Oriental Treasures in the Mediterranean : From Damascus to Granada (Timeless Treasures) (Hardcover)
Book Description; Hundreds of photographs illustrate the beautiful Islamic monuments and artwork that advanced early Mediterranean civilization to new heights in the 7th and 8th centuries-a true renaissance that took place long before northern Europe's. Madrasa, palace, fort, garden, public bath, and mausoleum designs are explored and placed into a historic and cultural context. Steirlin explicates the Islamic aesthetics of abstract decoration, formed by the interweaving of geometric mosaics, colors, and arabesques that expresses a feverish creativity on the part of Islamic artists of the period. The result is an engaging guide to a body of work fascinating for its very complexity. Buy from Amazon.com

The Splendor of Islamic Calligraphy  A revised and expanded version of the 1976 edition, this scholarly study displays several hundred spectacular examples of an art form that is underappreciated in the West. Independent scholars living in Morocco, the authors begin by providing a conceptual & historical background to the meaning & origins of Islamic calligraphy. They then explicate the aesthetics, techniques, styles, & structure of the art. New chapters on the use of calligraphy in architecture and contemporary painting (featuring artists Hoosier Zenderoudi, Rashid Koraishi, and Shakir Hassan) enrich the coverage of the subject. Buy from Amazon.com

Glass of the Sultans (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series) (Hardcover) Islamic glassmakers were not only brilliant technicians and innovators in their own right, but they also preserved many of the methods of Late Antique Roman craftsmen, passing them on centuries later to Venetian and other European masters. This lovely book is the first comprehensive study of the accomplishments of these artisans. The volume presents glass objects from collections throughout the world—from perfume flasks to pitchers, mosque lanterns to boxes, inkwells to vases—ranging from the seventh to the nineteenth century and through many of the major artistic centers of the Muslim world. Buy from Amazon.com

Islam and the Destiny of Man (Suny Series, Islam)

Parabola; 'Considered essential by [those] seeking to understand Islam.' (Sunday Telegraph) '...a book dealing with the most vital and crucial questions now agitating our lives.' Maryam Jameelah (Muslim World Book Review) 'This book deserves to be read over and over again.' (Muslim Education Quarterly) 'This is a beautifully written book. It offers a taste of theology, of history, of aesthetics and of eschatology blended in such way as to provide a whole and balanced image, a vision of life that is both comprehensive and thoroughly Islamic.' Buy from Amazon.com

Islamic Metalwork: The Nuhad Es-Said Collection -- Book Description; The Nuhad Es-Said Collection of Islamic metalwork is one of the finest in private hands. It contains examples of inlaid bronzes and brasses from 6th/12th and 7th/13th Herat and 7th/13th century Mosul, from Ayvubid Syria, Saljuk Anatolia, the Mamluk empire and the Dehli sultanate, and from Il-Khanid, Timurid and Safavid Iran. Inlaid with gold, silver and copper, and bearing planetary and astrological figures, mystical symbols, and effusive dedications to sultans and petty rulers, these objects take the reader into a world where superstition, religion and politics jostle for supremacy, and are evidence that works of art reflect the societies they serve. An extensive introduction puts the collection in its social and artistic context. This is followed by the catalogue which describes and discusses each piece in detail. Every object is illustrated with at least one color plate and there are numerous black and white photographs. In this revised edition the author has updated all important aspects of the text; he has also added a table of analyses with a short commentary at the end of the book. Buy from Amazon.com

Architecture of the Islamic World This book is a thorough introduction that never just stays on the surface of the matter. It answers a lot of questions like "Why it was built like it was built?" In the back part of the book you find plans and short descriptions of the most important buildings, you find a lot of good photographs and even better articles on single subjects like materials or building techniques.

Alhambra In this book the author Michael Jacobs details the history of this spectacular monument-the stories of the ruling families who lived in the palaces, The capturing and recapturing of this region in Spain, and the myths that surround the Alhambra. Evocative photographs by Francisco Fernandez lead readers on a virtual journey through the various palaces, government and military buildings, mosques, baths, courtyards, and beautiful gardens that make up this mythical place.

Architecture of the Contemporary Mosque Architecture of the Contemporary Mosque Edited by Ismaïl Serageldin with James Steele. No other building is so charged with symbolism, so hemmed in by established architectural convention, and so likely to be scrutinised by friends and critics alike. From this appraisal of the complex and challenging subject of the architecture of the contemporary mosque, Ismaïl Serageldin, James Steele and many specialist contributors, proceed to offer a valuable insight into the development of this building type over the last three decades. In his introductory essays Ismaïl Serageldin provides an historical background and explanation of the development of the mosque, its constructive form, constituent parts, and place in the Muslim city.

Early Islamic Art, 650–1100 Constructing the Study of Islamic Art, Volume I Early Islamic Art, 650–1100 is the first in a set of four volumes of studies by Oleg Grabar. It concentrates primarily on documents provided by archaeology understood in its widest sense, including the study of texts with reference to monuments or to the contexts of these monuments. The articles included represent major contributions to the understanding of the formative centuries of Islamic art, focusing on the Umayyad (661–750) and Fatimid (969–1171) dynasties in greater Syria and in Egypt, and on the Mediterranean or Iranian antecedents of early Islamic art. Contents: Preface; Introduction.

Turks : A Journey of a Thousand Years, 600-1600 (Hardcover) This magnificent book accompanies a spectacular exhibition devoted to the artistic and cultural riches of the Turkic-speaking peoples. Essays by leading scholars trace Turkic history and cultural development, while works of art ranging from painting and sculpture to textiles, metalwork, and ceramics reflect the artistic influences that the Turks assimilated, from their early nomadic wanderings to the glories produced during the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent. The book takes the reader on a breathtaking journey from the eastern border of modern China to the Balkans in the west.

Illustrated with more than 500 works, Turks is a landmark publication. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the turbulent but vivid history of the Turkic-speaking peoples. AUTHOR BIO: Filiz Çagman is director of the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul. Nazan Ölçer is director of the Sakip Sabanci Museum, Istanbul. David Roxburgh is a professor of Islamic art at Harvard University.

Turkish Designs (Paperback) This book contains stunning images for use as a graphic resource, or inspiration. All the illustrations are stored in high-resolution format on the enclosed free CD-ROM and are ready to use for professional quality printed media and web page design. The pictures can also be used to produce postcards, or to decorate your letters, flyers, etc. They can be imported directly from the CD into most design, image- manipulation, illustration, word-processing and e-mail programs; no installation is required. For most applications, single images can be used free of charge. Please consult the introduction to this book, or visit our website for conditions.

Iznik: The Artistry of Ottoman Ceramics (Hardcover) Walter B. Denny, Professor of Art History at the University of Massachusetts, offers new perspectives on one of the most popular Islamic art forms. Covering both Iznik pièces de forme and the famous Iznik tiles that decorate Ottoman imperial monuments, the book integrates the entire spectrum of Iznik production, both titles and wares, with the broader artistic tradition in which it originated.
 

Professor Denny begins with a discussion of the particular nature of Islamic art under the Ottomans. He then examines the relationship between the court style of Istanbul and the ceramic ateliers in Iznik in nearby Bithynia, and the crucial role of two styles—dubbed by the author the "enchanted forest" and "heavenly garden" (the saz and aux quartre fleurs styles)—and their creators, Shah Kulu and Kara Memi. Finally, he covers Iznik works with human or animal imagery, the patronage of non-Muslim communities within the Ottoman Empire, and the chronicle of destruction and damage of tiled monuments due to war, earthquake, and fire. The book ends with a look at the extraordinary historical legacy of Iznik ceramics, from early imitations in the Ottoman Empire and Europe to the astonishing appearance of ceramics in the Iznik style created by European studio potters in the nineteenth century.
 

The first study of Iznik ceramics to combine these different thematic elements, the book reflects Professor Denny's ambition, almost thirty-five years after completing his doctoral dissertation on Iznik tiles and after well over a dozen publications on the subject, to create a comprehensive overview of this beautiful and popular art form. 250 illustrations, 230 in color.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
In the eleventh century, in Persia, there lived a mathematician named Ghiyathuddin Abulfath Omar bin Ibrahim al-Khayyami--or, Omar, son of Abraham, the tent-maker. Omar wrote poetry, and while his rhymes received little attention in their day, they were rediscovered and translated into beautiful English--more than seven centuries later--by a gentleman and scholar named Edward FitzGerald. It was a meeting of minds, a great collaboration of the past and the present, and FitzGerald's rendition of those passionate verses has become one of the best loved poem cycles in the English language.

With their concern for the here and now, as opposed to the hereafter, Omar Khayyam's quatrains are as romantic today as they were hundreds of years ago; they are a tribute to the power of one moment's pleasure over a lifetime of sorrow, of desire over the vicissitudes of time. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, presented here with Edward FitzGerald's original preface, is truly a classic, and it will stand forever as one of our finest monuments to love.

Looking for older Book Reviews?  Check the following sections; Authors, Art & Architecture, Calligraphy, Islam, Glassware, Metalwork.
 

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Looking for older Book Reviews?  Check the following sections; Authors, Art & Architecture, Calligraphy, Islam, Glassware, Metalwork.

Gardens, Landscape, and Vision in the Palaces of Islamic Spain The Gardens, Landscape, and Vision in the Palaces of Islamic Spain offers a new interpretation of the history of gardens in Spain during the period of Islamic rule from the eighth through the fifteenth centuries. Islamic gardens, with their cultivated garden beds and water channels, are traditionally regarded as an early reflection of paradise, which the Koran describes as a "garden watered by four streams." However, D. Fairchild Ruggles argues that the early palace garden was primarily an environmental, economic & political construct, & that paradisiacal symbolism did not develop until gardens acquired tombs. Buy Now

Glass From Islamic Lands: The al-Sabah Collection - Written By : Stefano Carboni : Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah - U.S. publications - glass from Islamic countries, Part of the al-Sabah Islamic art collection at the Kuwait National Museum, the hundreds of pieces in Glass from Islamic Lands date from the sixth to the 19th century, originated primarily in the Middle East and Asia and had been exported all over the world before the al-Sabah family assembled them. Stefano Carboni, associate curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has arranged the work chronologically, with 345 color and b&w photographs of lovely glasswork. This catalogue is one of the few U.S. publications devoted to glass from Islamic countries. Buy Now

Arabic Calligraphy : Nasikh style for beginners Naskh is among the most popular of the six major Arabic scripts, used in Quran than all other scripts combined. Its origins can be traced back to the late-8th century AD and it is still in use today. The easy to follow, self-study workbook Arabic Calligraphy makes it possible for you to learn and enjoy the beauty of this noble art. The first stroke by stroke guide for learning Arabic calligraphy, it progresses from the initial, medial, and final forms of Arabic letters to joined letters and on to complete words. Guidelines also help you determine which pens, ink, and writing angle to use for best results. Buy Now

Arabic Script : Styles, Variants, and Calligraphic Adaptations The author of previous books on Islamic history and a calligrapher and engraver himself, Khan begins this study of Arabic script by sketching the development of the Arabic alphabet and the various scripts in which it has been written. The first half of the book is then devoted to the treatment of individual letters whose shapes vary depending on the letter's position within a word. As many as 33 different styles, or scripts, are illustrated for each letter. The letter's pronunciation is given in cursory fashion, and its vocal value in reciting the Koran is defined in rather technical terms (some of which are explained in the glossary). Buy Now