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Treasures of Islamic Art
| Article
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18894 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
2 / 1991 |
2,039 Words |
| Author
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Esin Atil
Esin Atil, guest curator fro the exhibition at the Walters Art
Gallery, is historian of Islamic Art at the Arthur M. Sackler
Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution.
She is also the editor of the book accompanying the
exhibition, Islamic Art and Patronage: Treasures from Kuwait,
published by Rizzoli International, New York. |
Throughout the history of civilization, patronage has been a most significant impetus for the development of the arts. All great moments in cultural history bear the impact and stimulus of outstanding patrons who demanded excellence in production and innovation in expression. This demand instigated competition and even bitter rivalry among artists and forced them to excel in their metier to reap the benefits of recognition, thus creating new modes and movements.
Patrons evolved from diverse social levels and included powerful popes and caliphs, wealthy emperors and sultans, ambitious princes and aristocrats, and affluent bureaucrats and merchants. All patrons shared the desire to own or sponsor beautiful and precious objects or grand and impressive buildings that reflected their political and cultural achievements and aspirations.
Communities also benefited from benevolent patronage, since the patrons' interest frequently extended from owning and sponsoring items and structures for personal pleasure to endowing architectural compounds that provided religious, social, cultural, and commercial facilities. In addition, works commissioned by patrons set standards or established trends that promoted the production of similar art and architecture of more humble proportions.
Resplendent Courts
The most influential patrons in the Islamic world were the enlightened caliphs and sultans who ruled over vast, rich lands. These patrons manifested the political and economic superiority of their states through the splendor of their courts, and attempted to impress and awe both local residents and foreign observers by commissioning the most magnificent objects and buildings. The protection of artists and the sponsorship of art and architecture were considered prerogatives of all great rulers, whose courts attracted the intellectual elite of the age, including celebrated scholars and artists. Here the diverse traditions brought by men of differing cultural backgrounds fused together to create vibrant and unique styles and themes that came to identify the artistic characteristics of a region or period.
Great patrons of art were also great collectors. The desire to own rare and precious items promoted the establishment of imperial or princely treasuries in which unusual and expensive items were collected together with those considered aesthetically and technically superior, whether produced locally or made in foreign lands. Collecting itself was an
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