minai Beaker with Seated Princes, 1180-1220

Minai enamel painting created true polychrome ceramic for the first time, combining blues, green, and purples with sharp black and red--the most difficult ceramic color of all--with precise control.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1917.977

02/08/2020

Mosque Lamp, 1585

These vessels have the shape of glass lamps intended for mosques and tombs, but since they are opaque and could have emitted no light, their function was purely decorative.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.287

02/05/2020

Casket, Late 12th-13th Century

https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.652

02/03/2020

Qur'an Manuscript Folio (Recto); Illuminated Page, 1500

The sending down of the Book is from God the All-mighty, the All-wise. Surah ###IX: 1-3 The Qur'an is the sacred book of Islam. In the view of orthodox Muslims, it is the literal word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) in the Arabic language, and thus, recorded in the Arabic script. Because of its association with the divine word, Arabic calligraphy came to be a supreme art form in the Islamic world. As the quintessential symbol of the culture, it became a pervasive decorative element in Islamic art and architecture. Although secondary to calligraphy, a splendid tradition of illumination --that is, ornamentation with colors and gold-- developed to enhance the pages of the Qur'an. Because of the prestige associated with the book arts in the Islamic world, the decorative motifs employed by illuminators (scrolling vines, blossoms, lozenges, adn cartouches) found their way into other art forms, for example, metalwork, textiles, and carpets.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1924.746.1.a

02/02/2020

The Wade Cup with Animated Script, 1200

Known as the Wade Cup, after J. H. Wade who bequeathed the funds for its acquisition, this bowl is the best known Islamic art object in the Museum. The rich silver decoration on the exterior of the Iranian bowl is organized into bands and compartments. Climaxing the decorative program is a rare inscription band around the rim with letters formed by human figures, animals, and birds. The band of animated script around the rim of the cup extends good wishes to the owner. It is translated as "Glory, and success, and government, and bliss, and soundness, and peace of mind, and mercy, and well-being, good health, and duration, and increase, and satisfaction, and care, and continuance to itsowner." Arabic is written from right to left. The compartments created by the interlacing bands contain tiny figures of humans and animals. These represent the 12 signs of the zodiac whose signs spring from astrology-the practice of interpreting the influence of planets and stars on earthly affairs.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.485

02/02/2020

Royal Reception in a Landscape, right folio from a double-page frontispiece of a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025), 1444

The painting on the verso of this folio is the first half of a double-page frontispiece now detached from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) manuscript. CMA 1956.10 is the left half of the frontispiece.As though setting the scene for royal stories and activities, these two opening pages of Iran’s national epic present a luxurious gathering in an idyllic outdoor setting. Groups of nobles and international diplomats have come bearing gifts, including costly vessels and hunting animals. At the upper right, seemingly uninterested in the emissaries and gifts, a prince kneels with six royal women under an open tent. He pulls one of them toward him, apparently to coax her to drink a cup of wine. At the bottom a musician plays a harp that has been mounted over a stream, painted with now tarnished silver paint. Drama and intrigue seem to be brewing, given the knowing glances and whispers between figures.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1945.169

02/01/2020

King Luhrasp Ascends the Throne: A Processon Arrives at Court (Recto); The Story of King Luhrasp (Verso), c. 1560s-80s

This scene of a procession arriving at court was surely completed by the court scene itself. The subject of the frontispiece had nothing to do with the text that it accompanied, and the text has not been identified.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.24

02/01/2020

Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940-1019 or 1025), 1500

This image from an unfinished painting depicts one of the most popular episodes from the life of the pre-Islamic Persian king Bahram Gur (reigned AD 420–38). A famed hunter, he was challenged by his concubine, Azada, to strike a donkey through its foot and ear with a single arrow. Azada is in the upper right playing the harp on a camel. Bahram Gur successfully meets her challenge at the bottom of the page; he tossed a rock into the donkey’s ear, then fired when the animal tried to kick it loose.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.597

01/31/2020

Qur'an Manuscript Folio (Recto); Left Folio of Double-Page Illuminated Frontispiece, 1500

The sending down of the Book is from God the All-mighty, the All-wise. Surah ###IX: 1-3 The Qur'an is the sacred book of Islam. In the view of orthodox Muslims, it is the literal word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) in the Arabic language, and thus, recorded in the Arabic script. Because of its association with the divine word, Arabic calligraphy came to be a supreme art form in the Islamic world. As the quintessential symbol of the culture, it became a pervasive decorative element in Islamic art and architecture. Although secondary to calligraphy, a splendid tradition of illumination --that is, ornamentation with colors and gold-- developed to enhance the pages of the Qur'an. Because of the prestige associated with the book arts in the Islamic world, the decorative motifs employed by illuminators (scrolling vines, blossoms, lozenges, adn cartouches) found their way into other art forms, for example, metalwork, textiles, and carpets.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1924.746.2.a

01/31/2020

Qur'an Manuscript Folio (recto), 800

This page features the last eight verses of the Sura al-Sad (named for the arabic letter sad) and the opening verses of the Sura al-Zumar (the Companies); the latter begins:

The sending down of the Book is from God the All-mighty,
the All-wise. We have sent down to thee the Book with the
truth; so worship God, making thy religion His sincerely.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1933.494.a

01/31/2020

The Story of Nushirwan and his Minister. "The Third Discourse on Diverse Events and Disorder in Life.": Illustration from a Manuscript of the Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami, 1555

This scene is from the Makhzan al-Ashrar, the first of the Quintet. Although more historically oriented than the following poems, it served more as a vehicle for moralizing tales than for historical events. In this scene Nushirwan asks the sage Buzurgmihr to explain what the owls perched on a ruined building are saying. He explains that one owl is offering the other as many ruined cities as he likes in exchange for his daughter's hand. He thus reproves Nushirwan for his love of conquest and war and the consequent destruction of many cities.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.487.b

01/30/2020

Bottle, 800

https://clevelandart.org/art/1951.290

01/30/2020

Ceramic dish with deer, phoenix, and lotus blossoms, 1300

The design of a flying phoenix on the rim was frequently represented on vessels and tilework of this period. The motif was derived from China, most likely transmitted on prestigious silk textiles.

https://clevelandart.org/art/1924.742

01/30/2020

Illuminated Folio from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213-1291), Sultan Muhammad, c. 1525-30

The Gulistan, completed around 1258, is one of the most celebrated works of Persian literature. The book’s name means “rose garden” in Persian; just as a rose garden is a collection of flowers, the contents are a collection of anecdotes. Written in both prose and verse, the Gulistan was used for centuries as a primer for schoolchildren in greater Iran, India, and Turkey. The text on these pages is written in nastaliq script and comes from the first chapter, “On the Conduct of Kings.”The exquisite borders of these two folios show lions, dragons, foxes, and peacocks in a lush landscape, painted in gold and silver that has tarnished over time.

https://clevelandart.org/art/2006.147

Address

11150 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH
44106

Opening Hours

Friday	10am - 9pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	10am - 5pm

Website

https://www.clevelandart.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when CMA: Islamic Art posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.