Near Eastern Culture and Society

Near Eastern Culture and Society
Author: Theodore Cuyler Young
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2017-03-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1400886848

Eleven scholars present a broad survey of Arabic-Islamic culture and society in the Near East. Art, literature, science, philosophy, religion, politics, international relations, and social problems are considered. Originally published in 1966. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Making of the Artist in Late Timurid Painting

Making of the Artist in Late Timurid Painting
Author: Balafrej Lamia Balafrej
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2019-04-01
Genre: Art
ISBN: 147443746X

In the absence of a tradition of self-portraiture, how could artists signal their presence within a painting? Centred on late Timurid manuscript painting (ca. 1470-1500), this book reveals that pictures could function as the painter's delegate, charged with the task of centring and defining artistic work, even as they did not represent the artist's likeness. Influenced by the culture of the majlis, an institutional gathering devoted to intricate literary performances and debates, late Timurid painters used a number of strategies to shift manuscript painting from an illustrative device to a self-reflective object, designed to highlight the artist's imagination and manual dexterity. These strategies include visual abundance, linear precision, the incorporation of inscriptions addressing aspects of the painting and the artist's signature. Focusing on one of the most iconic manuscripts of the Persianate tradition, the Cairo Bustan made in late Timurid Herat and bearing the signatures of the painter Bihzad, this book explores Persian manuscript painting as a medium for artistic performance and self-representation, a process by which artistic authority was shaped and discussed.

Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250

Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250
Author: Richard Ettinghausen
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2003-07-11
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9780300088694

This richly illustrated book provides an unsurpassed overview of Islamic art and architecture from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries, a time of the formation of a new artistic culture and its first, medieval, flowering in the vast area from the Atlantic to India. Inspired by Ettinghausen and Grabar’s original text, this book has been completely rewritten and updated to take into account recent information and methodological advances. The volume focuses special attention on the development of numerous regional centers of art in Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as the western and northeastern provinces of Iran. It traces the cultural and artistic evolution of such centers in the seminal early Islamic period and examines the wealth of different ways of creating a beautiful environment. The book approaches the arts with new classifications of architecture and architectural decoration, the art of the object, and the art of the book. With many new illustrations, often in color, this volume broadens the picture of Islamic artistic production and discusses objects in a wide range of media, including textiles, ceramics, metal, and wood. The book incorporates extensive accounts of the cultural contexts of the arts and defines the originality of each period. A final chapter explores the impact of Islamic art on the creativity of non-Muslims within the Islamic realm and in areas surrounding the Muslim world.

Light of the Sufis

Light of the Sufis
Author: Ladan Akbarnia
Publisher: Museum of Fine Arts (Houston)
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2010
Genre: Art
ISBN:

Light of the Sufis introduces the complex and multilayered topic of Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, by concentrating on its expression in the visual arts and offers new insights into the integrative and fluid nature of the Sufi experience that has solicited strong reactions--both negative and positive--in Muslims and non-Muslims alike for several hundred years. Sufism became well established in the 9th to 10th century and reached its height in the 12th to 13th century. From its inception, Sufism recognized the traditions and practices of other faiths and cultures with which it came into contact, adapting and incorporating elements of Greek philosophies, Christian mysticism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Buddhism. This diversity has been reflected not only in the words and the lives of celebrated Sufi mystics but also in some of the finest literature, music, performance, and visual arts produced in the Islamic world. Lavishly illustrated, this exhibition catalogue presents exceptional works in various media from diverse areas of the Islamic world, including North Africa, Turkey, Iran, and India, and dating from the ninth century to the present. Distributed for The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Exhibition Schedule: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston05/16/10 - 08/08/10

Nishapur

Nishapur
Author: James W. Allan
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Total Pages: 121
Release: 1982
Genre: Islamic antiquities
ISBN: 0870992716

The city of Nishapur, located in eastern Iran, was a place of political importance in medieval times and a flourishing center of art, crafts, and trade. This publication explores metalwork found at the site at Nishapur excavated by the Iranian Expedition of the Metropolitan Museum in 1935–40 and again in 1947. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

Treasures of Turkey

Treasures of Turkey
Author: Ekrem Akurgal
Publisher:
Total Pages: 256
Release: 1966
Genre: Architecture
ISBN:

Includes sculptures, mosaics, objects in gold and silver, and buildings.

The Persian Book of Kings

The Persian Book of Kings
Author: Firuza Abdullaeva
Publisher:
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2008
Genre: Art
ISBN:

India has the Mahabharata, Greece has Homer's epic cycle, and the national history of Iran is chronicled in Firdausi's epic poem The Book of Kings, or Shahnama. This lavishly illustrated study explores the intricate complexity of this epic as it is beautifully rendered in a rare fifteenth-century reproduction. The Shahnama positions Iran at the heart of human civilization, and its sprawling and compelling narrative stretches from the beginning of time to the seventh-century takeover of the Persian Empire by Muslim Arabs. Ibrahim Sultan, governor of Shiraz in southern Iran from 1415 to 1435, commissioned an edition of the Shahnama that contained a lavish assortment of intricate original paintings. This version is now in the collection of the Bodleian Library, and The Persian Book of Kings explores this rare text in extensive detail. The authors investigate the life of the poet Firdausi, unpack the literary context of the poem and its illuminations, and examine the royal court of Ibrahim Sultan for whom the manuscript was commissioned. The richly colored miniatures and illuminations spread through the text are given full exploration in this study, with examinations of both the artists' techniques that influenced generations of illustrators and the artworks' meanings. The book also features a helpful glossary of Persian terms and a list of the numerous characters that appear in the epic. A gorgeously produced study of one of the great literary works of human history, The Persian Book of Kings offers a fascinating look at the myths and legends of an ancient culture.

Late Antiquity

Late Antiquity
Author: Teresa Bernheimer
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2012
Genre: History
ISBN:

In the past four decades since the field of late antique studies began to gather real momentum, scholars have debated the place of early Islam within the late antique world, particularly in relation to the issue of where and when 'Late Antiquity' ends. Although the Sasanian empire (in what is now modern Iran) became equally powerful as the Byzantine empire, and the two often forged their characters and practices on the basis of their relations with each other, that has rarely translated into equal coverage for the eastern part of the late antique world in studies of the period. Late Antiquity: Eastern Perspectives aims to redress this balance and situate Iran with the broader world of this era. Eight papers serve as case studies for considering narratives and perspectives other than those emanating from Byzantium or, more generally, 'the West'. They demonstrate the potential of eastern source-material, particularly James Howard-Johnston's double-length article which produces a detailed reconstruction of the Sasanian army.