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Course: Art of the Islamic world 640 to now?>?Unit 2
Lesson 3: Later period- Arts of the Islamic world: the later period
- Introduction to the court carpets of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires
- Muradiye Mosque
- Ottoman prayer carpet with triple-arch design
- Mimar Sinan, ?ehzade Mosque
- Sinan, S¨¹leymaniye Mosque
- Mimar Sinan, Mosque of Selim II, Edirne
- Sinan, R¨¹stem Pasha Mosque
- Hagia Sophia as a mosque
- The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
- Spherical Hanging Ornament (Iznik)
- Iznik ewer
- Tughra (Official Signature) of Sultan S¨¹leiman the Magnificent from Istanbul
- Topkap? Palace tiles
- Qa'a: The Damascus room
- The Damascus Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Conserving the Damascus Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Photograph of Abd¨¹lhamid II
- Timur¡¯s entry into Samarkand, page from the Zafarnama
- The Safavids, an introduction
- The Ardabil Carpet
- Ardabil Carpet
- The Court of Gayumars
- Paradise in miniature, The Court of Kayumars ¡ª part 1
- Paradise in miniature, The Court of Kayumars ¡ª part 2
- Wine bearers in landscape, a Safavid textile
- Riza-yi 'Abbasi, portrait of a young page reading
- Riza-yi ?Abbasi, Seated calligrapher
- Mir Afzal of Tun, a reclining woman and her lapdog
- The Ardashirnama: a Judeo-Persian manuscript
- Divination Bowl
- The Mughal painting tradition: an introduction
- Illustration from the Akbarnama
- The Taj Mahal
- Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings
- Shah 'Abbas ¨C Ruling an empire
- Shah 'Abbas ¨C the image of a ruler
- Coins of faith and power at the British Museum
- Two portraits, two views
- Khusraw Discovers Shirin Bathing
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Riza-yi ?Abbasi, Seated calligrapher
by The British Museum
"In this age, he has no rival; master painters, skillful artists who live in our times regard him as perfect." QADI AHMAD, 1606
A bearded man sits on the ground, holding a blank book in his hand. The tools lying around him¡ªpens, ink and paper¡ªshow that he is a calligrapher. He smiles faintly, and gazes into the distance. The draughtsmanship is simple and suitably calligraphic. The gold leafy 'background' against the bare colored paper is similar to the gilt-decorated margins of illustrated manuscripts typical of this period.
This drawing has been signed by the celebrated Persian artist Riza-yi ?Abbasi (died 1635), who worked at the courts of Shah ?Abbas I (reigned 1588-1629) and his successor Shah Safi I (reigned 1629¨C42). Riza-yi ?Abbasi is famous for his drawings of individual or paired figures on single pages, but he also contributed paintings to illustrated manuscripts. He was so admired by Shah ?Abbas that in 1603 Riza was granted the honor of carrying the title ?Abbasi to demonstrate his position in the Shah's favor. This drawing was completed a few years before he received this honor, although the presence of the Shah's royal seal (in the bottom right corner) suggests that ?Abbas already enjoyed the artist's work.
Respect for Riza-yi ?Abbasi's work was widespread in seventeenth-century Iran, and the strong influence of his style continued long after his death.
Additional Resources:
S. Canby,?The rebellious reformer: the drawings and paintings of Riza-yi 'Abbasi of Isfahan?(London, 1997)
A. Soudavar,?Art of the Persian courts?(New York, Rizzoli, 1992)
V. Porter and H. Nayel Barakat,?Mightier than the sword, Arabi?(The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, 2004)
? The Trustees of the British Museum