The Islamic Empire, perhaps the world’s predominant power during the Middle Ages, came into being upon the death of Muhammed in 632 and the rapid Arab conquests made thereafter. This empire gave the world a new religion, Islam. The language of this new religion was Arabic, and one of its earliest forms was known as the Kufic.
While Arabic as a spoken language dates back to centuries before Islam, Arabic as a written language does not. Only a handful of pre-Islamic Arabic artifacts have been found, and it wasn’t until the Islamic era and the spread of the Quran that the written form became ubiquitous (1). In the same sense that transcribing the Quran necessitated the development of Arabic script in general, it can be said that inscriptions, be they on monuments, coins, or ceramics, gave rise to the Kufic style of writing in particular. The Kufic style, known for its horizontal letters that could be stretched to an arbitrary degree, gave artists remarkable flexibility in design. In addition to this, the simplistic, angular nature of the letters allowed for ease of inscription.
This exhibit will explore manuscripts, monuments, coins, and ceramics. In doing so, it will showcase how Kufic form followed decorative function.
(1) "Arabic Alphabet." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Aug. 2016. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
Credits
Dan LaPointe