A Museum-Based Insight into the Decorative Arts of the Islamic World (U02353)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : ACE-4-U02353

This course is designed to utilise museum objects from the Islamic World and particularly the Near East, Iran and Turkey, held in the National Museums of Scotland, to provide a detailed insight into the artistic developments in the Decorative Arts from the 8th to the 19th centuries. In addition to an introductory chronological overview providing the framework for the subject matter, chronologically and artistically significant case studies pertaining to relevant areas of the NMS collections will be examined hands-on and discussed in details as regards materials, manufacturing and decorative techniques, iconography as well as wider social, cultural and religious context. Main areas of discussion will include: The Decorative Arts of Early Islam 600-900 with case studies relating to the ceramics of Abbasid Iraq and Samanid Iran; the Decorative Arts from the 10th - 13th century, with case studies on Fatimid Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Syria and sessions on Mamluk Egypt, the Ottoman world as well as Safavid and Qajar Iran.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : History of Art 1 and 2

Subject Areas

Home subject area

History of Art, (School of Arts, Culture and Environment, Schedule A)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	14:00	15:50	External

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will have detailed overview of the material, visual and iconographic characteristics of Islamic decorative arts from the 8th to the 19th centuries, with in-depth knowledge of the ceramics and metalwork of the Near East, Iran and Turkey. They will have tackled an extensive secondary bibliography by academics from the discipline of Islamic art history and will, as a result, be able to engage with a range of Islamic art objects. Students will be able to apply their knowledge to tackle problems of object identification, classification and verification.