Islamic art can be so incredibly intricate. For centuries the secret for producing this beautiful blue tone was unknown outside the Middle East. William DeMorgan, a British Victorian artist/potter, was the first in the West to discover how and utilize this in his work.

Source

La illaha ilAllah(u), Muhammed rasul Allah.

 “There is none worthy of worship except God (Allah) and Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

Unknown, Arabic Script in shape of lion: "In the name of the lion of God, the face of God, the victorious Ali." from Turkey 19th C

Fountain in a Moroccan Garden

The horoscope of the Persian Timurid ruler Iskandar Sultan, 1411. This is the only surviving individual illuminated horoscope from medieval Islam. Al-Mizan (Libra) is at 3 o'clock in the circle of zodiac signs.

Julia Ibbini, courtesy of Heron Arts

The United Emirates-based artist sources elements from Islamic geometry, embroidery, meenakari enamel work, and even electronic music to inspire the designs that compose her laser cut paper works. The complex patterns and layers of her colorful compositions are a metaphor for the artist’s multicultural background as a dual national from Jordan and the UK, and share elements of symbolism seen in the Middle East region. Ibbini uses computer algorithms to create digital designs that she laser cuts onto paper. She then layers these detailed pieces and hand-paints them with ink.

Silver and gold gilded incense burner, Syria, 13th century

from The State Museum of Berlin

Sweet chestnut leaf with gold calligraphic inscription, Turkey, 19th century

The leaf is inscribed with a Qur’anic verse from Surat al-Isra’ (“The Night Journey,” Q17:80): “And say, ‘Lord grant me a good entrance and a goodly exit, and sustain me with Your power.”

Aga Khan Museum

Jean-Léon Gérôme Retour de la chasse, Circassian à l'abreuvoir ca. 1877

An angel, ca 1555 AD.

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

British Museum

Women talking - Uzbekistan State Museum of Applied Art, Taskent, 2022

Seyed Mosque/ Isfahan/ Iran

Photography: farzaneh beheshti

The Lovers, Reza Abbasi, 1630

Unknown, Persian bowls, 10th-13th century

The streets of old Cairo come alive at night during the holy month of Ramadan.

Happy #InternationalCheetahDay!

Here is the cheetah in Zakariya al-Qazwini's 'Aja'ib al-Makhluqat wa Ghara'ib al-Mawjudat (The Wonders of Creatures and the Marvels of Creation), an important work of Islamic cosmography which was probably first written in the 1260s, and for centuries after was reproduced across the Islamic world. This illuminated manuscript copy was made in Wasit, Iraq in 1280 CE and is the earliest known surviving version.