Islamic Art and Roman Art

Essay:

In the previous centuries, there were some civilizations founded, such as the Roman civilization and the Islamic civilization. Both of the Islamic civilization and Roman civilization had created their needs by looking at what their people want. Also, they created them relying on what they had seen in their environment or using what was available in their environment. According to the two articles, which are Glass in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Ancient Art at The Art Institute of Chicago, there is one similarity and one difference. The similar thing between them is the copies of pots, vessels and tools that have survived give us a brief summary about what ancient people had done in the past. Whereas, the difference between the Islamic art and the Roman art is type of art they created.

            The similar thing between the Islamic art and the Roman art is that they left for us copies of what they had done. These copies of pots, vessels or tools give us visual insight into lost works of art celebrated by ancient writer. (Vermeule III. C.C, 1994) Also, because of the materials that the ancient people used are very paucity and unique, it is hard to find the same material nowadays. Therefore, “Without these copies, often carved by talented craftsmen who respected the originals, great sculptors of the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., notably Phidias, Praxiteles, Skopas, and Lysippos, would not be understood as fully as they are today.” (Vermeule III. C.C, 1994) In addition, it is the same for the ancient Islamic civilization that left behind glass, which is now in progress to find out the art-historical development in some regions of the Islamic world.

            The difference between the Islamic art and the Roman art is the products that each civilization created. The glass was the famous product that created in Islamic regions. Their way of making glasses products is very fabulous. Most of the time they add to the glass gold leaf and powdered gold. In addition, the shape, design and the colors are varying from one glass product to another. Also, they use the glass in everything in their life. “All manner of liquids and powders, oils, wine, rosewater, perfumes, spices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and pigments filled bottles, flasks, jars, and vases made of countless shades of yellow, green, blue, purple, and brown, as well as colorless, glass” (Carboni. S, 2001, p. 28). Moreover, what made the glass products that were created in the Islamic regions reach China, Southeast Asia, Europe and the northern part of Africa is its usage as a prized item of exchange and as a gift. However, in the Roman civilization, people there used marble and bronze to create their products such as statues and coins. Most of their sculptures were inspired by the Greek civilization. So, they were copying what other people before them had done. Because Roman people respect the Greek civilization so much, they copied a lot of famous Greek statues that were made by the Greek sculptors. (Vermeule III. C.C, 1994) In addition, the Roman people put the Greek as an epitome in their lives and in their art. As a result, they made what the Greek had made. They designed the same architectural panels, bronze mirrors. Also, jewelries and even the coffins, but they got famous from carving marbles. They carved the famous people in their empire.

            All in all, every previous civilization has its own secrets. Some of the secrets are ambiguous until now because the unique style that every civilization used is different from others. The Islamic and the Roman art is one of the things that are famous in past ages. The Roman and the Islamic art are similar in one aspect, which are the products that were left or survived. All the products that people nowadays have found talk about great civilizations in the great, ancient centuries. On the other hand, there is a difference between their arts. The materials that are used by both of the civilizations are different. The Roman people used marbles and bronze, but the Muslims used glass and sometimes gold. Also, most of the Roman arts are taken from the Greek. Finally, both of the civilizations have shown a great art for people in the later centuries.

    

Reference List

- Carboni, S. (2001). Glass in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 59, 28-32.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3269167

- Vermeule III, C. C. (1994). Ancient Art at The Art Institute of Chicago. Ancient Art at The Art Institute of Chicago, 20, 62-77.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4112952 .