Arts from the east

Islamic art initially borrowed heavily from Greco-Roman, Byzantine, and Sasanian influences. 

And due to the wide geographic spread of Islam over time, more and more influences came to be represented. But eventually, certain tell-tale characteristics did begin to emerge.  

One of the most striking is the intricate detail in surface decoration. These frequently use plant forms combined with motifs of calligraphy and abstract geometrical patterns. In painting, pottery, textiles, and architecture, artists have explored these features extensively.  

Figurative work featuring depictions of humans and animals does exist in Islamic art. 

However, many areas where the religion and culture spread consider this a form of idolatry, and so there has been a consistent push in many areas to focus on the abstract (though, contrary to popular belief, depicting humans and animals is not explicitly prohibited in the Quran). 

For this reason, Islamic art is one of the earliest examples of an extensive, well developed sense of abstract art.  

From the dizzying beauty of arabesque designs to the stunning grandeur of mosque architecture, Islamic art has provided the world with one of the most prosperous flowerings of creative expression.  

One of its strengths is the wide diversity of influences combined with the unifying cultural, philosophical, and religious guidance of Islam. After its rapid spread around the globe, the religion has become one of the largest in human history. In only a century, Islam expanded from the Arabian peninsula all the way to the Atlantic Ocean and Central Asia.  

This has brought together a wide range of people into discussion. And in art, this is particularly true. The spread of Islam made the Arabian peninsula a key crossroads of civilization, a place where creatives synthesized a tremendous amount of cultures into a unified artistic vision.  

The resulting balance between eclecticism and unity has created some of the most beautiful works ever witnessed in architecture, the decorative arts, and fine arts. These achievements have captured the imagination of countless generations in the West and East. 

The technological innovations of Islamic art also had direct impacts on ceramics, textiles, architecture, photography, metalworking, music, and more.  

Aesthetically, Islamic art changed the decorative arts in the West completely. It also provided a basis for abstract artists in the 20th century to draw from, as well as an inspiring example of creative vegetal forms that would help develop the Art Nouveau movement. 

This work is made out of 63 ceramic tiles — a wall feature that was once presented in a palace. It originated in the 17th century, in what is modern day Iran, and it has since traveled the world to live at the Louvre where it continues to delight visitors to this day.  

The panel depicts a scene in an extravagantly rendered garden, where one poet composes his verses and another reads them aloud, with two standing to the sides as an audience. It is no doubt a joust using words — like a centuries old rap battle.  

During the Louvre by night, the colors are extraordinarily vibrant: allowing the design to overawe the viewer with its exquisiteness, much like a lovingly tended, royal garden would. The textiles that the four characters wear continue the flowery imagery. If you squint, you can see that the entire surface of the panel is really a chance for blossoms to be shown in all their magnificence. Here, the natural world is interwoven with human enjoyment, expressing an effortless joy of being on earth.  

The subject matter also gives us insight into the cultural values of language and the power of the word. This is a “joust” where the combatants are using their writing, recalling the old adage about the pen, the sword, and which of the two is mightier. 

The exterior contains four medallions and four bands featuring twenty-four characters, including four on horseback. The illustrated scenes are complex and evocative of a narrative. The images continue on the inside as well.  

When you see it in person, the fine details are absolutely breathtaking. It is an unbelievable work of subtlety and mastery, exalted through the use of precious materials. It really is a vessel fit to baptize a future king. 

Many people living today in the West are not aware of how vitally important Uzbekistan culture was, is, and continues to be. Though it is landlocked, it lies in a vital point between East and West, in what is called Central Asia.

It is here that the famous caravan routes known as the legendary Silk Road converged for so many centuries. That made Uzbekistan a truly cosmopolitan culture at a time when that was incredibly rare. It benefited from a wide range of trade goods, ideas, and beliefs. In that soup of culture, great art is made.

Cities like Bukhara and Samarkand benefited from both the excess wealth and diversity of cultural influences the Silk Road brought them. That is why, by the time Alexander’s army arrived, he found the territory difficult to conquer and impossible to maintain power over.

Various Persian empires laid claim to the area for centuries. The entire time, Greek, Iranian, Indian, and Chinese culture mixed with local traditions to form a highly fluid and exciting atmosphere, one that produced endlessly fascinating works of art.

The title of the exhibition points to the oases that have been the center of urban development in the region since its earliest settlements. These spots in the desert provide water in an otherwise inhospitable climate, making them crucial for agriculture.

The cities that built up around these oases became necessary stops for traders making the long journey between Europe and China. In this way, people weren’t just drawn to the cities of Uzbekistan, they had to visit as a matter of survival. The steady stream of people from distant lands brought new languages, religions, songs, tastes, and jokes into the local scene.

This turned the cities into a different kind of oasis: a cultural one. And so these oasis cities play the backdrop for the artwork on display in the Louvre exhibition.

This partially surviving fresco stands today as a major part of Uzbek cultural heritage. It has become so widely known that it is a symbol of the country’s history, despite our murky understanding of its subject matter and its incomplete survival.

The work is one of the few surviving representatives of art from Sogdian culture, which was at its height at the time this piece was painted. The frescoes altogether decorated the walls of a house, and it seems to use each wall as an homage to one of the cultures that influenced the region. For instance, one wall shows scenes from China, one Samarkand, and another India.

The stunning use of color and the epic sweep of its narrative recommend this as a major work from Sogdian culture, and a rare example of its art. Even though it is in poor condition, we are lucky that we have the work at all — it was only discovered by accident thanks to a road construction project in 1965.

The frescoes enjoy such a prestigious status in its native region that some have called it the “Mona Lisa of Uzbekistan.”