The Diez Albums

The five Diez albums in Berlin are an important source for the study of Ilkhanid, Jalayirid, and Timurid art. The 21 essays of this book contribute to deepening our understanding of the development of Persianate art and its perception in later times.

Robert B. Mason, 'New Looks at Old Pots: Results of Recent Multidisciplinary Studies of Glazed Ceramics from the Islamic World.' Edward J. Keall, 'Forerunners of Umayyad Art: Sculptural Stone from the Hadramawt.' Avinoam Shalem, 'From Royal Caskets to Relic Containers: Two Ivory Caskets from Burgos and Madrid.' Ethel Sara Wolper, 'The Politics of Patronage: Political Change and the Construction of Dervish Lodges in Sivas.' Robert Ousterhout, 'Ethnic Identity and Cultural Appropriation in Early Ottoman Architecture.' Günkut Akin, 'The Müezzin Mahfili and Pool of the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne.' Derin Terzioğlu, 'The Imperial Circumcision Festival of 1582: An Interpretation.' Serpil Bağci, 'A New Theme of the Shirazi Frontispiece Miniatures: The Divān of Solomon.' David J. Roxburgh, 'Heinrich Friedrich von Diez and His Eponymous Albums: Mss. Diez A. Fols. 70-74.' Lisa Golombek, 'The Gardens of Timur: New Perspectives.' I.I. Notkin, 'Decoding Sixteenth-Century Muqarnas Drawings.'

The Mongols’ Middle East: Continuity and Transformation in Ilkhanid Iran offers a collection of academic articles that investigate different aspects of Mongol rule in 13th- and 14th-century Iran, with a particular focus in the Ilkhanate's interactions with its immediate neighbours in the Middle East.

New Approaches to Ilkhanid History examines moves the study of the Ilkhanate beyond the court of the Ilkhan as well as considers new source material.

The Mongol invasion in the thirteenth century marked a new phase in the development of Islamic art. Trans-Eurasian exchanges of goods, people and ideas were encouraged on a large scale under the auspices of the Pax Mongolica. With the fascination of portable objects brought from China and Central Asia, a distinctive, hitherto unknown style - Islamic chinoiserie - was born in the art of Iran.Highly illustrated, Islamic Chinoiserie offers a fascinating glimpse into the artistic interaction between Iran and China under the Mongols. By using rich visual materials from various media of decorative and pictorial arts - textiles, ceramics, metalwork and manuscript painting - the book illustrates the process of adoption and adaptation of Chinese themes in the art of Mongol-ruled Iran in a visually compelling way. The observation of this unique artistic phenomenon serves to promote the understanding of the artistic diversity of Islamic art in the Middle Ages.Key Features*Covers various media of decorative and pictorial arts from Iran, Central Asia and China*Deals with a diverse range of issues related to the East-West artistic relationship in the Middle Ages*Features in-depth studies of style, technique and iconography in Iranian art under the Mongols*Includes 125 illustrations, 24 in colour

This groundbreaking book examines portable art collections assembled in the courts of Greater Iran in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Made for members of the royal families or ruling elites, albums were created to preserve and display art, yet they were conceptualized in different ways. David Roxburgh, a leading expert on Persian albums and the art of the book, discusses this diversity and demonstrates convincingly that to look at the practice of album making is to open a vista to a culture of thought about the Persian art tradition. The book considers the album’s formal and physical properties, assembly, and content, as well as the viewer’s experience. Focusing on seven albums created during the Timurid and Safavid dynasties, Roxburgh reconstructs the history and development of this codex form and uses the works of art to explore notions of how art and aesthetics were conceived in Persian court culture. Generously illustrated with over 175 images, many rare and previously unpublished, the book offers a range of new insights into Persian visual culture as well as Islamic art history.

Komaroff (curator of Islamic Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and Carboni (curator of Islamic Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art) produced this fine catalog to accompany a major show of Ilkhanid (as the Mongol dynasty was called after conversion to Islam) art exhibited at the authors' museums in New York and Los Angeles in 2002-2003. Most of the manuscripts, metalwork, textiles, ceramics, and other finely decorated objects were created in Iran. Many objects are also included from the Yuan Dynasty in China, during which the Mongols ruled. Eight full-length essays are built around the objects of the exhibition and other works, all depicted in color. The essays describe the history, culture, courtly life, artistic exchanges, religious art, arts of the book, and creation of a new visual language. Distributed by Yale U. Press. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR