Turco-Persian Influence in the Islamic Art of the Malay Archipelago

Abstract

In the Islamic history of the Malay Archipelago, the Persian's contribution in terms of the artistic repertoire influence towards the shaping of the Malay's Islamic art has rarely been discussed by scholars. This is troubling as much of the Persian land (Iran & Iraq) from the 10 th until early 13 th century was inhabited by the Turkic people from Central Asia who were heavily influenced and thoroughly 'Persianised'. Therefore, the art historical method was employed in this study to analyse the artistic connection between the Malay Archipelago with the Turco-Persian Dynasties in Iran. The findings indicate that there is a strong artistic connection with the Turco-Persian Dynasties, namely the Ghaznavid Dynasty (977-1186CE), Seljuk Sultanate of Rum (1077-1308CE) and the Candarogullari Beylik in Kastamonu, Anatolia. Although a small fraction of the Ghaznavid and Seljuk Islamic art survives, their influence can still be seen in the Islamic art used to adorn the Mahmut Bey Mosque in Kastamonu which is slowly deteriorating in time. The Mahmut Bey Mosque is a vital piece of evidence as the surviving Islamic art used to adorn the mosque is a combination traditional Turkic art with the the Seljuk and Ghanavids forms of Islamic art, in which influence of previous religion practiced by the Turkic people such as Tengrism and Buddhism are also evident. These influences were then brought to the Malay Archipelago where it is then acculturated in the existing Malay art culture, particularly in woodcarving and masonry of early Islamic tombstones.