“There’s been a growing interest in Islam over the past decade, and not always for positive reasons,” says Sheila S. Blair, a professor of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College and co-author of the book Islamic Arts (Phaidon Press, 1997). “But because people are curious about Islamic traditions, and art is a great way to learn about a different religion and culture, they are paying more attention to Islamic art.”
So what is Islamic art exactly? “It’s a very general term used to describe art created in countries where Islam is the major religion,” Blair says. “But wherever Islam went, the people practicing the religion interacted with local traditions. So Islamic art created in Africa has a very distinct look while Islamic art created in India has a different look.”
But while Islamic art covers a vast amount of work, which makes it hard to generalize, there are some major themes and similarities among it. “You typically see writing, geometry and extraordinarily colored arabesque patterns. Other religious art may feature people or animals, but in Islamic art that is much less prominent.”
That said, images of people and animals aren’t banned. “That’s a misconception about Islamic art – that you can’t depict people,” Blair says. “But there’s nothing in the Quran that prohibits the depiction of people in art.”
The love for Islamic art has spread to art collectors around the world. One of the most famous lovers of Islamic art is Doris Duke, an heiress who filled her Hawaiian home, Shangri-La, with Islamic art.
“In the 1930s, Doris traveled extensively and developed a great interest in the Islamic world,” says Donald Albrecht, co-author of “Doris Duke’s Shangri-La: A House in Paradise” (Rizzoli, 2012) and co-curator of an exhibition of her pieces. “Once that happened, she set about collecting Islamic art for Shangri-La. As a result, its walls were covered with shimmering surfaces and abstract patterns.”
Doris Duke wasn’t the only person inspired to bring Islamic art into the home. Ann Getty, a designer and philanthropist, also did.
“One of Ann’s favorite cities was Istanbul,” says Deborah Hatch, chief curator of fine arts for the Ann and Gordon Getty Collection. “She loved traveling to Istanbul, and her homes show her love for the artwork she’d find there.”
Islamic influence can also be seen in garden design. “There are key elements to an Islamic garden that people can follow no matter where they call home,” says Emma Clark, author of “The Art of the Islamic Garden” (Crowood Press, 2011). “They are designed with order and geometry, often split into four distinct sections. Islamic gardens were considered a refuge from the outside, harsher environment of the desert. So it is lush with water and shade. That’s what people longed for when trudging through the desert.”
The Islamic garden is meant to delight all of the senses, Clark says, so people include “bubbling fountains, fragrant roses and lavender and delicious fig trees. And lastly, make sure it feels peaceful, a place for contemplation.”
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