In some forms of Islamic art, aniconism (the avoidance of images of sentient beings) stems in part from the prohibition of idolatry and in part from the belief that the creation of living forms is God's prerogative.
Interior of the Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque in Isfahan, Iran
Interior of the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
The Pisa Griffin, probably created in the 11th century in Al-Andalus, is the largest Islamic figurative sculpture to survive.
Muqarnas, as seen from below, in the iwan entrance to the Shah Mosque, Isfahan
Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide range of lands, periods, and genres, Islamic art is a concept used first by Western art historians in the late 19th century. Public Islamic art is traditionally non-representational, except for the widespread use of plant forms, usually in varieties of the spiralling arabesque. These are often combined with Islamic calligraphy, geometric patterns in styles that are typically found in a wide variety of media, from small objects in ceramic or metalwork to large decorative schemes in tiling on the outside and inside of large buildings, including mosques. Other forms of Islamic art include Islamic miniature painting, artefacts like Islamic glass or pottery, and textile arts, such as carpets and embroidery.
Detail of arabesque decoration at the Alhambra in Spain
The Ardabil Carpet, probably the finest surviving Persian carpet, Tabriz, mid-16th century
Hunters at a Stream - Riza `Abbasi, c. 1625 Brooklyn Museum
Tiles with some calligraphy in the courtyard of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul (Turkey)