Masterpieces of Islamic Art: The Decorated Page from the 8th to the 17th Century
This opulent volume of works from illustrated and illuminated manuscripts culled from important public and private collections offers a thorough introduction to the wonders of Islamic art. A renowned scholar of Islamic art, history and culture, Oleg Grabar introduces in this book a wide range of illuminated manuscript masterpieces from the eighth to the seventeenth century. The heroes of grand epics such as Alexander the Great are found side-by-side with mythical monarchs, sultans, and even...
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This opulent volume of works from illustrated and illuminated manuscripts culled from important public and private collections offers a thorough introduction to the wonders of Islamic art. A renowned scholar of Islamic art, history and culture, Oleg Grabar introduces in this book a wide range of illuminated manuscript masterpieces from the eighth to the seventeenth century. The heroes of grand epics such as Alexander the Great are found side-by-side with mythical monarchs, sultans, and even monsters. Illuminated manuscripts of the Koran, epic poetry, and scientific works from the Egyptian, Syrian, Persian, Mogul, and Ottoman Empires await discovery. The book opens with an essay which contextualizes the works—the originals of which reside in the Louvre, French National Library, National Library of Cairo, the British Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Topkapi Museum, the Freer Gallery of Art and the collections of the Aga Khan and Khalili families. Following is a selection of two hundred full-color illustrations accompanied by the author's insightful commentary. Including examples of some of the world's most beautiful artistic expressions, this collection of carefully chosen works not only illustrates an important period in art history but also serves as a monument to the achievements of Islamic culture.Library JournalGrabar (Islamic art & architecture, emeritus, Inst. for Advanced Study; The Dome of the Rock) has here chosen 100 illuminated manuscripts for their beauty and for their reflection of Islamic culture. In his introduction, he places them into temporal, geographical, cultural, and religious contexts and explains why certain eras produced figural imagery and others did not. Each featured manuscript is accompanied by a full page, full-color illustration and a short textual description; the majority date from 16th-century Iran. This well-illustrated overview (with 200 color images) includes a minimal amount of text; the full-page images in this large-format book are truly striking. With a table of illustrations, an index that also provides definitions of some of the indexed terms, and a short bibliography. VERDICT This is a good choice for high school-aged readers and up who are interested in illustrated manuscripts from the Middle East.—Nancy J. Mactague, Aurora Univ. Lib., IL\\
Foreword 10A thousand years of imagesFrom the Atlantic Ocean to China 14The creation of images 34Invitations to reverie and reflections of realityOpening pages 53Historical texts 60Epic poetry: the Shahnama or "Book of Kings" 66Literary texts 84Lyric poetry 94The Istanbul Albums 122Portraits 130The Falnameh 142
\ Library JournalGrabar (Islamic art & architecture, emeritus, Inst. for Advanced Study; The Dome of the Rock) has here chosen 100 illuminated manuscripts for their beauty and for their reflection of Islamic culture. In his introduction, he places them into temporal, geographical, cultural, and religious contexts and explains why certain eras produced figural imagery and others did not. Each featured manuscript is accompanied by a full page, full-color illustration and a short textual description; the majority date from 16th-century Iran. This well-illustrated overview (with 200 color images) includes a minimal amount of text; the full-page images in this large-format book are truly striking. With a table of illustrations, an index that also provides definitions of some of the indexed terms, and a short bibliography. VERDICT This is a good choice for high school-aged readers and up who are interested in illustrated manuscripts from the Middle East.—Nancy J. Mactague, Aurora Univ. Lib., IL\\\ \
