{A Dream: Of a railway dome-car and a violent person}[22nd April 1991]

[Redbook9:180][19910422:0825b]{A Dream: Of a railway dome-car and a violent person}[22nd April 1991]

19910422.0825(Mon)

[continued]

A couple of nights ago* I dreamt (among other things) that I took a trip downhill on a railway line (on which London Underground trains also ran), in a private railcar (belonging to someone else) with 180-degree vision (rather like the O of earlier fiction, especially in dreams).** At the bottom I heard someone being violent towards [W] in a/the house. I ejected him from the front door but he kept coming back: every time I thumped him (not viciously) on the chest he was propelled away, but without threatening me he kept coming back. I then returned up the hill in the same railcar on the same railway line, to the point at which I had begun the dream.

*(Fri[day]-Sat[urday] night, I think)

**eg II [] …

(c[irca] 11/[19]80?)

[See next two ts journal entries]

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{Renaissance}[22nd April 1991]

[Redbook9:180][19910422:0825]{Renaissance}[22nd April 1991]

19910422.0825(Mon)

‘The rebirth of interest in the culture and ideals of Greco-Roman Antiquity which we call the “Renaissance” is too wide a phenomenon to be defined solely in terms of the history of art: it embraces the study of law, language and literature, stagecraft and philosophy, as well as various antiquarian interests – epigraphy, numismatics, topography, and the collecting of antiquities.’*

**

* → [[Redbook9:184][19910423:0920]{Northern and Southern ‘Renaissance’}[23rd April 1991],] 184

**– E[ncyclopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 4:622

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (11)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:179][19910421:1410kkk]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (11)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘By the mid 19^th century under Nasir al-Din Shah (1848-96) oil painting had been largely superseded in esteem by painting in lacquer in a similar naïve manner and with borrowings from Western art, on small portable objects such as bindings, mirror-cases, and pen-boxes, and also by enameling [sic] on gold and other metals.... Painting in all media declined during the second half of the 19^th century into skilful pastiche. Nasir al-Din and his successor, the last Qajar Shah, Muzaffar al-Din (1896-1907) were unable to resist the prestige of Western art.’

[Basil Gray]

*

*– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 466

(end of Ch[apter])

[See [Redbook9:190][19910426:1153b]{Modern Arab Art}[26th April 1991]]

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (10)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:179][19910421:1410jjj]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (10)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘Iran: The Qajar dynasty (1788-1907).

Agha Muhammad Khan, a chief of the Qajar tribe with its center at Astarabad, settled in Teheran as capital in 1788.* By the time of his assassination in 1796 he had established his rule all over Iran and the peace he imposed led quickly to a revival of manufacture and trade.’

**

*{2048R~1792}

**– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 465

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (9)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:178][19910421:1410iii]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (9)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘The Safavid state was by then [1674]* already in disarray and declining. Sulayman was succeeded in 1694** by Husayn, a weak man unable to rally the state, assailed on every side. In 1722 the Afghan adventurer Mahmud boldly crossed the desert and attacked the capital with a small force. In October the city surrendered and was sacked by the invaders. A man of obscure origin, Nadir Shah, drove out the Afghans in 1728 and by 1730 had deposed the last of the Safavids and ascended the throne. In spite of brilliant military successes and his seizure of Delhi with *** the Mughal Emperor Muhammed Shah in 1739, Nadir Shah emerged as a cruel tyrant and his assassination in 1747 plunged the country again into chaos. These events and the immense damage caused to the industrial basis of Iran brought a complete break in her cultural history. The land fell into the power of several tribal chiefs.

****

*[Square brackets per ms]

**{GR~1664[ce]}

***?=

****– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 465

[Source text continues in next ts journal entry]

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (8)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:178][19910421:1410hhh]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (8)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘One feature is common to binding and carpet design, the renewed presence of chinoiserie elements, especially the mythical animals, ch’i-lin,* dragon, and phoenix.’

**

*[A type of benevolent dragon-horse or similar creature]

**– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 465

[continued]

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (7)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:178][19910421:1410ggg]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (7)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘These [ceramic]* techniques continued into the 18^th century, but in declining quality.

‘Far surpassing the pottery in value were the manufacturers of silk brocades and carpets.’

**

*[Square brackets per ms]

**– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 464

[continued]

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (6)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:177][19910421:1410fff]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (6)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘[The Lutfallah Mosque in Isfahan, built between 1602 and 1616]* is distinguished by its splendid tile work of polychrome painted tile (haft aurang)** and for the design of the interior of the saucer dome, over 59 f[ee]t (18 m[etres]) in diameter, laid out in a pattern of arabesque medallions radiating out from the centre in widening linked circles over an octagonal drum in which are set 16 windows which flood with light.’

***

*[Square brackets per ms]

**[sic – see [Redbook9:177][19910421:1410eee]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (5)]}[21st April 1991]]

***– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 463

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (6)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:177][19910421:1410fff]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (6)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘The reign of Shah Abbas the Great (1587-1629) marks a shift in the ethos, economy and cultural life of Iran. From being isolated and inward-looking, the country was led to accept the position of world power; the role of the Safavid house changed from one of religious leadership based on tribal support to a centralised monarchy with a regular army paid from by revenues from large crown demesnes and from the profits of monopolistic government workshops working for the export market. So the industrial arts – silk weaving, carpets, ceramics, arms and metalwork – came to the fore.’

*

*– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 462

*[continued]

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (5)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:177][19910421:1410eee]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (5)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘During [Ibrahim Mirza’s]* nine years [at Mashad in Khurasan],* 1556 to 1565, he commissioned a splendid copy of the Haft Aurang (Seven Thrones), a mystical poem by the Herat poet Jami,** with full-page miniatures....’

***

*[Square brackets per ms]

**[[Redbook9:113][19910415:0840]{[Islamic Art –] The Word (2) [continued (19)]}[15th April 1991];

[Redbook9:169][19910421:1410pp]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Late arts of the book (1) [continued (4)]}[21st April 1991]]

***– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:459]

[continued]

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (4)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:176][19910421:1410ddd]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (4)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘A lyrical spirit fills these miniatures* in a perfect balance between the natural world and the human actors, above all in the “Khusrau’s First Sight of Shirin” by Sultan Muhammed, perhaps his last work, the “Majnun attended by the Wild Beasts in the Desert” by Aqa Miraq, and the anonymous “Flight of Muhammed through the Heavens”.

‘About 1545[ce] Tahmasp began to turn away from the visual arts under a puritanical urge, and his artists had to seek other patrons.’

**

*(1539-1543[ce])

** – ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:459]

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (3)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:176][19910421:1410ccc]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (3)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘A Diwan of Hafiz, dedicated to Sam* Mirza, must date from his youth, probably from c[irca]1533-5[ce]; it shows the ability of the Sultan Muhammed to control large groups of figures with expressive gestures in rhythmic patterns in keeping **with the poet’s Sufi intention.’

***

*[sic]

**NB

*** – ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:459]

[continued]

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:175-176][19910421:1410bbb]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘Typical of Tabriz is [Sultan Muhammed’s]* “Golden Age of Gayumars”** depicted against a fantastically rich background of luxuriant vegetation and brilliant rocky peaks among which the wild animals move in harmony with the fur-clad men, thus corresponding to the near-contemporary reference by Dust Muhammed (1544[ce]) to the skill of Sultan Muhammed in drawing “people clothed in leopard skins, such that the hearts of the boldest of painters were dismayed”. This whole enterprise implies the organisation of a large workshop of highly qualified masters.

‘In general human figures now dominate the landscape, with their graceful forms and subtle relationships.’

***

*[Square brackets per ms]

**(a book illustration)

{c[irca]1544[ce]}

*** – ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 459

[continued]

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{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:175-179][19910421:1410aaa]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

*‘The most favoured of the arts were those of the book.** Shah Tahmasp, even before his accession in 1524,*** took personal interest in these arts and was himself both calligrapher and painter.’

****

Far from turning out weaker as I wondered whether it might,** calligraphy (with the other book arts) appears to reach its zenith around 2048G~ degree.*** ****Now, of course, I can’t understand why I should have expected anything else: it seems entirely logical that Islam’s artistic flowering at G~ should express itself in. and in association with, the arts in which its roots are concentrated at M~ – those of the written word.

#

*cf [[Redbook9:169][19910421:1410pp]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Late arts of the book (1) [continued (4)]}[21st April 1991],] 169

**ref [[Redbook9:134][19910420:0953i]{Art Cycles (2 [continued])}[20th April 1991],] 134

***{[2048]G~1536}

****[But]

# – ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:458]

[continued]

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] The Late Period [continued (10)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:174-175][19910421:1410zz]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] The Late Period [continued (10)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

The key* may lie in the opening words of the E[ncyclopaedia] of V[isual] A[rts] Chapter:** ‘There is under Islam no distinction between sacred and secular....’*** and the continuing emphasis on the unity of Islamdom**** over and beyond all its age-old military-political strife. If Islamdom really is conceptually a political and cultural unity from 622CE until now, then all wars between Muslims may properly be perceived as civil wars in a way which is much more arbitrary when applied to European international wars.#

Of course, this is to give Muslim orthodoxy the benefit of a great deal of doubt; but the way in which the culture continues #* despite changes of ruling class does tend to support this interpretation.

Mind you, Christian European culture shows continuity too....

*[to interpreting &/or identifying Islamic cultural cycles, presumably]

**[Chapter 24 (in Volume III), ‘Islamic Art’]

***[ – ibid Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:424]

ref [[Redbook9:150][19910421:1410b]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] [Artistic Unity]}[21st April 1991],] 150

****[]

#ref [[Redbook9:129][19910420:0953]{Scales}[20th April 1991],] 129

#*ref [last previous ts journal entry,] 174

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