Islamic Arts

Art & Ideas (Phaidon)

by Jonathan M. Bloom, Sheila S. Blair

In this comprehensive survey, the authors highlight those characteristics that connect the various arts of all the Islamic lands, without minimizing the differences. Dividing the time into three periods: 600-900, 900-1500 and 1500-1800, they set the artistic development in each era within its historical context and use art as a window into Islamic culture. Written in a lively and accessible style, and illustrated throughout with photographs, maps and plans, the book captures the essence of Islamic culture as expressed in its buildings, books and applied arts, and provides an essential introduction to the subject for both the student and the general reader.

Genres: Art, Art History, Islam, History, Nonfiction, Middle East, Religion

448 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 1997

Reviews

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I imagine this works best as a companion piece to an art gallery. There is a lot of text about the history of Islamic Arts but it's quite dry. Like so many art books, there just isn't enough space devoted to photographs of the actual art! Some of the photos are just in the margin.

I really like rugs, so I was excited to see a chapter on woven artwork, but there were only a couple full page photos of the rugs (which are beautiful).

Overall, worth checking out from the library - but I wanted way more photos of the art. And with a lot of these pieces (buildings, pottery, even rugs) I'd appreciate multiple angles and zooming into get the details.

[Sarahad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book kicked off my love of history of art and I've never looked back - but really I should credit the wonderful collection at the V&A that inspired me to buy the book. The book is wonderfully illustrated, but is actually quite dry to read.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors purposefully leave out some of the complexities of certain artworks, usually stating their own previously argued but very contested interpretations as fact. But as a base level introduction to the subject this provides an excellent synthesis of socio-historical and art historical information. I'd recommend this as a jumping off point rather than a reference book though.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice pictures

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'll learn a lot, and the illustrations are magnificent. The prose is a little dry, tending toward the less-engaging side of academia, but they know their stuff (even if they expect that you do, too--although, why would you be reading this if you didn't want to know more?).

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but sometimes boring. Not nearly enough pictures. Many pictures too small to see detail. One carpet that is actually 5 x 4 feet is shown as about 2 inches by 2 and a half inches. Some pictures bleed into the middle gutter and lose detail unless you break the book to see.
Organized into three chronological groupings (600-900, 900-1500, and 1500-1800), each group has in it four chapters: arts of building; the Koran and writing, or the arts of the book; the arts of the loom; and the decorative arts. Each chapter has a more detailed subheading. Under 600-900 we have Mosques, mansions, and mosaics; Pens and parchment; The draped universe; Pots, pans, and pitchers. Under 900-1500 we have Madrasas and muqarnas; Penmen and painters; Warps, wefts and pile; Colours and figures. Under 1500-1800 we have Capitals and complexes; From manuscript to page; Velvets and carpets; Bedecked and bejewelled. The Epilogue devotes a mere 7 pages to the history and arts of Islam since 1800.
There are a few maps to help locate the areas they're talking about. There's a short but not comprehensive glossary; you're supposed to remember what that new unfamiliar Arabic word means each time you meet it.
A chart at the back references comparative history in tiny print, column one being North Africa, Europe and Byzantium, column two being Near East and Iran, column three being Central Asia, India and China. The bibliography of Further Reading is in the tiny print, as the Index.
Phaidon's usual small print, especially in the captions of the pictures.

[Horus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very logically thought out, separated into 3 main sections delineated by time. Those sections are, in turn, divided into 4 chapters which discuss history and architecture, scribal arts and painting, clothing and textiles, and the fire related arts (pottery, metalwork and glass). There are many really excellent photos included, almost all in colour, and they are referenced throughout the text. This is however, not a large format book, so many of the photos are quite small, most without any kind of detailed focus included. The text, I think, was chosen for its look rather than its readability as it presents as grey on white. While the majority of the text is bolded, any quotes are not and are much harder to read. Also the captions for the photos are in very tiny print and are really light, making them almost impossible for not young eyes to read. Those critiques aside, this is a lovely book with detailed information on the arts of Islam through over 1000 years.

[vvvvm · Rating 4 out of 5]

detailed, super informative, but layout was not ideal. Let’s normalize 1 in magins

[Peter Jakobsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite ongoing conventions, Islamic Art (an extremely wide term, used here for convenience and coherence) flourished beyond the merely decorative or doctrinal. This sumptuous Phaidon edition is a good entrée to the flowers of the various Muslim empires in history.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compact, beautifully-illustrated volume provides a wonderful introduction to the art, architecture and material culture of the Islamic world.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well explained.