Islamic Metalwork

Whether destined for a sultan's palace or provincial household, a vast array of functional and often luxurious metal vessels and utensils have been produced throughout the Islamic world. Although not primarily religious objects, they were traditionally made with the same skill and imagination, and their designs and decoration reflect the strong cultural influence of Islam which extended from Spain and North Africa in the west to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent in the east.

The material and visual culture of the Islamic World casts vast arcs through space and time, and encompasses a huge range of artefacts and monuments from the minute to the grandiose, from ceramic pots to the great mosques. Here, Venetia Porter and Mariam Rosser-Owen assemble leading experts in the field to examine both the objects themselves and the ways in which they reflect their historical, cultural and economic contexts. With a focus on metalwork, this volume includes an important new study of Mosul metalwork and presents recent discoveries in the fields of Fatimid, Mamluk and Qajar metalwork. By examining architecture, ceramics, ivories and textiles, seventeenth-century Iranian painting and contemporary art, the book explores a wide range of artistic production and historical periods from the Umayyad caliphate to the modern Middle East. This rich and detailed volume makes a significant contribution to the fields of Art History, Architecture and Islamic Studies, bringing new objects to light, and shedding new light on old objects.

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.

Examines the socio-cultural history of the regions where Islam took hold between the 7th and 16th century. This two-volume work contains 700 alphabetically arranged entries, and provides a portrait of Islamic civilization. It is of use in understanding the roots of Islamic society as well to explore the culture of medieval civilization.

The Aron Collection of Islamic Metalwork has been built over many years of research. The present catalogue, which follows the first one curated by James W. Allan in 1986, illustrates a selection of objects from the collection. It studies the main regional schools that flourished in this expression of Islamic art, in particular in the areas of Iran and Central Asia, through specimens representing the breadth of their production. The items date mainly to the Medieval era, between the 9th and the 14th centuries, but include later works too. A journey to discover an extremely technical and complex art, sometimes a real exercise in virtuosity, and one that is ultimately fascinating and sophisticated. Islamic metalwork has been deeply admired for centuries also in the Western world, providing a source of inspiration. The different shapes, uses and manufactures of the pieces in the collection offer a good overview of the main artistic streams in the metalworking art and open a window on the luxuries of the princely courts as well as on the everyday life of parts of Muslim society. They offer up a largely unknown vision of Islam.

Following the tradition and style of the acclaimed Index Islamicus, the editors have created this new Bibliography of Art and Architecture in the Islamic World. The editors have surveyed and annotated a wide range of books and articles from collected volumes and journals published in all European languages (except Turkish) between 1906 and 2011. This comprehensive bibliography is an indispensable tool for everyone involved in the study of material culture in Muslim societies.