The material culture of the Islamic world, from Spain to Indonesia, North Africa to the Steppes, is richly varied, taking in architectural projects on a vast scale and minutely detailed miniature paintings, exquisitely patterned silk textiles and bold yet sophisticated calligraphy. Now the spectacular format of Islamic Art and Culture: Timeline and History allows the reader to view the magnificent sweep of the art of Islam in a unique way. With a continuous timeline chart of the history of the Islamic lands, illustrated with a gallery of color photographs, chapters on the ruling dynasties, and sections devoted to the different art forms, this lavishly illustrated book is a rich celebration of Islamic artistic heritage.
Islamic Art and Culture
Timeline and History
Nasser D. Khalili
186 pp.
Over 800 color illus.
21.5X31.5cm
ISBN 9789774161940
For sale only in the Middle East
$49.95
Related products
The History and Religious Heritage of Old Cairo
Its Fortress, Churches, Synagogue, and Mosque
Edited by Carolyn LudwigMorris Jackson
Photographs by Sherif Sonbol
Just to the south of modern Cairo stands the historic enclave known as Old Cairo, which grew up in and around the Roman fortress of Babylon, and which today hosts a unique collection of monuments that attest to the shared cultural heritage of ancient Egyptians, Christians, Jews, and Muslims. In this lavishly illustrated celebration of a very special place, renowned photographer Sherif Sonbol’s remarkable images of the fortress, churches, synagogue, and mosque illuminate the living fabric of the ancient and medieval stones, while the text describes the history of Old Cairo from the time of the ancient Egyptians and the Romans to the founding of the first Muslim city of al-Fustat, focusing on the Jewish history of the area (exploring the famous Genizah documents found in the Ben Ezra Synagogue that tell so much about everyday life in medieval Egypt), the early Coptic Christian churches, some of the oldest in the world, and the arrival of the Muslims in the seventh century, their establishment of al-Fustat on the edge of Old Cairo, and the building of the oldest mosque in Africa.
...read more
29 April 2013
Hardbound
336 pp.370 color illus.
25X30.5cm
$59.95
Hajj Paintings
Folk Art of the Great Pilgrimage
Ann ParkerAvon Neal
Since the seventh century, the Hajj, or Great Pilgrimage to Mecca, has been a lifelong goal of devout Muslims throughout the world. Egyptian pilgrims traditionally celebrate their sacred journey by commissioning a local artist to depict their religious odyssey on the walls of their homes. Hajj Paintings is the first visual record of the richness and variety of this naive art form. Photographer Ann Parker and writer Avon Neal spent a decade exploring towns, villages, and isolated farm communities along the Nile, across the Delta, down the Red Sea coast, and into Sinai. On the walls of buildings ranging from alabaster factories to mud-brick farmhouses they found brilliant murals illuminated by the desert sun, portraying beloved icons of the pilgrims’ faith and scenes from the Qur’an. Their nearly 150 color photographs and accompanying descriptions record the radiant palette of the mostly self-taught artists.
...read more
1 March 2009
Hardbound
192 pp.130 color illus.
27.5X28cm
$39.95
Against the Wall
The Art of Resistance in Palestine
William ParryThis stunning book of photographs captures the graffiti and art that has transformed Israel’s wall into a living canvas of resistance and solidarity. Featuring the work of artists including Banksy, Ron English, Blu, and others, as well as Palestinian artists and activists, these photographs express outrage, compassion, and touching humor. They illustrate the wall’s toll on lives and livelihoods, showing the hardship it has brought to tens of thousands of people, preventing their access to work, education, and vital medical care. Mixed with the photographs are portraits and vignettes, offering an inspiring account of a people determined to uphold their dignity in the face of profound injustice.
...read more
Paperback
192 pp.120 color photographs
21X26cm
$24.95
Arab Cinema
History and Cultural Identity: Revised and Updated Edition
Viola ShafikSince it was first published in 1998, Viola Shafik’s Arab Cinema: History and Cultural Identity has become an indispensable work for scholars of film and the contemporary Middle East. Combining detailed narrative history—economic, ideological, and aesthetic—with thought-provoking analysis, Arab Cinema provides a comprehensive overview of cinema in the Arab world, tracing the industry’s development from colonial times to the present. It analyzes the ambiguous relationship with commercial western cinema, and the effect of Egyptian market dominance in the region. Tracing the influence on the medium of local and regional art forms and modes of thought, both classical and popular, Shafik shows how indigenous and external factors combine in a dynamic process of “cultural repackaging.” Now updated to reflect cultural shifts in the last two decades, this revised edition contains a new afterword highlighting the latest developments in popular and in art-house filmmaking, with a special focus on Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and the Gulf States. While exploring problematic issues such as European co-production for Arab art films, including their relation to cultural identity and their reception in the region and abroad, this new edition introduces readers to some of the most compelling cinematic works of the last decades.
...read more
5 January 2017
Paperback
320 pp.50 b/w illus.
15X23cm
$24.95