Palace and Mosque
Islamic Art from the Middle East
Published on 6. September 2004
Book
Hardback
144 pages
978-1-85177-430-2 (ISBN)
Description
The arts of Islam, a great and ancient culture, are presented here in all their astonishing richness and diversity, through the V&A's magnificent collections. From the Middle East came the earliest astrological clocks, the finest ceramics and lustreware, the development of calligraphy and Arabic scripts, and the intricate skills of carpet-weaving, among many other profoundly significant cultural developments. This cradle of empires was also a vibrant commercial centre, exporting raw materials, skills and techniques to surrounding lands, and spreading its web of influence from Southern Spain to Northern India. This book skilfully traces the main currents of Islamic art, focusing in detail on some of its great masterpieces and the technical skill that created them, illustrated with fine examples from the collections of the V&A. In doing so, it distills a rich and vibrant culture, and will be of lasting value to all those interested in the glories of the Islamic world.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
V & A Publishing
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
170 colour illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 277 mm
Width: 224 mm
Weight
924 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-85177-430-2 (9781851774302)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Tim Stanley is Senior Curator of the Middle Eastern collections at the V&A with particular interest in the field of Islamic art. He first visited the Middle East thirty years ago and he subsequently trained as a historian of the Ottoman empire at the universities of Manchester, Istanbul, Oxford and Sofia. Work on illuminated Ottoman documents introduced him to the field of Islamic Art and he has worked as an editor, curator and writer on many aspects of the subject, especially the history of manuscripts and Islamic lacquer. He is co-author of Lacquer of the Islamic Lands (1996) and The Decorated Word (1999).