
Contents
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Some Propositions Some Propositions
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Early Islamic Art as a Category Early Islamic Art as a Category
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Some Models of Analysis Some Models of Analysis
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Some Archaeological Facts Some Archaeological Facts
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Continuity and Change Continuity and Change
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Religion Religion
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New Perspectives on the Early Islamic “Desert Castles” New Perspectives on the Early Islamic “Desert Castles”
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Notes on the Gaze in an Umayyad Pictorial Closet Notes on the Gaze in an Umayyad Pictorial Closet
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The Site The Site
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The So-called Bathing Lady The So-called Bathing Lady
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Sacred and Sexual Modes of Viewing Sacred and Sexual Modes of Viewing
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Bibliography Bibliography
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11 The Visual Arts of Umayyad Syria
Get accessNadia Ali is currently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie/FIAS fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies of Aix-Marseille University (IMeRA) and associate researcher at the Institute of Research and Study on the Arab and Muslim Worlds (IREMAM). She has just completed her first book entitled Qusayr Amra and the Power of Images in Early Islam.
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Published:22 April 2025
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Abstract
In the seventh century, an early Islamic power established the center of its empire in Syria (modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel/Palestine). There, the Umayyads—the first dynasty of Islam (661–750)—came into contact with vibrant artistic traditions comprising Hellenistic, Roman, Parthian, Christian, and Jewish art forms. This chapter studies some aspects of early Islamic artistic culture in Syria and its relationship to late antiquity. The first part of the chapter explores the category of “early Islamic art.” The second part considers some of the continuities and changes in visual production and examines how some of the characteristic elements of late antique art were developed into an Umayyad synthesis. The third section offers some reflections on the gaze in Umayyad painting and highlights the shift from a Roman culture of public spectacles to an Umayyad peephole aesthetic.
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