Dipylon Vase Greek, Late Geometric belly-handled amphora by the Dipylon Master ca. 750 BCE Height: 51" Ceramic National Archaeological Museum, Athens On Geometric vases of the Greek world in the 9th and 8th centuries, we see a decorative enhancement of ceramic vessels using geometric ornament. Continuous bands of meanders, zigzags, triangles are some of the most popular patterns, while circles and semicircles are seen less often. Zones of patterned ornament are divided into registers. Much of this ornamentation mirrors the ordinary basketry designs of the time period, and there is some influence from weaving that is indicated in the painted patterns on these Geometric vases. However, basketry and weaving does not fully explain the whole phenomenon of Geometric decoration. Book of Kells Folio depicting Christ Enthroned ca. 800 CE Ink and pigments on vellum 13 x 9 1/2" Trinity College Library, Dublin Making of Manuscripts, Getty Museum (Video, 6:19) "Insular La Tène art is characterized by curvilinear forms, abstraction, and a high degree of technical expertise in metalworking. [As seen in the purse cover design from Sutton Hoo]. It distinguishes itself from Greco-Roman art in that it is determinedly non-narrative despite a great tradition of storytelling…Shape-changing ambiguity is one of its prime characteristics, with reversible images in which creatures are part-human, part-bird, part-animal and part-mythological monster, where faces peer from foliage out of which they grow, and where foreground and background appear to interchange. It is an art that demands the active participation of the viewer’s imagination; in other words, it is the art of quiet contemplation or you will miss much of the subtleties. From the first century BCE onwards, the art is based on carefully laid-out compass design, and until the coming of the Romans to Britain, most designs avoid straight lines and rectangular spaces. It is with the introduction of Christianity that there is a marked change in Insular art. One of the main reasons for this is the conversion to a religion based on a sacred text, the Bible. The idea of a book with illuminations is foreign to pre-Christian art in Ireland, Scotland and England. Once the codex, or book, is introduced, a remarkable new type of approach to book illustration is developed. Often the ornamentation is so elaborate, it will obscure the clarity of the letters themselves, something a book illustrator trained in the Greco-Roman tradition would never do. Another contribution is to introduce each Gospel book with a decorative page, which is often referred to as a carpet page. This may have two functions: one, to easily find the beginnings of books; and second, it has been suggested that the cross motif and ornamental designs protect the Word from corruption through the use of symbol and magical power. This is hard to prove, but it would be consistent with what is known about medieval beliefs in magic. The result of approaching the illumination of the book as if it were jewelry or metalwork was to fundamentally change the relationship between word and image." – Dr. Dorothy Hoogland Verkerk From, Ireland’s Exquisite Insular Art, by James Weiner, https://etc.ancient.eu/interviews/irelands-exquisite-insular-art/ Opening Folio of the 26th Volume of the "Anonymous Baghdad Qur'an" Calligrapher, Ahmad ibn al-Suhrawardi al-Bakri; Illuminator, Muhammad ibn Aibak ibn 'Abdallah A.H. 706/ A.D 1306–7 Made in Iraq, Baghdad Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper 17 x 13 7/8 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Neither the Qur'an nor the sayings of Muhammad (known as the hadith, or Traditions) specifically forbid figural representation in art. However, both sources take a strict position against the worship of idols and the worship of images. The steadfast compliance of these rules was adopted early on by Islamic religious leaders, and we often find that animal and human motifs are reserved for non-religious applications. Four types of ornamentation can be found in Islamic art: calligraphy, human and animal forms, vegetal motifs and geometric patterns. These patterns can be applied as a single element or combined to form intricate and complex arrangements. While geometric ornamentation reached its apex in the Islamic world, sources for the basic shapes and elaborate patterns already existed in the Byzantine and Sasanian empires (Sasanid Dynasty of ancient Persia). Islamic artists appropriated key elements of this late antique tradition, and elaborated upon them to invent a new form of decoration that stressed the importance of unity, logic, and order. What purpose does the ornamentation on these three works of art above serve for the viewer and user of these objects? Take the time to leave a comment by 11:59 pm. Comments are closed.
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