Deck 9: Islamic Art

Question 1

What is the style of arch found at the Great Mosque at Cordoba?

A) Roman
B) Greek
C) Horseshoe
D) Hiberno-Saxon

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Under the Persian influence, a new architectural form, the iwan, blended:

A) secular and religious buildings
B) Islamic and Christian faiths
C) Eastern and Western building technologies
D) Northern and Southern empires

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, and charity are four subsidiary pillars of the so-called Five Pillars of Islam. The primary pillar is:

A) Filial piety
B) Observance of Islamic holy days
C) Affirmation of Faith
D) Celebration of Mohammad's birthday

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which is NOT a cause for the lack of axiality and lack of architectural focus throughout the structure of early Arab mosques?

A) Their function as secular meeting places
B) The lack of ordained clergy
C) The personal nature of Islamic prayer
D) The need for practicality over ceremony

Question 5

Which mosque style has a unified and clearly delineated interior space, rather than a fragmented or ambiguous space?

A) Ottoman
B) Spanish
C) Persian
D) Arab

Question 6

The angular, horizontal alphabet of early Islam is called:

A) Kufic
B) Cuneiform
C) Mihrab
D) Qibla

Question 7

Islamic art first appears as a series of appropriations from which cultures?

A) Early Medieval Europe and early Viking
B) Etruscan and Egyptian
C) Macedonian and Greek
D) Graeco-Roman, Byzantine Christian, and Sasanian

Question 8

Mohammad is the Prophet of the Islamic religion.

Question 9

Iranian Islamic art, in contrast to other traditions

A) Is sometimes figural
B) Is not religious
C) Is polytheistic
D) Is only architectural

Question 10

What ornamental style is typified by energetic compositions of curved leaves and flowers linked by vines, and often embellished by animals?

A) Ottoman court style
B) Al Andalus style
C) Persian royal style
D) Arab style

Question 11

The term infidel is another word for believers in early Christian and Muslim traditions.

Question 12

Early mosque architecture emphasized:

A) the equality of all Muslims before God
B) the importance of the clergy
C) ceremony and processions
D) an axial spatial plan

Question 13

The adjective referring to the architectural use of many columns is:

A) hypostyle
B) pilaster
C) entasis
D) columnar

Question 14

What are the unifying themes of Islamic art?

A) An interest in the human figure and scenes of lush landscape
B) Images of Mohammad and his family
C) Reverence for the Word and artistic expression independent of the human figure
D) References to other religions and images of Islamic caliph

Question 15

The Iconoclastic Controversy explains the absence of human forms in Islamic Art.

Question 16

In Mesopotamia and Iran, the Arab Muslim conquerors encountered the cultural sphere of the:

A) Romans
B) Greeks
C) Ottonians
D) Sasanians

Question 17

Islamic art gives us an intriguing look at the process whereby artistic tradition emerges as a combination of existing ideas under the impetus of a new ideology. This phenomenon is known as:

A) Syncretism
B) Appropriation
C) Iconoclasm
D) Revitalization

Question 18

Which pillar of Islam was most important in the development of Islamic architecture?

A) The religious duty of prayer
B) The hajj, or pilgrimage
C) Fasting during Ramadan
D) Tithing, or giving to charity

Question 19

The call to prayer given five times daily by a muezzin is issued from the:

A) Minaret
B) Mihrab
C) Qibla
D) Minbar

Question 20

The mosque complex of Selim II did NOT include which feature?

A) Residences
B) College
C) Marketplace
D) Primary school

Question 21

The artistic qualities of script are central to the decorative aspects of Islamic art and architecture.

Question 22

Describe the combined Islamic and Persian characteristics evident in the Mina'i dish.

Question 23

The Islamic religion is unique among ancient religions in not being based on a book and the word.

Question 24

How does holy script become an art form in Islamic art and architecture?

Question 25

How did Muslim, Byzantine and Spanish influences each have an impact on the design of the Great Mosque at Cordoba?

Question 26

Describe the relationships between the principles and the Islamic religion and Islamic art and architecture.