Islamic Art and Visual Culture is a collection of primary sources in translation accompanied by clear and concise introductory essays that provide unique insights into the aesthetic and cultural history of one of the world's major religions. - Collects essential translations from sources as diverse as the Qur'an, court chronicles, technical treatises on calligraphy and painting, imperial memoirs, and foreign travel accounts
- Includes clear and concise introductory essays
- Situates each text and explains the circumstances in which it was written--the date, place, author, and political conditions
- Provides a vivid window into Islamic visual culture and society
- An indispensable tool for teachers and students of art and visual culture
Table of Contents:
Introduction. 1 Foundations: Religious, Political, Juridical, and Administrative Documents from Early Islam and Places in Transition.
1.1 The Qur'an: On Paradise.
1.2 The Qur'an: On the Qibla.
1.3 The Hadith: On Waqf.
1.4 Ibn cAsakir: The Pact of cUmar.
2 Behavior, Gifts, Treasuries, and Collections.
2.1 Kitab al-hadaya wa al-tuhaf: A Description of Wedding Gifts.
2.2 Al-Muqaddasi: A Description of the Shiraz Library.
2.3 Kutadgu Bilig: A "Mirror for Princes"on the Qualifications of a Gatekeeper and the Etiquette for Feasts.
2.4 Kitab al-hadaya wa al-tuhaf: On the Looting of the Fatimid Treasury.
2.5 Al-Ghazali: On the Magnanimity of Kings.
2.6 Ibn Khaldun: On the Emblems of Sovereignty.
2.7 Safiye: Letter to Queen Elizabeth I.
2.8 Tavernier: On the Ottoman Mosaic Collection.
3 Art.
Workshops, Guilds, and Crafts in General.
3.1 The Ikhwan al-Safa': On the Education of Craftsmen.
3.2 Clavijo: On Timurid Trade with China.
3.3 Ahmad Ibn cArabshah: On Timur's Seizure and Relocation of Artisans.
3.4 Khwandamir: On Guilds and an Extraordinary Work of Glass.
3.5 A Report from a Book Workshop.
3.6 Bernier: On Artisans in Delhi.
Calligraphy and Scribes.
3.7 Ibn Qutayba: On the Education of a Scribe.
3.8 Ibn al-Nadim: On the Transmission and Authorization of Books.
3.9 Al-Ghazali: On Pens and Secretaries.
3.10 Rashid al-Din: On His Atelier Endowment.
3.11 Simi Nishapuri: A Treatise on Papers, Color, and Ink.
3.12 Mawlana Sultan-cAli: A Treatise on Writing.
3.13 Khwandamir: A Biographical Sketch of a Timurid Calligrapher.
3.14 Calligraphy Sample Sheet.
3.15 Qadi Ahmad: On the Invention of the Pen.
Painting.
3.16 Sadiqi Beg: A Treatise on Painting.
3.17 Abu'l-Fazl cAllami: On Painting the Human Figure.
3.18 Jahangir: A Painting of a Flying Rodent and a Portrait Gallery.
3.19 Evliya Celebi: An Account of Manuscript Defacement.
Textiles.
3.20 Al-Bayhaqi: On Tiraz-stamped Paper and Textiles.
3.21 Al-Mascudi: On the Patronage of Textiles.
3.22 An Egyptian Tiraz Inscription.
3.23 Narshakhi: On Bukhara's Cloth.
3.24 Ibn al-Balkhi: On Linen Manufacture.
3.25 A Geniza Letter Regarding Trade and Market Prices.
Ceramics, Glass, Ivory, and Other Media.
3.26 Abu al-Qasim: On Ceramic Luster and Gilding.
3.27 Ibn Battuta: On Chinese Porcelain.
3.28 Mosque Lamp with Blazon.
3.29 Clavijo: On Timurid Emblems.
3.30 Clavijo: A Golden Tree.
3.31 Four Coins.
3.32 Jahangir Strikes a New Kind of Coin.
Geometry, Aesthetics.
3.33 Ibn Hazm: On Vision.
3.34 Ibn al-Haytham: On Vision.
4 Space: Architecture and Urbanism.
4.1 cAbd al-Rahman III: On Architecture and Immortality.
Architectural Technique.
4.2 Ibn Khaldun: On Mudbrick and Stucco.
4.3 Abu'l-Fazl cAllami: On Building Materials and Technique.
4.4 Cacfar Efendi: On Names of Colors and Marbles.
Architectural Types and Elements.
4.5 Al-Bukhari: A Hadith on the First Minbar.
4.6 Ibn Khaldun: On the Adoption of the Maqsura.
4.7 Al-Maqrizi: The Dar al-imara of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun.
4.8 Badi al-Zaman al-Hamadani: A Bathhouse Visit.
4.9 Al-Wansharisi Answers a Query about Qibla.
4.10 Abu'l-Fazl: On Illumination and Candlesticks.
Urbanism and Land.
4.11 Hilal al-Sabi': Estimating the Number of Bathhouses in Baghdad.
4.12 Ibn cAbdun: A Hisba Manual for Seville.
4.13 Ibn Khaldun: On the Role of the Market Supervisor.
4.14 Al-Wansharisi Answers a Query about Waqf Violation.
5 Places.
Pre-Islamic.
5.1 The Qur'an: Bilqis and the Glass Floor.
The Arabian Peninsula.
5.2 Nasir-i Khusraw: A Description of the Kaaba.
5.3 Ibn Jubayr: A Description of the Mosaics in the Medina Mosque.
Syria, Jordan, and Environs.
5.4 Dome of the Rock Inscriptions.
5.5 Al-Yacqubi: On the Dome of the Rock as a Pilgrimage Site.
5.6 Al-Baladhuri: How the Muslim Community Obtained the Site for the Mosque of Damascus.
5.7 Ibn Shaddad: On Rusafa.
5.8 Ibn Jubayr: A Description of Aleppo's Citadel.
Iraq.
5.9 Al-Baladhuri: On the Founding of Kufa.
5.10 Al-Mascudi: On the Founding of Samarra.
5.11 Kitab al-hadaya wa al-tuhaf: A Reception of Byzantine Ambassadors in Baghdad.
Al-Andalus.
5.12 Ibn cIdhari: On the Mosque of Cordoba.
5.13 Signatures of Stone Masons in the Mosque of Cordoba.
5.14 cAbd al-Rahman I: Ode to a Palm Tree.
5.15 Ibn Ghalib: On the Construction of Madinat al-Zahra'.
5.16 Al-Maqqari: A Description of a Glass Pavilion in Toledo.
5.17 Navagero: On the Alhambra.
The Maghreb, Africa, and Sicily.
5.18 Ziza Palace Inscriptions.
5.19 Ibn Naji al-Tanukhi: The Mihrab of the Great Mosque of Kairouan.
5.20 Al-Muqaddasi: A Description of Sabra al-Mansuriyya.
5.21 Ibn Marzuq: On Merinid Madrasas and Zawiyas.
5.22 Ibn Marzuq: On Merinid Bridges and Fountains.
5.23 cAbd Salam Shabeni: A Description of Timbuktu.
Egypt.
5.24 Mufaddal ibn Abi al-Fada'il: On the Fatimid Processions to the Four Mosques.
5.25 Nasir-i Khusraw: A Description of the Fatimid Palace in Cairo.
5.26 Ibn Battuta: A Description of Cairo's Cemeteries.
5.27 Al-Maqrizi: On the Foundation of the Madrasa-Mausoleum of Sultan Salih Nejm al-Din Ayyub.
5.28 Baybars al-Jashankir's Waqfiyya.
5.29 Al-Maqrizi: On the Organization of the Sultan Qala'un Hospital in Cairo.
5.30 Inscription on the Facade of the Madrasa-Mausoleum of Sultan Qala'un.
5.31 Al-Maqrizi: A Description of the Madrasa al-Nasiriya's Gothic Portal.
Turkey and the Ottoman Empire.
5.32 Ibn Battuta: On a Church Conversion in Bursa.
5.33 Evliya Celebi: A Description of the Ulu Cami in Bursa.
5.34 Kritovoulos: On the Ottoman Conquest and Reconstruction of Istanbul.
5.35 The Inscription on the Imperial Gate of the Topkapı Palace.
5.36 Evliya Celebi: A Description of the Topkapı Palace.
5.37 Sinan: On Building the Selimiye Mosque.
5.38 Hafiz H'useyin al-Ayvansarayi: A Description of the S'uleymaniye Mosque.
5.39 Mustafa b. Ahmed cAli: On Building with Booty.
5.40 Tavernier: A Description of the Topkapı Diwan.
5.41 Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: Harem Visits.
Iran and Central Asia.
5.42 Narshakhi: On the Images on the Doors of the Bukhara Mosque.
5.43 Inscription on the Gunbad-i Qabus.
5.44 Abu cAmr al-Juzjani: A Description of the Ghurid Palace in Firuz-Kuh.
5.45 Babur: A Description of Samarkand.
5.46 Babur: On the Construction of the Bagh-i Wafa.
5.47 Clavijo: A Description of the Aq Saray near Samarkand.
5.48 Sharaf al-Din cAli Yazdi: A Description of the Dilgusha Garden.
5.49 Junabadi: A Description of Isfahan.
5.50 Iskandar Beg Munshi: A Description of the Masjid-i Shah in Isfahan.
5.51 Olearius: A Description of Uljaytu's Tomb in Sultaniyya.
South Asia.
5.52 Ibn Battuta: A Description of Delhi and the Qutb Minar.
5.53 Firuz Shah: On Architectural Restoration.
5.54 The Tarikh-i Da'udi: On the Destruction of Hindu Idols.
5.55 Babur Plans a Garden in Agra.
5.56 Gulbadan Begam: On Building Projects in Agra and Dholpur.
5.57 Nizam al-Din Ahmad Haravi: On the Foundation of Fatehpur-Sikri.
5.58 cInayat Khan: On the Building of the Diwan-i Amm in the Agra Fort.
5.59 cInayat Khan: On the Construction of the Taj Mahal.
5.60 cInayat Khan: On Water Problems at the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore.
5.61 Francois Bernier: A Description of Shahjahanabad.
5.62 Thevenot: A Description of Aurangzeb’s Birthday Celebration.
East Asia.
5.63 Ibn Battuta: On Caravanserais and Mosques in China.
Acknowledgments.
Index.
