Review by Choice Review
Grabar (emer., Princeton) is a well-known historian, archaeologist, scholar, and professor of the arts and culture of Islam. His previous books include The Dome of the Rock (CH, Apr'07, 44-4278), Mostly Miniatures (CH, Jul'01, 38-5967), and The Shape of the Holy (CH, Jun'97, 34-5872). The selection of paintings, chosen from Arabic and Iranian books dating from the 8th to the 17th centuries, reflects the author's depth of knowledge and expertise. Included are 200 full-color illustrations. A major change of subject and style in manuscript and album painting occurred after the 17th century. Following a foreword, the volume is divided into three parts titled "A Thousand Years of Images," "Invitations to Reverie and Reflection of Reality," and "The World of Images." This splendid book is a good read. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above. C. Kane formerly, New York School of Interior Design
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Grabar (Islamic art & architecture, emeritus, Inst. for Advanced Study; The Dome of the Rock) has here chosen 100 illuminated manuscripts for their beauty and for their reflection of Islamic culture. In his introduction, he places them into temporal, geographical, cultural, and religious contexts and explains why certain eras produced figural imagery and others did not. Each featured manuscript is accompanied by a full page, full-color illustration and a short textual description; the majority date from 16th-century Iran. This well-illustrated overview (with 200 color images) includes a minimal amount of text; the full-page images in this large-format book are truly striking. With a table of illustrations, an index that also provides definitions of some of the indexed terms, and a short bibliography. Verdict This is a good choice for high school-aged readers and up who are interested in illustrated manuscripts from the Middle East.-Nancy J. Mactague, Aurora Univ. Lib., IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
