Artists Artisans And Islamic Design

This volume deals with the formative period of Islamic art (to c. 950), and the different approaches to studying it. Individual essays deal with architecture, ceramics, coins, textiles, and manuscripts, as well as with such broad questions as the supposed prohibition of images, and the relationships between sacred and secular art. An introductory essay sets each work in context; it is complemented by a bibliography for further reading.

Islamic art is justly famed for its technological sophistication, varied approaches to ornament, and innovative employment of the written word. But what do we know about the skilled artisans who spent their lives designing and creating the paintings, objects and buildings that are so admired today? This anthology of written sources (dating from the seventh to the twentieth centuries) explores numerous aspects of the crafts of the Middle East from the processing of raw materials to the manufacture of finished artefacts. You will learn about: the legal and ethical dimensions of the arts and crafts, the organisation of labour in urban and rural contexts, the everyday lives of artisans, the gendered dimensions of making things, and the impact of industrialisation upon traditional methods of manufacture. Each chapter begins with an introduction providing a wider context for the primary sources. There are also suggestions for further reading.

Since the 7th century, Islamic artists, artisans, architects and craftsmen have attempted in their work to reflect their beliefs and cultural values in the most beautiful way they can in every medium and material available to them. A subject that spans a millennia-and-a-half and covers every walk of life in every corner of the globe is no easy thing to distil for children, but Mary Beardwood has succeeded in making it fun as well as factual, exciting as well as educational. Following her successful title, A Children's Encyclopaedia of Islam, Mary's new book invites her young (and old) readers into a fascinating world in a way that will inspire them to delve deeper. Aimed at a readership age of eight years and above, Discovering Islamic Art simply and concisely introduces the fundamental elements of this huge subject - calligraphy, arabesques and geometric patterns. It also features painting, pottery, architecture, astrology, landscapes and cityscapes, woodwork and metalwork, arms and armor, science and inventions, manuscripts and books, and every page is generously illustrated. With each topic is included an activity sheet to encourage further engagement, to help children have fun and to remember more. The book is designed not only to appeal to young readers, but with parents and teachers in mind. The hard cover makes for a long life, and the disguised wiro binding facilitates the photocopying of the activity sheets so that many pupils can simultaneously enjoy them. There are links to websites and further reading, a map showing the Islamic dynasties; each spread poses questions - all of which are answered by closer examination of the illustrations. This book is not only entertaining and educational but, in this age of cultural divergence and religious misunderstandings, goes a long way to helping children understand the world of Islam and appreciate its artistic treasures.

This book explores the great diversity and range of Islamic culture through one of the finest collections in the world. Published to coincide with the historic reopening of the galleries of the Metropolitan Museum's Islamic Art Department, it presents nearly three hundred masterworks created in the rich tradition of the Islamic faith and culture. The Metropolitan's renowned holdings range chronologically from the origins of Islam in the 7th century through the 19th century, and geographically from as far west as Spain to as far east as Southeast Asia.

From 711 when they arrived on the Iberian Peninsula until 1492 when scholars contribute a wide-ranging series of essays and catalogue entries which are fully companion to the 373 illustrations (324 in color) of the spectacular art and architecture of the nearly vanished culture. 91/2x121/2 they were expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella, the Muslims were a powerful force in al-Andalus, as they called the Iberian lands they controlled. This awe-inspiring volume, which accompanies a major exhibition presented at the Alhambra in Granada and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is devoted to the little-known artistic legacy of Islamic Spain, revealing the value of these arts as part of an autonomous culture and also as a presence with deep significance for both Europe and the Islamic world. Twenty-four international Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Islamic artists channelled their energies not into easel painting and large-scale sculpture, but rather into what Western scholars, obeying a very different hierarchy of art forms, rather disparagingly term the decorative arts or even the minor arts. In point of fact, some of the greatest masterpieces of Islamic art are in the media of ceramics, metalwork, textiles, ivory and glass. Often the images they bear express a complex set of meanings, for Islam inherited much material from the iconographic systems of earlier civilizations, notably those of the ancient Near East and of the classical world. Islam also developed its own distinctive vocabulary of signs and symbols. Accordingly, questions of iconography and meaning bulk large among the studies gathered together in the present volume. These studies, written over a period of almost thirty years, and taken from a wide variety of published sources, deal with aspects of the decorative arts from Spain to India and from the 7th to the 17th century. They focus in turn upon ceramics and metalwork; on coins, carpets and calligraphy; and on carving in wood and ivory. They are arranged under three headings. The first comprises general surveys of the field covering the content of these arts and confronting the challenges they present, such as the Islamic approach to three-dimensional sculpture. The second deals with questions of iconography and meaning, while the third comprises a series of studies devoted to specific media such as ivory, woodwork and numismatics. This volume therefore offers not only a general introduction to some of the problems posed by Islamic art, but also readings of key objects in an attempt to explore their meaning; and finally, an in-depth focus on individual objects representing specific genres and media.