Islamic Art in Detail - Hardcover

Canby, Sheila R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674023900 ISBN 13: 9780674023901

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2006

Synopsis

How do we know Islamic art? What tells us that images and artifacts are products of the Muslim world, a culture that has historically extended from Spain to Southeast Asia and spanned a period from A.D. 622 to our day? This exquisitely and extensively illustrated book allows readers to identify those elements and themes that define art forms as Islamic, and to examine them in works of painting and metalwork, in calligraphy and manuscripts, ceramics, glass, wood, and ivory comprising one of the most imposing collections of arts from across the Muslim world.

Arranged thematically--in chapters focusing on religion and belief, the supernatural and natural worlds, feasting, the hunt, war, music, and power--Islamic Art in Detail provides a much-needed cultural context for these widely varied works while pointing out exceptional features. In its exploration of selected works, the book juxtaposes images of each object with enlarged details--details that might otherwise be virtually invisible to the naked eye--affording surprising comparisons between seemingly unrelated pieces and offering a rare multifaceted view of the art, technique, and iconography of some of the Islamic world's most beautiful images and artifacts.

About this title

About the Author:

Sheila R. Canby is Patti Cadby Birch Curator of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is author of Persian Painting; Princes, Poets and Paladins; and The Golden Age of Persian Art: 1501–1722; and coauthor of Persian Love Poetry.

Review:

Readers looking for a beautifully produced and engagingly written thematic guide to Islamic iconography will be delighted with Sheila Canby’s Islamic Art in Detail. In addition to the volume’s abundant photo reproductions, all in superbly accurate color, one of its strong points is its inclusive coverage of visual media in nearly every material but fabric and wood—both notoriously fragile. Ceramics, manuscript painting and calligraphy, enameled glass, ivory—even a piece of Central Asian or Chinese jade—make up the repertoire, with spectacular metalwork providing the largest single category of visual data. (John Renard Religion and the Arts 2007-12-01)

As assistant keeper of the Islamic collections in the British Museum, Sheila R. Canby knows her Islamic art. This exquisitely illustrated collection, awash in brilliant colour, was created as a guide to the elements and themes that define the art of Islam. Spanning a period from 622 AD, on, in a culture that has extended from Spain to southern Asia, this lovely book provides much-needed cultural context for identifying--and appreciating--the widely varied art of Islam. (Globe and Mail)

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0674023900
• ISBN 13: 9780674023901
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 144