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Art of the Islamic world 640 to now
Course: Art of the Islamic world 640 to now > Unit 2
Lesson 3: Later period- Arts of the Islamic world: the later period
- Introduction to the court carpets of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires
- Muradiye Mosque
- Ottoman prayer carpet with triple-arch design
- Mimar Sinan, Şehzade Mosque
- Sinan, Süleymaniye Mosque
- Mimar Sinan, Mosque of Selim II, Edirne
- Sinan, Rüstem Pasha Mosque
- Hagia Sophia as a mosque
- The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
- Spherical Hanging Ornament (Iznik)
- Iznik ewer
- Tughra (Official Signature) of Sultan Süleiman the Magnificent from Istanbul
- Topkapı Palace tiles
- Qa'a: The Damascus room
- The Damascus Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Conserving the Damascus Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Photograph of Abdülhamid II
- Timur’s entry into Samarkand, page from the Zafarnama
- The Safavids, an introduction
- The Ardabil Carpet
- Ardabil Carpet
- The Court of Gayumars
- Paradise in miniature, The Court of Kayumars — part 1
- Paradise in miniature, The Court of Kayumars — part 2
- Wine bearers in landscape, a Safavid textile
- Riza-yi 'Abbasi, portrait of a young page reading
- Riza-yi ʿAbbasi, Seated calligrapher
- Mir Afzal of Tun, a reclining woman and her lapdog
- The Ardashirnama: a Judeo-Persian manuscript
- Divination Bowl
- The Mughal painting tradition: an introduction
- Illustration from the Akbarnama
- The Taj Mahal
- Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings
- Shah 'Abbas – Ruling an empire
- Shah 'Abbas – the image of a ruler
- Coins of faith and power at the British Museum
- Two portraits, two views
- Khusraw Discovers Shirin Bathing
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Ottoman prayer carpet with triple-arch design
Carpet with Triple-Arch Design, c. 1575–90, silk (warp and weft), wool (pile), cotton (pile), attributed to Turkey, possibly Istanbul, 172.7 x 127 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).
A conversation with Dr. Ariel Fein and Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created by Smarthistory.
Video transcript
(upbeat piano music) - [Host 1] We're at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, and we're looking at an
Ottoman prayer carpet from the 16th century, and while we might be tempted to see this simply as a beautiful
carpet used in prayer, this carpet actually reveals
a far more complex story of cultural connections. - [Host 2] This is a specific
type of a prayer carpet called a Sajdah carpet
meaning a prostration carpet. It would've been used
by a Muslim for worship. - [Host 1] We are seeing
this detailed, floral border framing paired columns with niches that are topped by arches. - [Host 2] We see two different
kinds of floral patterns. We have sass style, floral ornament, as well as stylized flowers, but we also see more naturalistic style, the floral style where
we can identify some of the flowers, carnations and tulips. Much of this imagery represents
the gateway to paradise, and at the center of the
carpet, we see a hanging lamp. This recalls Koranic
verses, which liken Allah which liken God to a glass
lamp hanging in a niche. - [Host 1] But when we
consider why this carpet looks the way it does, a different facet of the
story reveals itself to us. - [Host 2] The slender paired
columns are entirely absent from an Ottoman architectural vocabulary. These columns, in fact,
are most closely related to the columns that we find
in a 14th century palace, the Alhambra. - [Host 1] The Alhambra
is in what is today Spain. In 1492, the Catholic monarchs, Isabel and Ferdinand, defeat the Nasrids, and in the same year you
have them expelling Jews from the Iberian Peninsula. - [Host 2] Some Jews chose to look south towards North Africa. Others moved into Italy
and other parts of Europe. While a large group of Spanish Jews opted to travel all the way
across the Mediterranean to the Ottoman Empire, where they hoped that they
might find a better life and better opportunities under the new Muslim Ottoman Dynasty. - [Host 1] So, Jewish carpet weavers who are now working probably
in Ottoman workshops are emulating and adapting forms that they were already
using from time in Spain. - [Host 2] This carpet is
in fact the earliest example of this motif that survives
from the Ottoman Empire. So, this is really the prototype. The earliest example of this motif from which so many variations developed. The Jewish Museum has in
its collection a carpet that is remarkably similar to this one that was made in 1608 to be donated to the Seville
Synagogue in Istanbul. This carpet was not used
on the floor for worship. It was used as a parochet, a curtain that was placed
before the Torah arc. - [Host 1] We're also seeing
an inscription in Hebrew, which we do not see in the Ottoman carpet that we're looking at here in the gallery. - [Host 2] The inscription
refers to the arch as a gate of the Lord, which is very similar to the arched niche as a gateway to paradise. The hanging lamp includes
an inscribed name of God. It suggests an understanding of the Muslim use of the
mosque lamp within a niche as a representation of Allah. It is equally a precious
object that is used to create a sacred space. - [Host 1] You have one carpet produced for a Muslim audience, another for a Jewish audience, and yet we're seeing
this visual conversation between the two of them. - [Host 2] This carpet represents this unique moment in time when Ottoman court culture meets with Spanish traditions carried by Jewish intermediaries. (upbeat piano music) (piano music ending)