<P> Two places suggest more vividly than any others the vitality of Buddhist cave painting from about the 5th century AD . One is Ajanta, a site in India long forgotten until discovered in 1817 . The other is Dunhuang, one of the great oasis staging posts on the Silk Road...The paintings range from calm devotional images of the Buddha to lively and crowded scenes, often featuring the seductively full - breasted and narrow - waisted women more familiar in Indian sculpture than in painting . Major art included mosques and a madonna (art of Mary and possibly her child) </P> <P> A prohibition against depicting representational images in religious art, as well as the naturally decorative nature of Arabic script, led to the use of calligraphic decorations, which usually involved repeating geometrical patterns that expressed ideals of order and nature . It was used on religious architecture, carpets, and handwritten documents . Islamic art has reflected this balanced, harmonious world - view . It focuses on spiritual essence rather than physical form . </P> <P> While there has been an aversion to potential idol worship through Islamic history, this is a distinctly modern Sunni view . Persian miniatures, along with medieval depictions of Muhammad and angels in Islam, stand as prominent examples contrary to the modern Sunni tradition . Also, Shi'a Muslims are much less averse to the depiction of figures, including the Prophet's as long as the depiction is respectful . </P> <P> The Islamic resistance to the representation of living beings ultimately stems from the belief that the creation of living forms is unique to God, and it is for this reason that the role of images and image makers has been controversial . The strongest statements on the subject of figural depiction are made in the Hadith (Traditions of the Prophet), where painters are challenged to "breathe life" into their creations and threatened with punishment on the Day of Judgment . The Qur'an is less specific but condemns idolatry and uses the Arabic term musawwir ("maker of forms," or artist) as an epithet for God . Partially as a result of this religious sentiment, figures in painting were often stylized and, in some cases, the destruction of figurative artworks occurred . Iconoclasm was previously known in the Byzantine period and aniconicism was a feature of the Judaic world, thus placing the Islamic objection to figurative representations within a larger context . As ornament, however, figures were largely devoid of any larger significance and perhaps therefore posed less challenge . As with other forms of Islamic ornamentation, artists freely adapted and stylized basic human and animal forms, giving rise to a great variety of figural - based designs . </P>

Which artistic creation was helpful in spreading design ideas throughout the islamic world