The Timurid period’s architecture had an ideology of grandeur and monumentality. Their ruler, Timur, is known for one of the most brilliant times in Islamic art, mainly due to bringing craftsman from different conquered lands. He created buildings that fused Islamic elements with Persian art and symbols of the nomadic culture of the Turks and Mongols. He chose Samarqand, “the city of domes,” for his capital and was an important trading city along the Silk Road.
Trademarks of the Timurid style were of monumental scale; multiple minarets, polychromy tile work, and large bulbous double domes. The Timurids are best known for their advances in architecture, especially the melon dome. A melon dome, or a bulbous dome, is a pointed dome that swells. The melon dome is present on the mausoleum of Ahmad Yasavi, Bibi Khanum congressional mosque, and the mausoleum of Gur-I Amir. They were known for their polychromy tile work on the melon domes as well as the exterior of buildings that made them the most elite and modern monuments of its time.
Timur commissioned the mausoleum of Ahmad Yasavi in 1389 (Figure 1). He ordered the construction of the mausoleum for the grave of Yasavi, as a sign of respect. This building marked the beginning of the golden age of Timurid architecture. This building includes innovative spatial arrangements, and a melon dome, key characteristics in Timurid architecture. It is located in northeast part of Hazrat Turkestan. The mausoleum reaches a height of 128 feet, with dimensions of 217 feet by 150 feet. It contains a mosque, burial chamber, and a madrasa. There are also 34 different rooms containing various types of precious objects.
The ribbed dome, also known as bulbous double dome, was placed over ...
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...ed for displaying the bodies of the dead before burial. It is believed the doe mimicked this form of the tent in the form of urban materials of stone and brick. The melon dome of the Gur-I Amir dome is particularly suggestive of the circular ribbed skeleton that supported these nomadic domes.3
Just as Timurid architecture was influenced by Persian and Indian buildings, the great Timurid works came to influence the architecture of the Safavids in Iran and of the Mughals in India. The Timurids excelled in the realm of architecture and created new innovating architecture. Timur showed his power and conquer through the architecture he commissioned. The melon domes symbolize his rule and was also adopted in funeral architecture. The polychromy tile work on the melon domes as well as the exterior of buildings made them the most elite and modern monuments of its time.
The New Kingdom in ancient Egypt, from 1550 – 1070 BC, was a time of extraordinary wealth, power, and the continuation of the arts in the classic ancient Egyptian style. Characterized by the abstract and impersonal depiction of humans, along with the strength of the Egyptian Empire, the New Kingdom is considered the peak of power and prosperity in ancient Egypt. “Fragmentary lid from the coffin of Wadj-shemsi-su” is a piece created in this time period that was originally part of a portrait located on the top of the king’s coffin. Because the coffin would carry the king’s mummified body in his tomb, the portrait depicts the pharaoh as being prepared for the Underworld, as well as being the ideal body for the spirit of the king to flow through. The objective of the coffin’s portrait is also to convey the power of the kingdom, putting emphasis on the king’s image and the immense wealth that accompanies him. In addition to the piece’s function as a coffin, “Fragmentary lid from the coffin of Wadj-shemsi-su” embodies the strength and wealth of the New Kingdom through the piece’s human face, use of bright colors, and geometric detailing.
In the following essay, I will be comparing the Hagia Sophia in the City of Istanbul, and the Suleymaniye Mosque of Istanbul. Both of these pieces of art are very significant to the in modern-day Turkey. The art pieces will be covered in more detail further on in this comparative essay, and finally, I will be judging the pieces at the end of this essay
Bihzad has placed strong emphasis on the complexity of the palace’s architecture which he has adorned with colorful ornaments and emblazoned with gold. Each room is decorated with rugs and tiles featuring complex floral and asymmetrical patterns that cover each chamber from floor to ceiling. The palace appears to be three stories tall and features a balcony on the left and a zigzagging staircase on the right. The asymmetrical style of these two architectural features gives the impression of the work being 3-dimensional ...
The significance of monumental architecture lies not only in the function it is built to serve but also in the cultural values it represents. Monumental architecture is aesthetic as well as functional, and in its aesthetic aspects it is a form of cultural expression. In Bronze Age Mediterranean civilizations, the development of monumental architecture was influenced primarily by the political structure of the state. Perhaps the most disparate forms of monumental architecture in this region were developed in Pharaonic Egypt and Minoan Crete, reflecting the differences in their political systems. The socio-political structure of these two cultures can be sharply contrasted through an examination of a predominant type of monumental architecture found in each region.
The Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock are two of some of the greatest and most important monuments in the Eastern and the modern world. The Hagia Sophia is an amazing depiction of the Byzantine architecture. It symbolizes the “Golden era” of the Byzantine Empire and is a symbol of modern day Istanbul. The Dome of the Rock is located in Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock is currently a shrine for Islamic believers and some Jews that believe the grounds are sacred. It holds a great religious significance to the rise of Islam in Jerusalem. Even though these major achievements in architecture were built at different times and were built with different styles, they hold many similarities. These similarities include such fascinating examples of
My theme of my visual essay is the Dome of the Rock and the controversy that surrounds it. The images for my visual essay are arranged in the order through which I plan to write my final research paper. The Dome of the rock is a 7th century building located in Jerusalem at the visual center of a platform known as the Temple Mount (which is illustrated in the first image). The name of the original sponsor of the building was Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al-Malik in 691 C.E. (Grabar, The Dome of the Rock 62). The second image is intended to aid in the visualization of the Dome of the Rock, not as a mosque, but rather an Islamic shrine that was built over a sacred site. However, exactly which sacred site it is, is still up for debate. Three different religious traditions have significance associated with this site. I am curious to examine how the significance of the Dome of the Rock for each religious tradition effects how it is portrayed in religious art.
Architecture is one important aspect of Byzantine culture. One of the most famous Byzantine architectural achievements is the Hagia Sophia, which is located in modern-day Istanbul. The basic design of the cathedral has a dome over a square base, which required a new innovation. At the time, it was kn...
Uniformly pleasing, the basilica is strongly focused on definition and structure. The dome of the basilica is considered the masterpiece of design. A lot of effort was put into the design of the dome; it is a key element of the basilica.
When walking around a city, you may notice that the architecture and art look similar to other works. Many of these designs have changed along the course of history and time whilst others have not. The designs that many people still see in society and day to day living is from two of the many cultures of the old civilizations, Roman and Islamic. The art and architecture forms from the Islamic and Roman cultures have many comparisons and contrasts between them. They, the Islamic and Roman nations, have both adopted from other cultures and have made their own discoveries in the art and architecture worlds. The Roman and Islamic architecture and art vary drastically from each other and yet have varying comparisons between the two.
With the interaction between the development of computational approaches in architecture and the contemporary forms of spatial design intelligence, some new architectural design theories emerged to make differences between architects and control designing processes. These theories are almost employed in all designing realms, from architecture to urban design to provide fields of ideas and solutions that privilege by complexity. Most of these theories are oriented to relay on understanding and using computational methods to generate exotic and complex geometries. In this respect, three of these theories will discussed and tested against three buildings. The theories are: parametric design, genetic architecture and emergence, which characterize some of the contemporary architectural design approaches.
...ifferent shapes and materials were used by ethnic groups to match their beliefs and culture. In the major cities of Timbuktu, Gao and Djenne, mosques built in the 13th century displayed the emergence of Islam through Musa and others. These were made from rice husks, earth and water and lasted for hundreds of years.
The wonderful kingdom of the ancient Kubla Khan and the setting that surrounds it is described with heavenly, dreamlike vividness. The kingdom that Kubla Khan creates is described as “stately pleasure dome.” The word “dome” is symbolic of completion...
In the following essay, I will be comparing and contrasting to architectural pieces by the Indians. The first is the Taj Mahal, a building constructed from white marble that took seventeen years to build in honor of Shah Jahan’s wife, Mumtaz Mahal (Z. Haq). This piece of architectural beauty belonged to the Mughal’s, the Muslim emperors in India (Z. Haq). The second is the Great Stupa at Sanchi, a holy, dome shaped structure that covers the body of the Buddha in honor of him and his contributions to Buddhism (Fischer, Julia). Furthermore, this structure was made of ruins, rocks, mud, and covered in bricks (Fischer, Julia). Both pieces of architecture are significant to the Indians, however they do contrast in some ways.
The travel website, Taj Mahal, illustrates the origins of this monument. It was constructed to serve as a memorial and tomb for Mumtaz Mahal, the deceased wife of the emperor Shah Jahan (Taj Mahal, 2008). Before her death, while birthing Shah Jahan’s fourteenth child, she requested Jahan build a monument to honor her as stated by the Taj Mahal website (Taj Mahal, 2008). In 1631, construction began, and was finally completed twenty-two years later (Taj Mahal, 2008). Twenty-two thousand workers labored in constructing the monument bringing materials by elephant from many parts of Asia (Taj Mahal, 2008). The web site Islamic Architecture lists the Iranian architect Ustad Ahmed Lahwari as the key designer of the structure; however other architects played prominent roles in the monument’s design (Organization, 1995-2003).Over time, the esti...
I think a gigantic funerary mosque of white marble, built in Agra by order of the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, the Taj Mahal is the most perfect jewel of Moslem art in India and is one of the universally admired architectures of the world’s heritage. Not only see the beautiful Taj Mahal from the video, I also knew the history of itself and its country. A white marble tomb sums up many of the formal themes that have played through Islamic architecture. The video did talk a lot of how much Shah Jahan himself and his father loved art and made many gorgeous artworks. Taj Mahal’s refined style is a conspicuous contrast to the Hindu architecture of pre-Islamic India, with its thick walls, arches, and heavy supports. Even though Taj Mahal is the symbol of grief and sadness, it still has it beauty looks from marble and sand stone.