The historicity of Art Tools and Spirituality of Tools in Islamic Art

The art tools are effective intermediates in emergence of the meaning of a work of art. The types and production techniques of these tools are affected by the artists’ ontology. The art tools and artistic manners are influential factors on the resulting work of art. The way materials are selected for making tools and the commitment to the manners of the work, reinforce the spiritual aspect of Islamic art. Using library sources and comparative analysis of samples of artworks from the world’s history and art tools used in them, in comparison to examples from Islamic art, this paper attempts to indicate the extent of the influence world’s artists’ ontology have had on the selection of types of the art tools. The results indicate that the use of art tools in every phase of the history is in direct relation to the prevalent thinking of that period. Also in comparison to the art tools in non-religious art, these tools have two material and spiritual dimensions which artists cared about in the Islamic art. Besides the commitment to the specific manners of artistic act was regarded as guarantee for the realization of the final goal and the expression of the Muslim artists’ servitude to God through art.