Abbasid Period

The Abbasid caliphate (750-1258; Baghdad founded 762) presided over the classical formation of Islamic art. Potters in Iraq invented lustre painting on ceramics, transferring a metal-decorating technique to glaze, and the ninth-century 'beveled style' carved stucco of Samarra spread a new abstract and vegetal ornament across the empire. The arabesque - continuous vegetal scrollwork - and dense geometric interlace became a shared ornamental grammar, while monumental Kufic calligraphy served as decoration in its own right. Figural painting survives in palace fragments, and the tradition of the illustrated manuscript took shape, culminating in the naturalistic Baghdad school (the Maqamat of al-Hariri, 1237). Textiles and metalwork carried Abbasid taste across the Mediterranean, and as the caliphate fragmented, regional styles crystallized in Egypt, Iran and Spain.

Defining characteristics

• Lustre-painted ceramics with metallic sheen over glaze, often on epigraphic or figural designs
• Carved stucco in the 'beveled style' of Samarra: deeply cut abstract and vegetal ornament
• Continuous vegetal scrollwork (arabesque) and complex geometric interlace
• Monumental Kufic calligraphy used as decoration in its own right
• Manuscript painting evolving from flat linear figures to lively naturalistic scenes (Baghdad school)

Key figures

• Ibn al-Bawwab (d. 1022) — Baghdad calligrapher and illuminator whose illustrated Qur'an is a masterwork of the period
• Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti (fl. c. 1237) — Baghdad school painter of the celebrated illustrations to the Maqamat of al-Hariri

Example works

• Illustrations to the Maqamat of al-Hariri — Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti (1237)
• Qur'an of Ibn al-Bawwab — Ibn al-Bawwab (c. 1000)

Sources

• Abbasid Period - WikiArt institution
• Abbasid Caliphate - Wikipedia encyclopedia

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