Jordanian art

Traditional art

The first step Trans-Jordan took on the way of becoming an independent nation was in 1924. Prior to that, the area that is now Jordan had been subject to a number of different rules. It was part of the Nabatean Kingdom, under Hellenistic rule following Alexander the Great's conquest of the area; under Roman rule in the 1st century BCE, and was once part of various caliphates starting in the 7th century, fell in part to the Crusaders in the 12th, then the Ayyubids and Mamluks ruled it, until it fell to the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century until the end of World War I, when it became a British protectorate until the time of independence. Its art is part a broader Islamic artistic tradition, with evidence of classical influences.

Traditional art was often based on material culture including hand-crafts such as rug-making, basket weaving, silver smithing, mosaics, ceramics, and glass-blowing. The Bedouins were largely self-sufficient in the production of goods, and made their own rugs, wove baskets and prepared ceramics. Such works exhibited wide variation in styles, as tribes often used their own tribal motifs.

The Jordanian art historian, Wijdan Ali has argued that the traditional Islamic aesthetic evident in craft-based work was displaced by the arrival of colonialism in North Africa and the Middle East. However, in the decolonised period of the 20th-century, a contemporary art form combining tradition and modern influences can be observed.

Pre-Islamic art

As early as the Neolithic period in Jordan, figurines and sculptures were being made. In some of the earliest examples, human skulls were built up with plaster, and inlays were used for the eye sockets. Two caches of figurines discovered at Aïn Ghazal, near Amman, include animal models and some three dozen monumental figurines (pictured below), which scholars believe were important to the ritual and social structure of the peoples living there, and may have formed part of a burial ritual. The 'Ain Ghazal statues are very large, with some around three feet in height. Aïn Ghazal was occupied between 7,000 BCE and 5,000 BCE and the statues have been dated to around 6,500 BCE. Showing extensive use of plaster, the Aïn Ghazal statues represent a clear departure from the tiny, faceless figures of the Paleolithic period and mark the dawn of a distinct Neolithic art.

The Nabateans incorporated numerous sculpted panels, figurines and decorative friezes into their buildings at Petra and made pottery. Examples include the architectural detail used on the temple of Qsr al-Bint at Petra and the prevalent stele representing the gods, as carved reliefs and either cut directly into the rock-face or carved as stand-alone units and placed inside carved niches.

The Romans conquered Palestine and Syria in 64-63 BCE, and annexed Nabatea in 106 CE by which time the whole of Jordan fell under Roman rule. The Roman occupation corresponded with a flowering of the visual arts - painting, architecture. By the time of the Emperor Justinian (527-565 CE), churches dotted Jordan's landscape and these featured intricate mosaic floors, frescoes and porticos.

Islamic art

The Umayyad period marks the starting point of Islamic art and architecture. The wealth and patronage of the Umayyad period stimulated the construction of religious, administrative and royal residences as well as prompting a distinctive style of bayt (domestic home). Jordan has some of the finest examples of early Islamic architecture including: caravanserais, desert castles (in Arabic known as qusayr), bath-houses, hunting lodges and palaces located in the fringe of the eastern desert.

Examples of great mosques constructed during the rule of the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I (705-714) include: the Great Mosque of Damascus (706 CE), the Al-Aqsa Mosque of Jerusalem (715 CE), and the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina (709-715). Since the mid 19th-century, a number of the Umayyad sites have been excavated, revealing stunning frescoes, wall and ceiling paintings and statuary. One of these paintings, the Painting of the Six Kings has been the subject of considerable scholarship with respect to its interpretation.

Notable frescoes and relief carvings can be found the desert castles of Quasyr Al Hallabat; Quasyr al-Kharanah, Quasyr el-Azraq, Qasr Mshatta and the Quasyr 'Amra which features frescoes of hunting scenes, musicians, acrobats, entertainers, nude women, wrestlers and scenes of the Royal court. Lesser desert castles include Quasyr al-Tuba; Quasyr al-Hayr al-Gharbi; Quasyr Burqu', Qasr el `Uweinid and Qasr el Feifeh.

Poetry and calligraphy were elevated to high art. Under the Umayyad, writing assumed a special place, often based on scripture and the life of the prophet, Mahommed, but often seen as the carrier of independent meaning and a subject worthy of ornamentation. Master calligraphers were venerated. The art of calligraphy was passed from master to student in a formal, rigorous system of training that took place over many years, required for students to learn the strict rules and protocols that governed the art form. Both religious and secular writing flourished under the Umayyad dynasty.

Poets, (known as sha'ir meaning wizard) were thought to be inspired by a spirit (jinn), and were expected to defend the honour of their tribe, and to perpetuate its deeds and accomplishments. The Mu'allaqat, a collection of seven poems by different poets, although pre-Islamic in origin, is thought to be the precursor to Arabic poetry.