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A beautiful, fully-illustrated guide to Turkey's outstanding collections of icons, with descriptions and historical overview.

This expansive book reveals the great diversity and range of art of the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and later South Asia. Published to coincide with the historic reopening of the galleries of the Metropolitan Museum's Islamic Art Department, it presents nearly three hundred masterpieces from one of the finest collections in the world. The works range chronologically from the origins of Islam in the seventh century through the nineteenth century, and geographically from as far west as...

Nur: Light in Art and Science in the Islamic World explores the use and significance of light in Islamic art and science, revealing how light is a unifying motif in Islamic civilizations across the globe. Taking its starting point from the Arabic word for light, both in its physical and metaphysical sense, Nur is divided into two principal sections. The first is devoted to art and includes manuscripts illuminated with gold and colored pigments, luster-ware ceramics, metal objects with gold and...

The historical development of Islamic art and the variations of different geographical regions are surveyed.

Long considered a bastion of creativity in the region, Iran is currently experiencing a remarkable artistic revival in the middle of the most challenging of circumstances. "Different Sames" catalogues this new movement, capturing its brilliance and creative energy. Packed with wonderful images, it is an important and lively compendium of thought provoking essays, historical context and profiles of the country's leading contemporary artists. Art changes the way we look at the world, and "Differen...

Ferdowsi's epic poem Shahnameh is part myth, part history-it begins with the legend of the birth of the Persian nation and its tumultuous history. It contains magical birds, and superhuman heroes, and centuries-long battles. Written over 1,000 years ago, it was meant to protect Persian collective memory amdist a turbulent sea cultural storms. Originally written in couplets, the new translation and adaptation by Ahmad Sadri retells the mythological tales in prose format. The spectacular illustrat...

For courses in Medieval Art. Extensively illustrated in full color throughout, this text explores the extraordinary world of Byzantium in all its grandeur and complexity—surveying Byzantine art within a broad cultural and historical context. Part of the Prentice Hall Perspectives Series co-published by Prentice Hall and Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Since the Shah went into exile and the Islamic Republic was established in 1979 in the wake of the Iranian Revolution, the very idea of monarchy in Iran has been contentious. Yet, as Persian Kingship and Architecture argues, the institution of kingship has historically played a pivotal role in articulating the abstract notion of 'Iran' since antiquity. These ideas surrounding kingship and nation have, in turn, served as a unifying cultural force despite shifting political and religious allegianc...

Zadoc Nava is a British photographer and filmmaker, this book focuses on his most recent photographic series, Shadowlands, which documents life on the streets of Tehran. Reflecting a mood of uncertainty and melancholy, the images reveal a glimpse of ordinary life in the neighborhoods of what is remarkably turning into one of the world’s most documented cities. Shadowlands is punctuated by images of the monumental, propagandist street-art and religious posters that dominate the city. The photos...

Widely acclaimed as the most comprehensive guide to Jordan's extraordinary historic cities and sites, the new edition has been thoroughly updated. Written by enthusiastic experts with much local knowledge, this Blue Guide is full of detailed practical advice on hotels, restaurants, and places of interest on and off the beaten track.

Alternative Iran offers a unique contribution to the field of contemporary art, investigating how Iranian artists engage with space and site amid the pressures of the art market and the state's regulatory regimes. Since the 1980s, political, economic, and intellectual forces have driven Iran's creative class toward increasingly original forms of artmaking not meant for official venues. Instead, these art forms appear in private homes with "trusted" audiences, derelict buildings, leftover urban z...

Shi'i Islam has been the official religion of Iran from the Safavids (1501-1732) to the present day. The Shi'i world experience has provided a rich artistic tradition, encompassing painting, sculpture and the production of artefacts and performance, which has helped to embed Shi'i identity in Iran as part of its national narrative. In what areas of material culture has Iranian Shi'ism manifested itself through objects or buildings that are unique within the overall culture of Islam? To what exte...

This book documents the Persian - European artistic dialogue over four centuries. In particular it presents work by seven contemporary artists from Tehran and thus provides an insight into a new modern Persia in exchange with the global art world. At the same time the reader is offered a fresh view at ancient art shown in contrasting juxtaposition. Essays by Rudolph P. Matthee, Cyrus Ala'i, Birgitt Borkopp-Restle, Paulina Banas, Michael Chagnon, Gary Schwarz, Jennifer Scarce, Claudia Swann, Susa...

Yezidism is a fascinating part of the rich cultural mosaic of the Middle East. The Yezidi faith emerged for the first time in the twelfth century in the Kurdish mountains of northern Iraq. The religion, which has become notorious for its associations with 'devil worship', is in fact an intricate syncretic system of belief, incorporating elements from proto-Indo-European religions, early Iranian faiths like Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism, Sufism and regional paganism like Mithraism. Birgul Acikyi...

The Holy Land, so bitterly fought over by Israel and Palestine, was mainly desert and arid land, the only fertile plains being down by Galilee. The flowers that would have grown 2000 years ago are very different from those that grew in northern Europe in the late Middle Ages. This book is not a literal interpretation of the flowers described in the Bible, but an accompaniment, with manuscript illuminations. It is a celebration of both the language of the Bible and the beauty of medieval manuscri...