Islamic Art and Visual Culture

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

Introduction 1

1 Foundations: Religious, Political, Juridical, and Administrative Documents from Early Islam and Places in Transition 6

2 Behavior, Gifts, Treasuries, and Collections 11

3 Art 23

Workshops, Guilds, and Crafts in General 23

Calligraphy and Scribes 31

Painting 50

Textiles 57

Ceramics, Glass, Ivory, and Other Media 66

Geometry, Aesthetics 74

4 Space: Architecture and Urbanism 78

Architectural Technique 79

Architectural Types and Elements 84

Urbanism and Land 91

5 Places 96

Pre-Islamic 96

Syria, Jordan, and Environs 99

Iraq 105

Al-Andalus 112

The Maghreb, Africa, and Sicily 119

Egypt 125

Turkey and the Ottoman Empire 135

Iran and Central Asia 149

South Asia 162

East Asia 175

Acknowledgments 177

Index 183

"Recommended. Lower-and upper-level undergraduates; general readers." (Choice, 1 October 2011)
D. Fairchild Ruggles is Professor of Landscape, Art, and Architectural History at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her first book, Gardens, Landscape, and Vision in the Palaces of Islamic Spain (2000), won the Eleanor Tufts Award from the American Society for Hispanic Art Historical Studies. Her most recent book is Islamic Gardens and Landscapes (2008), which won the J.B. Jackson Prize from the Foundation for Landscape Studies. Her edited and co-edited books include Women, Patronage and Self-Representation in Islamic Societies (2000), Cultural Heritage and Human Rights (2007), Sites Unseen: Landscape and Vision (2007), and Intangible Heritage Embodied (2009). Islamic Art and Visual Culture is a collection of primary sources in translation that serve as evidence for visual and cultural history. These essential translations are taken from sources as diverse as the Qur'an, court chronicles, letters, technical treatises on calligraphy and painting, imperial memoirs, endowment deeds, legal judgments, foreign travel accounts, and city management manuals. Clear and concise explanatory essays situate each text and explain the circumstances in which it was written -- the date, place, author, and political conditions -- and each object, building, and site is described. The perfect tool for teachers and students of art and visual culture, this powerful and varied collection provides a vivid window into Islamic visual culture and society.