PAKISTANI ARTS

Pakistan has thousands of years old and rich tradition of its arts and crafts. The activities of the National Crafts Council and promotional plans of organizations have contributed a lot in assisting the crafts-people accomplishments. The important names in these organizations are Export Promotion Bureau and Small Industries Corporations. Pakistani craftsmen are well reputed in producing quality products in clay, stone, fabrics, carpets, wood, metal, jewelry and leather.

METAL WORK

Magnificent Work Under the Timurids and their contemporaries, the arts in Iran and Central Asia persisted in their excellence and intelligence. From the shrine of Ahmed Yasavi in Turkestan, Iran, comes this uniquely designed cauldron of bronze. The basin consists of an almost hemispherical bowl on a slender foot. The top half of the exterior is decorated with two horizontal bands of cursive and angular inscriptions punctuated by bosses and pendant handles, write Blair and Bloom (1994). On the bottom half are pendant triangular cartouches of arabesque tracery.• This brass lamp is another impressive design from the shrine of Ahmad Yasavi in Turkestan. About 36-inches high, the lamp has three oil reservoirs. This lamp presents a deeply indented profile which offers a variety of flat, concave and convex surfaces of decoration, and it is inlaid with silver and gold. Write Blair and Bloom, "...bands with inscriptions set on a dense arabesque ground contrast with plain surfaces engraved with palmettos, knots, and cartouches."• During the Mamluk era (1250 - 1517), architecture was the pre-eminent art, and the Mamluks' patronage of architecture defined many other Islamic arts. Objects like lamps, glass, brass candlesticks, paper Qur'an manuscripts and wooden minbars were well designed, calligraphed and decorated. The two great periods of Mamluk art coincided with the reigns of al-Nasir Mohammed (1294-1340) and al-Ashraf Qaytbay (1468-1496). • Early examples of fine metalwork were produced during the Mamluk rule in Egypt and Syria. This is an image of a brass candlestick with a truncated conical base supporting a cylindrical neck and truncated conical socket. The profile is distinctly squat. Write Blair and Bloom, "The surface, once impeccably inlaid in silver and gold, is divided into horizontal bands. The largest has roundels containing arabesque friezes around a geometric interlace alternating with concave-ended cartouches containing knotted pseudo-Kufic inscriptions. Above and below are friezes of running animals. The neck is covered with latticework interrupted by five quatrefoils with figures holding tambourines, lutes, and cymbals. These figural compositions are executed with extremely fine detail."• This large basin known as the "Baptistere de Saint-Louis" (in the Louvre Museum) is an example of fine metalwork during the Mamluk era. (The name has nothing to do with Louis IX of France who died well before the basin was made.) Such basins were used for the ceremonial washing of hands and usually were made in sets with matching ewers, write Blair and Bloom. This basin differs from most other pieces of its era by virtue of the absence of epigraphic bands and by the total reliance on the detailed and superbly executed figural compositions that cover most of the interior and exterior surfaces. Note Blair and Bloom, "The four cartouches on the main band alternate with four roundels depicting mounted figures. Two wear hats and cloaks and spear a dragon or a bear, while the two in alternating roundels wear turbans, robes, and boots." • The interior of the basin has a similar arrangement, alternating roundels and panels between animal friezes. The panels show two hunting scenes and two battle scenes in which figures wear a third type of headgear. "The distinctive physiognomy and dress distinguish three types of figures; indigenous servants and hunters, Mamluk amirs, and Mongol enemies," write Blair and Bloom. "The base is covered with a fantastic fishpond inhabited by crabs, eels, tortoises, frogs, a lizard, wild duck, pelican, crocodile, and two harpies." • The superb craftsmanship, precision of detail and figural types make this basin the masterpiece of all Mamluk and perhaps of all Islamic metalwork.• During the second half of the 14th century, the production of high quality metalwork continued, despite the economic distress of the Mamluks. The Mamluks still commissioned artistic pieces, and Egyptian metalwork was so appreciated that foreign patrons sought pieces for export to East and West. About 21-inches tall, this beautiful ewer is one of a series of inlaid brasses made in Cairo. Blair and Bloom note that its overall shape, an inverted pear with cylindrical neck, straight narrow spout and curving handle, follows Ayyubid models, but the heavy mouth and bold rings are typical Mamluk innovations. • The traditional decoration of the Mamluks continued into the first half of the 15th century. Pincer-topped Thuluth script was a characteristic feature of metalwork made for Qaytbay. Although a few of the pieces inscribed with his name are only incised, a few of the finest are inlaid with gold and silver, showing that Egyptian craftsmen could still equal the quality of work produced more than a century earlier. This large lobed brass bowl inlaid with silver and gold is, write Blair and Bloom, perhaps the finest piece surviving from the Mamluk period. With the Ottoman Empire positioned as heir to the Byzantine Empire and as a major world power, Muslim artists found inspiration in an array of artistic traditions from Islamic and Mediterranean lands. By the mid-16th century, during the reign of Sultan Sulaiman the Magnificent (1520-1566), a classical Ottoman style had emerged. The style struck an extraordinary balance between the geometric order underlying much of Islamic art and a lyric naturalism visible in the common representation of plants and flowers. This distinctive visual vocabulary was applied to textiles, ceramics, and other media. By the end of the 17th century, the style had become increasingly codified and repetitious. When 18th-century Ottoman society was beset by increasing economic, military, and political problems, the people looked back to the reign of Sulaiman -- including its arts and architecture -- as a Golden Age. • Bloom and Blair (1994) write, "some of Sulaiman's more traditional Islamic regalia were preserved in the palace treasury, including this extraordinary sword inlaid with gold by Ahmed Tekelu in 1526-1527. The hilt is made of ivory, engraved with a blossom scroll inlaid with black mastic and overlaid with a golden network of floral scrolls and chinoiserie cloud-bands. The golden network on the panel is set with rubies and once had a large central gem, possibly a turquoise. Apart from the cutting edge itself, the damascened steel blade is lavishly decorated on both sides. The upper third was chased with scrolls and overlaid with representations of a dragon confronting either a simurgh or a phoenix. The creatures were cast separately and affixed to the surface which was parcel gilt and inlaid with rubies for the animals' eyes. The middle third of the sword displays a scroll supporting composite flowers or animal heads. The lower third displays beautiful Thuluth inscription with Sulyeman's name and titles. The spine of the blade is inscribed in Nasta'liq script with Persian verses and the signature of the craftsman, probably a Turkoman brought from Tabriz by Selim. This sword is one of the finest artistic pieces from the Ottoman court in the early part of Sulyeman's reign." • Inlaid with silver, this brass inkwell features musicians within arabesques. Done in the late Seljuq style, the inkwell probably was made by a Persian artist working in Syria or Iraq during the early 13th century.• Most early Arabic astronomers accepted the Ptolemaic system of geographical determination and worked to make this system more accurate, more efficient, and more elegant. The planispheric astrolabe was one of the most important instruments used by early astronomers. This brass instrument, a Planispheric Astrolabe, is signed by Badr, an assistant to Ibn al-Husain bin Ahmad, an astrolabist from Baghdad. Planispheric astrolabes were used for maritime navigation as well, and as such, were the prototypes for later Quadrants.This rather squat, multifaceted brass ewer is covered by silver inlay. In The Genius of Arab Civilization, Oleg Grabar writes that the decoration is artfully ordered in alternate rows of bands and medallions -- composed in such a way that neither system overwhelms the other and each is in perfect balance with the other.• The ewer is a product of a school of metalworkers that flourished in northern Iraq during the 13th century. An inscription on the ewer's neck states: "Engraved by Shuja' bin Man'ah al-Mawsili, in the blessed month of Rajab of the year 629 [May 1232] in Mosul." • Although its quality may be superior to many bronzes of the time, notes Grabar, the ewer is not unique in technique, subject of decoration or style. The technique of inlaying brass or bronze with silver did not originate in the Arab empire, Grabar notes. Earlier examples are found in China and the Near East. But in the mid-12th century, this technique became the most popular means of decorating metal objects. The revival is believed to have begun in northeastern Iran, then spreading throughout the Arab world.The "Blacas" ewer (named so because it was part of the collection of the Duke of Blacas) is rich in decoration. The main medallions contain typical scenes of 'the princely cycle' -- courtly audiences, hunting, feasting, dancing and music. These scenes are repeated on the smaller medallions. The neck includes depiction of the planets and signs of the zodiac. Two of the bands have inscriptions, "figural Kufi", expressing good wishes and blessings. On one band, the letters are almost transfigured by representations of animals and humans engaged in a wild array of activities.• Grabar writes that inlaid metalwork was on objects employed for daily use -- for writing, washing, drinking, providing light. Many of the objects were commissioned by the Muslim urban bourgeoisie. The scenes and symbols on the objects, writes Grabar, were used as metaphors of good wishes for the users of the objects.

Woodworks in Islamic Arts

One of the great Mamluk rulers was al-Ashraf Qaytbay (ruled 1468-1496). He was a prolific builder and restorer of religious monuments, and a great number of minbars and religious furnishings survive from his reign. This magnificent minbar (preacher's pulpit) (in London's Victoria and Albert Museum) bears inscriptions with the name of Qaytbay on the entrance and on the backs of the doors. Blair and Bloom (1994) note that the minbar was probably built for Qaytbay's madrasa (school) in Cairo. The beautiful minbar is made of wood with carved ivory insets. Blair and Bloom write that minbars from this period are typically triangular in shape with an elaborate portal. The preacher's seat was distinguished by a projecting muqarnas cornice over the portal and a bulbous dome over the seat. • Minbars are only used on Fridays for the Khatib (preacher) to deliver the khutba (sermon). The shape of the minbar is essentially a staircase with 8-12 steps, in order for the khatib to be elevated above the congregation and thus be heard.• Fine manuscripts of the Holy Qur'an often formed part of the endowments to mosques. This magnificent wooden box housed a Qur'an manuscript in Istanbul and was made for Sultan Bayezid in the 16th century. "The hexagonal box, with a hinged lid surmounted by a twelve-sided pyramid and carved ebony and ivory finial, is the earliest example of a distinct Ottoman style of woodwork and one of the finest pieces extant," write Blair and Bloom. "The exterior is veneered with ebony, encrusted with ivory panels, and inset with fine parquetry; the interior with more restrained decoration of minute inlay in fine woods, ivory, and gilt brass, is divided into compartments to hold a thirty-volume Qur'an of oblong format.... The Ottomans clearly prized early specimens of calligraphy, and the manuscripts of the Qur'an copied by Yaqut al-Musta'simi or one of his followers were often refurbished during Ottoman times." • In the 12th century, Iran's decorative arts of textiles, pottery, metalwork, jewelry and manuscript illumination were perhaps at their most inventive. The Mongol conquest in the mid-13th century changed the balance of artistic production in Iran, and illustrated and illuminated books became larger and more numerous. This Qur'an stand from the 14th century displays the great technical ability and rich decorative repertoire of Persian craftsmanship. The carving on the geometric panels includes two distinctive elements found in contemporary stucco carving -- inscriptions in a stylized square script and naturalistic leaves in high relief. "The triangular sides," write Blair and Bloom, "are composed of rectangular panels with shallow Beveled style arabesques within a mortised frame." • Muslim India was famed as a source of fine textiles. Under the Mughals, production of luxury fabrics, marble, woodwork, metalwork and carpets was highly encouraged. Kashmir became known for its shawls and Golconda for its chintzes. Gujarat became known for its carved wood and its overlaid mother-of-pearl wares, as in this storage chest from the 17th century made of mother-of-pearl and black lacquer.• As with architecture, the decorative arts created under the Timurids and their contemporaries set the standard of excellence for generations in Iran, India, and Turkey. Not only were Timurid models emulated, compositions repeated, and techniques followed, but works of art that had belonged to Timur's followers were avidly collected by discerning connoisseurs. The Timurid style can be seen in a variety of media such as calligraphy, bound books, and woodwork. • The major evidence for Timur's own patronage of the arts are fittings and furnishings for the shrine of Ahmed Yasavi at Turkestan. Virtually no illustrated manuscripts have survived from his reign. The size and superb quality of the Turkestan objects, however, testifies that his patronage of architecture was accompanied by patronage of other arts. Blair and Bloom write, "This artistic piece of two pairs of wooden doors survive in situ at the shrine., one at the main portal and another at the entrance to the mausoleum. Each valve maintains the traditional tripartite division into three rectangular panels: a large vertical one sandwiched between smaller ones. The upper panels are inscribed and the lower ones contain a geometric medallion, but the glory of the doors is the superb carving of the central panels. Those on the main portal contain arched cartouches of arabesque tracery and palmettos on a delicate scrolling ground. The spandrels are filled with an even finer naturalistic vegetal tracery of peonies, flowers, and leaves. The panels contrast with the framework of the valves, which is decorated with a strapwork pattern based on eight-pointed stars, filled and bordered with delicate arabesques.• Many of these motifs developed from earlier woodcarving in Central Asia and Iran, such as those found on a cenotaph made in the mid-fourteenth century for the grandson of the celebrated mystic Sayf al-Din Bakharzi and the folding Qur'an stand dated 1359. Both sets of doors have bronze doorknockers inlaid with silver and gold and inscribed with verses from Sa'di's Gulistan ("Rose-garden"):May this door always be open to the Sincere;May it always be open to friends and closed to enemies..."Under the Beyliks, architecture in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) was varied and showed a lively interplay between traditional and innovative elements, write Blair and Bloom. The arts that were directly related to architecture also flourished. • Wooden fittings for architecture were particularly important in Anatolia, continue Blair and Bloom, due to the rich resources of timber. Elaborately decorated samples of woodwork from the Beylik era still survive. The Beylik period saw a continuance of the kundekari technique which had become widely used throughout the Islamic world by the 12th century. In this tongue-and-groove technique, explain Blair and Bloom, octagonal, stellate and lozenge-shaped panels carved with arabesque decoration are joined without pins or glue in grooved frames. In the Beylik era, woodcarving became finer, more intricate, and shallower. Boss-like rosettes became popular as well. Since the kundekari technique was immensely time-consuming, add Blair and Bloom, it often was replaced by the cheaper technique of false kundekari. In this faster technique, large boards were carved with strapwork networks containing octagonal, stellate and lozenge-shaped panels. Blair and Bloom write that although the boards were mounted in frames, they eventually warped and split since they were less able than true kundekari to adjust to changing humidity.• Windows and doors often were done in false kundekari, continue Blair and Bloom. However, the most elaborate examples of this technique are minbars, such as this one made for the Arslanhane Mosque in Ankara, Turkey, in 1289-1290. Write Blair and Bloom, "Inlay, introduced in the fourteenth century, also became more popular in the fifteenth century. The panels from the doors to the Hajji Bayram Mosque in Ankara, for example, are inlaid with ivory

PUNJABI ARTS

Arts & Crafts The crafts in the Punjab are of two types: the crafts produced in the rural areas and the royal crafts which flourished in the urban centers particularly in Lahore. The former include cotton textiles, basketry, embroidery etc. while the latter are tile and woodwork skills, ivory, silver and gold work, naqqashi and architectural crafts. Hand knotted carpets of fine quality are made in Punjab since the Mughal period. Emperor Akbar in the 15th century established the first factory in Lahore. While carpets were made for the rich, rough rugs (known as namdas) were made by the common people for their own use. Lahore is the center of hand-made carpets. Since ancient times the weavers of the region have produced colourful fabrics of silk and cotton. The hand-woven cotton cloth like khaddar of Kamalia, are popular. The cloth woven on handlooms is either block printed or beautifully embroidered. Multan is famous for beautiful hand-woven bed covers. The potter at his wheel is a common sight in every village, uninfluenced by modern glamour. Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi and Gujrat also produce colourful pottery, painted after firing. The blue glazed pottery of Multan dates back to the 13th century with obvious traces of Persian influence. Chiniot, Gujrat and Lahore are famous for woodwork. Chiniot is known for woodcarving and furniture, brass and iron inlay. Copper and brass work is done within the walled city of Lahore since ages. In fine arts, the local Muslim traditions of Punjab were greatly influenced by the works of Central Asian and Persian artists of the early Mughal period. Persian miniatures are the models of some of the well-known artists like Abdur Rehman Chaughtai, with a style of his own, and Haji Muhammad Sharif.Among the modern artists, Ustad Allah Bakhsh, Khalid Iqbal, Ijazul Hasan and Shakir Ali stand on the top.In calligraphy, a great heritage of Muslim art, Agha Mirza Imam of Lahore gave new dimensions to this art and was followed by equally renowned Sufi Abdul Majid (Perveen Raqqm) and Abdul Walid (Nadir Qalam) who changed the round form of letters to elegant ovals. In the Graphic Arts, representational paintings and landscapes continue to be produced side by side with more complex modern trends. The main art centers in the province are Al-Hamra, the National College of Arts, Fine Arts Department of the Punjab University and the Lahore Art Gallery.

AMIN GULGEE

Amin Gulgee’s work speaks for itself – it can be seen and felt. But Amin the man is seldom accessible. In the following interview, Amin speaks passionately about what concerns every south Asian today - the concern of surviving and going through life as a thinking human being.
On God and Religion
God for me is everything – it is me –– it is you –– it is the wind outside – it is the light we see – it’s everything horrible and everything wonderful – I don’t see any separations – I see God in just about everything – God for me is the process of Life and the way things are – God for me is also Chance – the element in our lives that we do not control. The three most important paths of our life are birth, death, and love – all three are controlled by chance. One of my sculptures is called Chance – a DNA molecule with the word Allah inscribed on it – for me that is God. What’s beautiful about Islam is its submission to God and that there is a direct link between God and a person – nothing comes in between – you create your own balance between the divine and you – or between chance and you.
God has created everything and everybody. All religions teach us to be good, to be happy, and to achieve a balance – that is humanism. All religions have basic similarities. My father is a great collector of antiquity and as a child, I would touch his Gandharas and Krishnas and talk to them – my understanding of them was not in a ritualistic way – I reacted to them as a child. I related intuitively to the Boddhisatvas. When I came back from college I wanted to recapture them and create them in my own image. When I do a sculpture of the Buddha – I am not a Muslim doing a Buddha – I want to belong for that moment to whatever I am creating. Today, there is a need for intellectuals to interpret religion. If one is happy, one does good things; if one is unhappy, one does bad things -–simple-minded perhaps, but that is the essence.On his life and work
I grew up in a house with paints and brushes but I had no hands-on guidance from my father. Studio art was the last thing I wanted to do. In fact my parents actively discouraged me not to become an artist. They feared that I’d have to struggle.
It’s funny that I became an artist – I am non-romantic about an artist’s lifestyle. For all the pleasure and joy of work, one has to survive on one’s work. My life has been a series of accidents. I was in college, doing three majors in Art History, Architecture and Economics at Yale. Architecture was great – I got to paint and draw and create models – and at Yale you could just about do anything. In my final year at Yale I had to choose one major for my thesis. I hated Economics and thought Art History would be more interesting and challenging. My dissertation was on Mughal Gardens with special focus on Shalamar Gardens in Lahore. After my graduation I thought I’d try my hand as an artist and if I did not succeed, I’d go back and do an MBA.

I had my first show in Karachi – and then I went to New York to live there as an artist. That was a difficult time. I had to go door-to-door with my jewellery pieces – art jewellery and gallery-wearable art. I had some successes. Initially my jewellery was very large – it was very unwearable – in New York it became scaled down. Basically, it is a sculpture with a hole. Whenever I get stuck on a larger piece, I switch scale and I move to a smaller piece. I enjoy making jewellery. Then I came home to Karachi – wanted to do larger work.
I began experimenting and working with metal. Copper and bronze are the only glorious metals that exist – they stay forever – I like that permanence – not that I seek any immortality in my work – just the fact that they will remain.
I am trying to bring Islamic calligraphy into my work. Islamic calligraphy interests me in two ways – on an intellectual level and also on an emotional level. Intellectually – because of the concept of God as an abstraction – like a geometric pattern which goes on and on and emotionally because I was born a Muslim.
On his interests
I love Camus, I love the existentialists – I am not a great reader of poetry – I read anything that comes near me. When I was young, I was an extreme loner – in fact some considered me retarded – my idea of weekend in Karachi was checking out 5 books. Reading has always been my escape. I’ll read Stephen King to Manto.
I used to be in a dance troupe in college – I just love dancing. I learnt a bit of kathak and Bharat Natyam in Karachi – just for six months – nothing serious. My sister is a good Bharat Natyam dancer. In fact the most famous Kathak dancer in Pakistan today is a man – Fasi – he is brilliant.
I like travelling but I like people more than I like places. I am not a great sightseer. I am a voyeur. I love looking at people. I can sit in a café and look at people for hours.
What I really want to do is go to Sri Lanka – I have never been there – I would like to go to Sri Lanka and sit there on a beach for a week watching the stars, the sea, the colours, and feeling the wind– that would be my millennium gift to myself. I’d also like to go to Bangladesh one day.
The two artists I admire most are my father and Amrita Shergill. I find Amrita Shergill’s paintings really close to me – I feel a great connection with her work.

On the essence of life
Love is the most important part of being human – love is what defines humanity. I look at my life and feel so grateful that I love. Nothing else matters. We are here for such a short time – the only thing we should be taking away from this earth is love from people.
On bringing South Asia closer
There should be more communication within the subcontinent. I am more familiar with things happening in New York and Washington, than I am with what’s happening in Bombay or New Delhi. We should start looking within ourselves, we should celebrate ourselves. I think colonisation has made a profound impact on the subcontinent and it is time we discovered our own heroes – up till now everything that has been considered valid, at least in art, has been coming from the west we study western art, we revere their heroes it is about time that we start celebrating ourselves as far as contemporary art is concerned, there needs to be an interaction among ourselves – it should be done without embarrassment done with a sense of confidence.

Multani Art:

Blue Pottery:The history of Multani arts and crafts also goes back to medieval period. Kashi work, glazing and hand painting of ceramic products is an important art for which Multan is famous the would over. The use of foliage branches and leaves of trees and superb richness of colours (mainly blue) in Kashi work is an evidence of Persian influence. As Persian arts themselves have been under Chinese (Mongol) influence, therefore some historians are of the view that Kashi work had originally come from Kashghar, China. Over a period of centuries Multani Kashi work has matured and developed a unique and distinctive style of its own.

Embroidery/Mirror Work

Embroidery has been an old art that has been around as long as people can remember. Over the years in Pakistan it's taken a beautiful turn, with various stitches being invented, and each as spectacular as the next one. While a lot of the stitches are distinctive, and are named after the region they are mostly found in, such as a Sindhi Karhai, Kashmiri Karhai, there are even some that have even been named after the big politicians of Pakistan, such as a Benazir Stitch and a Nawaz Sharif stitch. Similarly, sheesha or mirror work has also been used to decorate fabric. Sewing mirror into a design is hard enough, but when you combine elements of design and pattern into it, as well as bright, beautiful colors, it transforms the piece into an immediate piece of art.These days, a lot of embroidery is done by machines. But the intracy of hand-embroidery is still unbeaten. For many women in the rural areas, it's their primary source of income. A lot of non for profit organizations in Pakistan employ such women, so they can earn a livelihood and then sell their work on their behalf. It might take a longer time to finish a work by hand, but it's absolutely worth it

Chiniot Wood - Carving

Chiniot is famous world-wide for the quality and intricacy of its wood carving. An ancient city, it’s located on the bank of Chenab. The carvers of Chiniot have achieved a level of craft and creativity and good that other artisans in Pakistan and around the world can only hope to attain. A special kind of furniture and brightly colored lacquered woodcarving is made in chiniot. Everything under the sun which can be made out of wood is made here. Tables, beds, swings, treasure chests, you name it, it’s made there.A worker
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TRUCK IN PAKISTANI ARTS

TRUCK ARTS its all colorful floral patterns, depiction of human heroes with creative aspect ratios, calligraphy of poetic verses and driver’s words of wisdom, this form of art is truly a part of Pakistani transport tradition.These truck bodies are immaculately painted by the street artists who can be found at Truck stands all across the country. e.g. Hawkes Bay/Mauripur Road Road Karachi, Pir Wadhai Rawalpindi, Badami Bagh Lahore, Sariab Road Quetta etc. These hired artists then paint the whole truck in brightly colored patterns. It is said that everty city’s artists have perfected their art in their own signature way. Trucks decorated in Quetta and Peshawar get lots of wood trimming where as those in Rawalpindi get lots of plastic decoration. Karachi excels in using reflective tapes, also called ‘chamak patty’ in local language. Camel bone decoration is used by artists of rural Sindh.Pakistani trucks are also used as means of displaying the owner or the Painter’s Poetic taste. It also serves as a calligraphic board as well as a notice board for public messages.The truck owners and truck artists of Pakistan also pay homage to their heroes and heroines in their own innocent ways. These painting do not strictly follow the aspect ratio of real life figures.