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selves to
the realm of abstraction and intricate
floral designs, known as Arabesque, with
the Arabic script as a distinctive
feature.
During the ten
centuries of Arab! Islamic expansion,
arts and crafts were treated in a unified
way. Islamic artists and artisans
concentrated on woodwork, ivory inlays,
glass-making, ceramics, textile weaving
and rug making. Their sense of balance
and their use of color were outstanding.
They drew upon imaginary and natural
sources to arrive at pure designs and
forms with which they covered both walls
and objects with mosaic, tiles, carvings
and paintings.
The
woven textiles of the Muslims laid the
foundations in Sicily for one of Italy's
later and most important industries. The
Arab cape woven for the twelfth century
coronation of the King of
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Sicily, Roger II,
is only one example of this influence in
craftsmanship. Cotton muslin (from Mosul), damask
linen (from Damascus), wool cloth (from Shiraz),
and fustian (from Fustat, Egypt's first Islamic
capital), were prized during the European
Renaissance.
Islamic
craftsmen excelled in the bookmaking arts, such
as leather binding which left a deep mark upon
Europe, manuscript illustrations, miniature
painting-especially in book illustrations-and,
above all, the art of making paper. Their
knowledge of paper making was brought to Sicily
and Spain and then to Italy and France,
generating a great increase in book production in
the West and, thus, in learning.
Muslim scientists also
contributed to the advancement of craft
technology. Adopting from
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