Search

The Qur'an makes rich references to light, tying it to revelation, and light consequently permeates the culture and visual arts of the Islamic lands. This book explores the integral role of light in Islamic civilization across a wide range of media, from the Qur'an and literature to buildings, paintings, performances, photography, and other works produced over the past 14 centuries. A team of international experts conveys current scholarship on Islamic art in a manner that is engaging and accessible to the general reader. The objects discussed include some of the first identifiable works of Islamic art-modest oil lamps inscribed in Arabic, which developed into elaborately decorated metal and glass lamps and chandeliers. Later, photography, which creates images with light, was readily adopted in Islamic lands, and it continues to provide inspiration for contemporary artists. Generously illustrated with specially commissioned, sumptuous color photographs, this book shows the potential of light to reveal color, form, and meaning., Includes bibliographical references and index., The Qur'an makes rich references to light, tying it to revelation, and light consequently permeates the culture and visual arts of the Islamic lands. This book explores the integral role of light in Islamic civilization across a wide range of media, from the Qur'an and literature to buildings, paintings, performances, photography, and other works produced over the past 14 centuries. A team of international experts conveys current scholarship on Islamic art in a manner that is engaging and accessible to the general reader. The objects discussed include some of the first identifiable works of Islamic art-modest oil lamps inscribed in Arabic, which developed into elaborately decorated metal and glass lamps and chandeliers. Later, photography, which creates images with light, was readily adopted in Islamic lands, and it continues to provide inspiration for contemporary artists. Generously illustrated with specially commissioned, sumptuous color photographs, this book shows the potential of light to reveal color, form, and meaning.

Includes bibliographical references and index., I.M. Pei and the Challenge of the Modern -- The Galleries of the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha -- Twenty Leaves from the Tashkent Koran -- Three Stucco Panels from Samarra -- Two Capitals from Madinat-al-Zahraʾ -- The Most Authoritative Copy of ʻAbd al-Rahman al-Sufi's Guide to the Constellations -- Three Ceramic Vessels from Medieval Islamic Times -- The Biography of a Thirteenth-century Brass Ewer from Mosul -- A Mamluk Enameled Bucket and Experiments in Glass Productions -- Seven Woven Silk Tent Panels from the Mongol Period -- An Early Anatolian Animal Carpet and Related Examples -- An Ottoman Murakkaa and the Birth of the International Style -- Five Folios from the Jahangir Album -- Six Seventeenth-Century Oil Painting from Safavid Persia.