Fatimid art
Fatimid art refers to artifacts and architecture from the Fatimid Caliphate, an empire based in Egypt and North Africa. The Fatimid Caliphate was initially established in the Maghreb, with its roots in a ninth-century Shia Ismailist uprising. Many monuments survive in the Fatimid cities founded in North Africa, starting with Mahdia, on the Tunisian coast, the principal city prior to the conquest of Egypt in 969 and the building of al-Qahira, the "City Victorious", now part of modern-day Cairo. The period was marked by a prosperity amongst the upper echelons, manifested in the creation of opulent and finely wrought objects in the decorative arts, including carved rock crystal, lustreware and other ceramics, wood and ivory carving, gold jewelry and other metalware, textiles, books and coinage. These items not only reflected personal wealth, but were used as gifts to curry favour abroad. The most precious and valuable objects were amassed in the caliphal palaces in al-Qahira. In the 1060s, following several years of drought during which the armies received no payment, the palaces were systematically looted. The libraries were largely destroyed and precious gold objects were melted down, with a few of the treasures dispersed across the medieval Christian world. Afterwards, Fatimid artifacts continued to be made in the same style, but were adapted to a larger populace, using less precious materials.
Architecture
In architecture, the Fatimids followed Tulunid techniques and used similar materials, but also developed those of their own. In Cairo, their first congregational mosque was al-Azhar mosque founded along with the city, which, together with its adjacent institution of higher learning, became the spiritual center for Ismaili Shia. The Mosque of al-Hakim, an important example of Fatimid architecture and architectural decoration, played a critical role in Fatimid ceremonial and procession, which emphasized the religious and political role of the Fatimid caliph. Besides elaborate funerary monuments, other surviving Fatimid structures include the Aqmar Mosque as well as the monumental gates for Cairo's city walls commissioned by the powerful Fatimid emir and vizier Badr al-Jamali.Building inscriptions
Illuminated manuscripts and codex books were common in the Fatimid Dynasty, but this was not the only way that text was used. Public text took the form of large inscriptions on the side of outdoor monuments or buildings. For example, inscriptions were added to the Al-Hakim Mosque in 1002-03 CE. In order for pedestrians to read the inscriptions, they were done in a floriated Kufic script style, which was easily legible. In some cases, the inscriptions were meant to establish the legitimacy of the Fatimid dynasty. For example, the Cairo Bab al-Nasr, or Gate of Victory, had the names of Ali and Muhammad, the two religious leaders from which the Fatimid leaders traced their right to rule. These two names were also inscribed on the Aqmar Mosque. In other cases, verses from the Qur’an that mentioned the ahl-bayt, or " the people of the house" were inscribed on public buildings. The phrase ahl-bayt makes a connection to Ali, again emphasizing the legitimacy of rule.Manuscripts
The prevalence of books within the Fatimid empire was demonstrated by the existence of the Dār al-’Ilm, or the House of Knowledge. In 1045 CE, the Dār al-’Ilm was reported to contain 6,500 volumes of scientific and literary subjects. When the Fatimid Dynasty dissolved during the twelfth century, the libraries and collections of books that existed in Cairo were dispersed, making it difficult to locate any complete manuscripts. Only fragments of text and paper are able to provide information of the content and style of Fatimid manuscripts. It is rare to have an example of both text and illustrations of the same page, which makes it difficult to gather information about illuminated manuscripts. In some cases, it is possible that illustrations were added to an already existing text at a later date. Fatimid illustration style can be demonstrated by one surviving piece of paper, which was excavated in Cairo. This single sheet of paper has drawings on both sides; one side showing a lion, and the other, a hare. While it is unclear whether this page originated in a book, potentially of scientific or zoological subject matter, it is an example of larger patterns of naturalist and figural representation within Fatimid art.Blue Quran
The Fatimid caliphate, ruling Egypt from 969 to 1171, was based in what is today’s Tunisia in the early tenth century. The caliphs were known for their generous patronage of artworks for extravagant ceremonies. Unfortunately, very few manuscripts and buildings survived to explicate the sudden artistic flourish. The only extant architectural monument from the early Fatimid period is a mosque in al-Mahdiyya, Tunisia. Although little is known about Fatimid manuscripts, one of the most recognizable Islamic manuscripts, the Blue Quran, has been attributed by Jonathan Bloom to tenth-century Tunisia under the Fatimid patronage.The Blue Quran was originally composed of 600 leaves, each measuring 30 cm x 40 cm. Only thirty-seven pages are extant but scattered across the world. Each horizontal indigo parchment leaf is marked by fifteen lines of gold Kufic script that are of the same length; ends of the verses are decorated with silver medallions, besides which there are no additional ornamentations.
The Blue Quran is notable for its intense blue color that has lasted for thousands of years. Most scholars have concluded that the parchment was dyed indigo. Cheryl Porter, an expert in Islamic book conservation, pointed out that dyeing parchment was next to impossible as it would leave the parchment freckled. Through experimentation, Joan Wright, a paper conservator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, was able to recreate an even indigo color of similar shade of the Blue Quran on parchment by simply rubbing the color onto it.
Besides the fantastic color, the gold script is another prominent feature of this book. Alain George of University of Edinburgh claimed that the script had been written with gold powder as an ink pigment, a technique called chrysography. Chrysography was commonly practiced for Christian manuscripts and described in Islamic texts. Later, a microscopic examination by Joan Wright revealed that gold leaf was used instead of gold powder. The calligrapher was more likely to first write the text with a pen charged with transparent adhesive, apply gold leaf, and then brush off the fragments that didn’t stick to the page. Scholars also have noticed that the script is outlined in dark brown ink. Since the dark brown color sometimes partially covers the gold, it is reasonably to assume that outlining is the final step that was possibly used to “neaten” the feathery edges of the gold leaf, and to give the manuscript a more clean and crisp finish.
While the extraordinary color scheme has mesmerized viewers for centuries, its significance remains elusive. The combination of blue and gold would not have been unfamiliar to the artist or the patron of the Blue Quran. Lapis lazuli, a deep-blue semi-precious stone often containing “gold” specks, was mined in Afghanistan and used for Ancient Greek jewelry; the interior of the Dome of the Rock is decorated with gold mosaic inscriptions against dark blue backgrounds. Alain George argued that the contrast of the gold text and the dark blue background had “a resonance of light over darkness.” The Blue Quran, like many other Quranic scripts, was not only read but also probably seen by worshippers in both candlelight and natural light. Thus, light played an important role in understanding the color scheme of the book. The effect of the gold leaf would have been more glimmering in an intense source of light, visually accentuating the power of Allah's words to shine light into darkness.
There is an ongoing debate about the origin and time period of the Blue Quran. Jonathan Bloom placed the production of the book in Tunisia during the early Fatimid period mainly based on the abjad numbering system in the book; whereas Alain George attributed the book to eighth or ninth century Baghdad under the Abbasid Caliphate. George's attribution stemmed from the script style. As plausible as the attributions are, scholars still lack strong evidence to anchor the book's origin and time period.
Fatimid Qur'an manuscript
One example of a manuscript from the Fatimid period is the first volume of a two-part Quranic manuscript. It was copied by al-Husayn ibn Abdallah and is estimated to have been produced in Cairo, Egypt in 1028, made with valuable materials such as gold, color, and ink on paper. The calligraphy is highly decorative and colorful, and has borders with gold geometric and naturalistic designs. In 1062, a connection between Fatimid and Yemeni rulers was made in order to strengthen religious and political power, as well as to gain access trade routes to the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. This manuscript was exchanged in order for the Fatimid Caliph al-Mustansir bi’llah to demonstrate his wealth, and political and religious power to the Yemeni ruler Ali al-Sulayhi. Therefore, the manuscript ended up in Sana’a, Yemen, and most likely stayed there until Yemen was conquered by the Ottomans in the 6th century, when it was taken to Bursa, Turkey. It was placed in the tomb of the Ottoman sultan Murad I, and then was put in the Museum of Islamic Endowments in 1913.
This Qur’anic manuscript represents how trade and political activity led to the dispersion of manuscripts across multiple counties and governments. With this example, it is easier to understand the difficulty of locating Fatimid book materials and why so few remain intact and identifiable.