Product Description

This richly illustrated book provides an unsurpassed overview of Islamic art and architecture from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries, a time of the formation of a new artistic culture and its first, medieval, flowering in the vast area from the Atlantic to India. Inspired by Ettinghausen and Grabar's original text, this book has been completely rewritten and updated to take into account recent information and methodological advances. The volume focuses special attention on the development of numerous regional centers of art in Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as the western and northeastern provinces of Iran. It traces the cultural and artistic evolution of such centers in the seminal early Islamic period and examines the wealth of different ways of creating a beautiful environment. The book approaches the arts with new classifications of architecture and architectural decoration, the art of the object, and the art of the book. With many new illustrations, often in color, this volume broadens the picture of Islamic artistic production and discusses objects in a wide range of media, including textiles, ceramics, metal, and wood. The book incorporates extensive accounts of the cultural contexts of the arts and defines the originality of each period. A final chapter explores the impact of Islamic art on the creativity of non-Muslims within the Islamic realm and in areas surrounding the Muslim world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1382408 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

From Publishers Weekly
From the Dome of the Rock to a pair of gold earrings, all manner of art is explored in a new edition of Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250, which surveys works from Spain, Northern Africa and the Middle East. With new illustrations and an expanded text by the late New York University Institute of Fine Arts professor Richard Ettinghausen, Princeton University Institute for Advanced Studies history professor Oleg Grabar and Metropolitan Museum of Art Islamic art curator Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, the book traces the growth of art centers in Muslim lands and examines buildings, textiles, books, ceramics and other forms.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This is the second edition of what is probably the standard reference work on Islamic art and architecture, originally written by two of the most eminent scholars in the field and published in the "Pelican" series as The Art and Architecture of Islam, 650-1250. Owing to Ettinghausen's untimely death, the sections on art were reorganized and rewritten by Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, research curator of Islamic art at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Oleg Grabar rewrote his chapters on Islamic architecture. This edition divides the period into two sections: Early Islamic art, c.650 to c.1000, and Medieval Islamic art, c.1000 to c.1250. Within these divisions, there are three geographic subdivisions Central, Eastern, and Western which are further subdivided into the categories of architecture and architectural decoration, art of the object (as opposed to decorative arts), and art of the book. In the later period, there are some interesting sections on Saljuqs, Artuqids, Zangids, and Ayyubids in Iraq, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. It is difficult to do justice to this magnificent volume in a short review. It is an authoritative, highly readable, and beautifully produced work that should please specialists and educated readers alike. The photographs are plentiful and clearly reproduced, and many architectural drawings and plans illuminate the topic under discussion. The bibliography and index to the bibliography are very helpful, and notes appear at the end of the book. Highly recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Martin Chasin, Adult Inst., Bridgeport, CT
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
[P]robably the standard reference work on Islamic art and architecture…[A]n authoritative, highly readable, and beautifully produced work. -- Library Journal

Customer Reviews

Islamic Art
This book contains the 'nut shell' of Islamic Art and Architecture. There are some plans, and many color photographs. Each project is accompanied by text explaining it and it's cultural significance. For someone who has an interest in the geometries and forms of Islamic Art this book was worth it.