Arts of the Islamic World

Islamic art unites a vast territory, from Spain to India, through shared values rather than a single style. Calligraphy, the art of writing the word of God, holds the highest rank, and geometric and vegetal ornament spreads across tiles, carpets, metalwork and manuscripts in patterns that suggest infinity. Religious settings avoid figurative imagery, but the courts of Persia, the Ottoman Empire and Central Asia produced richly illustrated books of epic poetry and history.