The Art and Architecture of Twelver Shiʻism

The Art and Architecture of Twelver Shiʻism PDF Author: James W. Allan
Publisher: Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lectu
ISBN: 9781898592297
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Twelver Shi'ism is the dominant faith in southern Iraq and Iran and it has had a major historical role also in India, in particular in the Deccan and in Lucknow, but its distinctive art and architecture have received little attention and seldom appear in books on the arts of the Islamic World. This book attempts to correct this situation. It looks first at the history of the great Shi'i shrines of Iran and Iraq, a subject almost completely untouched in the standard works on Islamic architecture; at the role of Shi'i and, unexpectedly, Sunni (orthodox Islamic) patronage in their development; at the collecting of relics, and the use of inscriptions and symbols to identify religious buildings; and at the way in which different secondary Shi'i religious buildings (e.g. tekiyehs, ashur khanehs and kerbalas) appeared in Iran and in India. It then turns to the impact of Shi'ism on the craft industries, highlighting in particular the role of shrines in promoting art, the likely importance of Shi'ism in the development of Iran's steelworking industry, the use of inscriptions to identify objects as Shi'i, and the rise of figural art to communicate the Shi'i faith - in the arts of the book, in paintings of the Kerbala drama, and, since the Islamic revolution, on Iranian banknotes and stamps. Finally it turns to the impact on the art of Shi'ism of the annual Muharram processions, with their magnificent steel and brass standards ('alams), and highlights the syncretism characteristic of Shi'i art and architecture in the sub-continent.(Azimuth Editions 2012)

Iran and the Deccan

Iran and the Deccan PDF Author: Keelan Overton
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 025304894X
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
In the early 1400s, Iranian elites began migrating to the Deccan plateau of southern India. Lured to the region for many reasons, these poets, traders, statesmen, and artists of all kinds left an indelible mark on the Islamic sultanates that ruled the Deccan until the late seventeenth century. The result was the creation of a robust transregional Persianate network linking such distant cities as Bidar and Shiraz, Bijapur and Isfahan, and Golconda and Mashhad. Iran and the Deccan explores the circulation of art, culture, and talent between Iran and the Deccan over a three-hundred-year period. Its interdisciplinary contributions consider the factors that prompted migration, the physical and intellectual poles of connectivity between the two regions, and processes of adaptation and response. Placing the Deccan at the center of Indo-Persian and early modern global history, Iran and the Deccan reveals how mobility, liminality, and cultural translation nuance the traditional methods and boundaries of the humanities.

Architecture and Hagiography in the Ottoman Empire

Architecture and Hagiography in the Ottoman Empire PDF Author: Zeynep Yürekli
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317179404
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Based on a thorough examination of buildings, inscriptions, archival documents and hagiographies, this book uncovers the political significance of Bektashi shrines in the Ottoman imperial age. It thus provides a fresh and comprehensive account of the formative process of the Bektashi order, which started out as a network of social groups that took issue with Ottoman imperial policies in the late fifteenth century, was endorsed imperially as part of Bayezid II's (r. 1481-1512) soft power policy, and was kept in check by imperial authorities as the Ottoman approach to the Safavid conflict hardened during the rest of the sixteenth century. This book demonstrates that it was a combination of two collective activities that established the primary parameters of Bektashi culture from the late fifteenth century onwards. One was the writing of Bektashi hagiographies; they linked hitherto distinct social groups (such as wandering dervishes and warriors) with each other through the lives of historical figures who were their patron saints, idols and identity markers (such as the saint Hacı Bektaş and the martyr Seyyid Gazi), while incorporating them into Ottoman history in creative ways. The other one was the architectural remodelling of the saints' shrines. In terms of style, imagery and content, this interrelated literary and architectural output reveals a complicated process of negotiation with the imperial order and its cultural paradigms. Examined in more detail in the book are the shrines of Seyyid Gazi and Hacı Bektaş and associated legends and hagiographies. Though established as independent institutions in medieval Anatolia, they were joined in the emerging Bektashi network under the Ottomans, became its principal centres and underwent radical architectural transformation, mainly under the patronage of raider commanders based in the Balkans. In the process, they thus came to occupy an intermediary socio-political zone between the Ottoman empire and its contestants in the sixteenth century.

The Art and Material Culture of Iranian Shi'ism

The Art and Material Culture of Iranian Shi'ism PDF Author: Pedram Khosronejad
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780755610709
Category : Islam and architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Shi'i Islam has been the official religion of Iran from the Safavids (1501-1732) to the present day. The Shi'i world experience has provided a rich artistic tradition, encompassing painting, sculpture and the production of artefacts and performance, which has helped to embed Shi'i identity in Iran as part of its national narrative. In what areas of material culture has Iranian Shi'ism manifested itself through objects or buildings that are unique within the overall culture of Islam? To what extent is the art and architecture of Iran from the Safavid period onwards identifiably Shi'i? What does this say about the relationship of nation, state and faith in Iran? Here, leading experts trace the material heritage of Iranian Shi'ism within each of its political, religious and cultural dimensions."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

The Shi'i World

The Shi'i World PDF Author: Farhad Daftary
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857729675
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies The world's 200 million Shi'i Muslims express their faith in a multiplicity of ways, united by reverence for the ahl al-bayt, the family of the Prophet. In embracing a pluralistic ethic, fourteen centuries of Shi'i Islam have given rise to diverse traditions and practices across varied geographic and cultural landscapes. The Shi'i World is a comprehensive work authored by leading scholars from assorted disciplines, to provide a better understanding of how Shi'i communities view themselves and articulate their teachings. The topics range from Shi'i Islam's historical and conceptual foundations, formative figures and intellectual, legal and moral traditions, to its devotional practices, art and architecture, literature, music and cinema, as well as expressions and experiences of modernity. The book thus provides a panoramic perspective of the richly textured narratives that have shaped the social and moral universe of Shi'i Muslims around the globe.This fourth volume in the Muslim Heritage Series will appeal to specialists and general readers alike, as a timely resource on the prevailing complexities not only of the 'Muslim world', but also of the dynamic Shi'i diasporas of Europe and North America.

Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250

Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250 PDF Author: Richard Ettinghausen
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300088694
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
This richly illustrated book provides an unsurpassed overview of Islamic art and architecture from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries, a time of the formation of a new artistic culture and its first, medieval, flowering in the vast area from the Atlantic to India. Inspired by Ettinghausen and Grabar’s original text, this book has been completely rewritten and updated to take into account recent information and methodological advances. The volume focuses special attention on the development of numerous regional centers of art in Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as the western and northeastern provinces of Iran. It traces the cultural and artistic evolution of such centers in the seminal early Islamic period and examines the wealth of different ways of creating a beautiful environment. The book approaches the arts with new classifications of architecture and architectural decoration, the art of the object, and the art of the book. With many new illustrations, often in color, this volume broadens the picture of Islamic artistic production and discusses objects in a wide range of media, including textiles, ceramics, metal, and wood. The book incorporates extensive accounts of the cultural contexts of the arts and defines the originality of each period. A final chapter explores the impact of Islamic art on the creativity of non-Muslims within the Islamic realm and in areas surrounding the Muslim world.

Persian Art

Persian Art PDF Author: Kadoi Yuka Kadoi
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 147446968X
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
In this illustrated book, nine contributors explore multifaceted aspects of art, architecture and material culture of the Persian cultural realm, encompassing West Asia, Anatolia, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia and Europe. Each chapter examines the historical, religious or scientific role of visual culture in the shaping, influencing and transforming of distinctive 'Persian' aesthetics across the various historical periods, ranging from pre-Islamic, medieval and early modern Islamic to modern times.

A Story of Islamic Art

A Story of Islamic Art PDF Author: Marcus Milwright
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1003832768
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
Providing an introduction to the artistic and architectural traditions of the Islamic world, A Story of Islamic Art explores fifty case studies, taken from different regions of the Islamic world and from the seventh to the twenty-first centuries. The novel aspect of these case studies is that they are presented as fictional narratives, allowing the reader to imagine art and architecture, either in their original cultural settings or at some later point in their histories. These stories are supported by a scholarly framework that allows the reader to continue their exploration of the chosen artefacts and their historical context. The fifty case studies take the form of short stories, each of which focuses on one or more object from the Islamic world. These encompass portable items in a wide variety of media, book illustrations, calligraphy, photographs, architectural decoration, buildings, and archaeological sites. The book also provides a detailed introduction, maps, timeline, glossary, and guides for further reading. This book offers accessible answers to key questions in the scholarship on Islamic art and architecture from its earliest times to the present. The issues dealt with in each of the stories include iconography, attitudes towards representation, the role of script, the elaboration of geometric decoration, the creation of sacred and secular spaces in architecture, and the socio-cultural context of art production and consumption. Artistic interactions between the Islamic world and other regions including Europe and China are also discussed in this book. A Story of Islamic Art is an engaging and informative introduction for interested readers and students of Islamic art, history, and architecture.

Metalwork and Material Culture in the Islamic World

Metalwork and Material Culture in the Islamic World PDF Author: Venetia Porter
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857733435
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 599

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Book Description
The material and visual culture of the Islamic World casts vast arcs through space and time, and encompasses a huge range of artefacts and monuments from the minute to the grandiose, from ceramic pots to the great mosques. Here, Venetia Porter and Mariam Rosser-Owen assemble leading experts in the field to examine both the objects themselves and the ways in which they reflect their historical, cultural and economic contexts. With a focus on metalwork, this volume includes an important new study of Mosul metalwork and presents recent discoveries in the fields of Fatimid, Mamluk and Qajar metalwork. By examining architecture, ceramics, ivories and textiles, seventeenth-century Iranian painting and contemporary art, the book explores a wide range of artistic production and historical periods from the Umayyad caliphate to the modern Middle East. This rich and detailed volume makes a significant contribution to the fields of Art History, Architecture and Islamic Studies, bringing new objects to light, and shedding new light on old objects.

Beyond the Mosque

Beyond the Mosque PDF Author: Rizwan Mawani
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1786726564
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies While mosques are the central house of worship for a majority of Muslims around the world, many of Islam's communities have developed their own distinctive religious spaces. These complementary spaces serve the different cultures, geographies and interpretations of Islam that continue to enrich the Muslim tradition. In this book, Rizwan Mawani encounters diverse communities and their sites of worship, from the mosque and husayniya to the khanaqah and jamatkhana. Readers are introduced to a variety of Muslim spaces, modest and elaborate – their distinct structures and the rituals practised within them, as well as the purposes they serve as community centres and markers of identity. Beyond the Mosque reveals architectural responses to evolving community needs and local environments, from Senegal and China to Iran and India. This illuminating survey celebrates the significant pluralism that characterises the living Muslim tradition today.