16 April 2004 21:45
His heavenly objects
How are ignorance and prejudice about Islam and its multifarious contributions to civilisation to be dispelled? One
way is by mounting a great exhibition such as this one, which is the largest and most significant to be devoted to the
subject of Islamic art, fine and decorative, in almost 30 years. The show brings together a sampling of about 120 works
from two great sources - the Nasser D Khalili Collection of Islamic Art in London and the Hermitage collections from St
Petersburg. Khalili's collection is particularly strong on the calligraphic arts; the Hermitage collections most
often remind us of the way in which the Russian Empire impinged upon its Islamic neighbours, of how various civilisation
borrowed from or impinged upon each another.
The show opens with a display of calligraphy - on tiles, on stone monuments and in sacred books. The variety of
Arabic scripts is astonishing, and the way it is used can shift from texts of the utmost complexity, in which one script
is layered on another, to the utmost simplicity. One of the most extraordinary single works in the show is an
18th-century panel, probably from North Africa, which consists of nothing but line after line of text, one beneath
another, gold lettering set against a starkly simple blue ground, which repeat the one word "Allah" in Arabic.
The ground is of silk; the elegant patterning of the repeated word is carried on additional wefts. The whole exercise,
of elegantly simple, minimal incantation, throws you forward 200 years to Allen Ginsberg and the Beat Generation.
But there is much more to this exhibition than art in the service of God. It is at least as much about art in the
service of princely luxury. Some of the ceremonial table ware is especially fine - an 11th- century cockerel from Iran,
brazenly forthright and self-preeningly majestic in its bearing, is just one of the many vessels created in the forms of
animals.
Of equal interest is a splendidly patient-looking zebu (like a cow) of brass/bronze inlaid with silver, which stands
with a weary air of stoicism as a calf sucks greedily at its teat and a lion bites ferociously down on its hump. This is
a superb example of Persian cast metalwork. Then there is the Iranian incense-burner in the shape of a lynx, complete
with beautifully observed eyebrows, moustache and curly mane.
It is often mistakenly thought that Islam absolutely forbade the representation of the human form. Not quite true -
as anyone would know who has studied Islamic miniature painting. The best examples here are from the Hermitage - a
Reclining Youth (1600-35), the very epitome of luxuried indolence, done in a mixture of opaque watercolour and gold, and
a 17th-century Portrait of an Indian Prince tricked out for battle, who happens to be sniffing at a delicate posy of
flowers.
In spite of all the thunderous warnings of theologians, courtly life became more and more irredeemably lavish. A
small Mughal-era tray for an octagonal box, conventional enough in form, is distinguished by its luxurious use of gold,
enamels, rubies, emeralds. Near the vitrine containing this tray hang ornamental daggers, swords, sabres, all set with
gold, pearls, enamels and other precious stones. It seems like a lurch towards worldly decadence, a mood confirmed by
the largest single, full-length portrait of a ruler in this show.
The Qajar ruler, Fath Ali Shah, crowned in Iran in 1798, stands before us in coronation robes of his own devising -
long, pleated white skirt stretching down from his improbably tiny waist; blockish cuban heels; a long beard painted and
combed strand by careful strand; and a crown which towers at least one foot above his head, and which is inset with
diamonds, emeralds and a plume of black heron's feathers.
He carries a staff surmounted by a hoopoe, traditionally the messenger of Solomon. But it was not Solomon that he was
wishing to emulate in this pose. Its inspiration is more likely to have been a portrait of Napoleon by Francois Gerard,
another man who believed himself to be a colossus without feet of clay.
Heaven on Earth: Art from Islamic Lands, Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House, London WC2 (020-7845 4600;
www.hermitagerooms.com) to 22 August
FOUR OF KHALILI'S FINEST
Rulers of the Mughal Dynasty, from Babur to Awrangzeb, with their ancestor Tamerlane
(Mughal India c1707-12)
This painting, one of the greatest pieces of collective portraiture from Mughal India in the realistic manner, is a
rare, stylised portrayal of Tamerlane the Great. The emperor sits centre stage, surrounded by his successors.
Extraordinary attention has been given to matters of dress and weaponry, and the overall atmosphere is serene.
Figurine of a Seated Man, identified on the brim of his hat as Sultan Tughril (1143-44, Iran)
This ceramic seated man, painted in black with a turquoise glaze, is the single most enigmatic figurative piece in
the show. What was its use? It may have been a large chess piece or be a representation of Sultan Tughril himself. What
makes it so memorable is its pose and its poise - the imperturbable gravity of that slightly hunched posture, and its
slightly sunken, almost ethereal features, drawn as if what the face knows or thinks will never truly be known.
Single volume Qur'an, written by the calligrapher Muhammed (Arab, before 1710)
What is outstanding here is the way in which the black and gold inks of the sacred text work together with the
polychrome gouache of the illumination. The calligraphy is at the centre of each page, while a crenellated border and
interwoven floral patternings bring a glorious dancing movement to the prophet's message.
White Crystalline Marble Stela (North India, late 17th century)
A thin, 6ft-high standing stone made from a pale crystalline marble, richly carved in low relief. On the obverse, an
inscription stands above three tiers of pointed arches. Within the arches there are vases, cypresses and flowers.
Beneath that, a much deeper panel is inset with a vase of irises and tulips. The whole is surrounded by weaving, plant-
like forms. The reverse of the stela consists of four panels of inscriptions from the Qur'an.
MG
[The Independent] |
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