A reissue of this popular title with a fresh new paperback format, this collection of beautiful Persian love poetry is richly illustrated with images from the British Museum s world - famous collection. Love is everywhere in Persian poetry and can be interpreted in various ways: as mystic love, the basis of the relationship between humans and God; as passionate or affectionate love between lovers, husbands and wives, parents and children, family and friends; even as patriotic love for Iran. The literary style and indeed the Persian language itself are floral and elaborate, but the themes differ little from our preoccupations with love and romance today. With a brief introduction to the Persian poetic tradition and a short biographical note about each of the major poets, this beautiful anthology is the perfect way to discover the treasures of Persian literature and art.

An introduction to a previously unpublished major collection of Islamic, Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern art, notable for its exceptional range and breadth from earliest times to the present   The Farjam Collection of Islamic, and Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern art, comprising over 5,000 artworks, is well known in the Middle East and to the cognoscenti but has remained unpublished until now. This two-volume publication comprises over 800 highlights from the collection, introducing it as a major resource for scholars, students, and bibliophiles. Unusual amongst collections of Islamic art, the exceptional range and breadth of this collection includes the arts of the Islamic world from earliest times up to and including the contemporary Middle East. This unique characteristic, represented across the themes of the two volumes, provides an unusual cross-cultural experience demonstrating continuity, dialogue, and influences—from within as well as in between the cultures—throughout centuries. Organized thematically with high-quality photography throughout, the book reflects current trends in the study of Islamic and Contemporary art through essays and entries written by eminent scholars.

Riza-yi 'Abbasi stands with Bihzad as one of the greatest of Iranian artists. As the leading painter at the court of Shah 'Abbas I (1587-1629), Riza often expressed the progressive mood of Safavid Iran in his work. During the early years of 'Abbas's Reign, when the Shah was occupied with the unification of the country, Riza's paintings and drawings depicted the young, the hope of the future state. By the 1620s he had begun to copy drawings by Bihzad, the great Timurud painter, and he continued to produce many portraits of rare insight. Each stage of Riza's development exerted enormous influence; working within the idiom he had popularized, Iranian artists maintained a distinctive style until the end of the seventeenth century, when Western attitudes and practices inundated the traditional art of Iran. "Rebellious Reformer" provides a complete catalog of Riza's work and analyzes the relationship of his life to his stylistic development. All available extant works signed by or attributed to Riza are included.

This expansive book reveals the great diversity and range of art of the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and later South Asia. Published to coincide with the historic reopening of the galleries of the Metropolitan Museum's Islamic Art Department, it presents nearly three hundred masterpieces from one of the finest collections in the world. The works range chronologically from the origins of Islam in the seventh century through the nineteenth century, and geographically from as far west as Spain and Morocco to as far east as India. Outstanding miniature paintings and illuminated manuscripts, ceramics, textiles, carpets, glass, and metalwork reflect the mutual influence of artistic practice in the sacred and secular realms. Many of these beautiful objects display the rich traditions of calligraphy, vegetal ornament (the arabesque), and geometric patterning that distinguish the arts of the Islamic world.With seven informative essays and almost three hundred catalogue entries-supplemented by introductory essays on the collection and its display-this handsome and comprehensive overview will enlighten the specialist and the general reader alike.

Celebrating a major collection of Islamic art, this volume spans the entire history of Islam to bring together items produced throughout the vast region between Andalusia and Mughal India   The Farjam Collection of Islamic, and Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern art, comprising over 5,000 artworks, is well known in the Middle East and to the cognoscenti but has remained unpublished until now. This volume examines around 350 highlights from the collection stretching from the seventh century to the early 1900s, introducing it as a major resource for scholars, students, and bibliophiles. The exceptional breadth of this collection spans the entire history of Islam, bringing together items produced throughout the vast region between Andalusia and Mughal India. Its treasures include Quranic manuscripts, miniatures, and illustrated books on science, mathematics, and poetry, as well as finely decorated metalwork, lacquer, glasswork, tiles, glazed pottery, woodwork, textiles, jewellery, and fine carpets. It explores the continuity, dialogue, and influences throughout centuries of Islamic art. Organized thematically with high-quality photography throughout, the book reflects current trends in the study of Islamic art through essays and entries written by eminent scholars.