Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Book in excellent unread/unused condition. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> This volume the latest in the series on the treasures of The al-Sabah Collection Kuwait presents vessels fittings and other objects made in Syria Egypt Iraq and Yemen from the early Islamic period through to the end of the Ottoman era in the 19th century. The pieces include exquisite platters serving- vessels candlesticks and pen-boxes produced for royal courts but also many beautifully decorated bronze domestic items such as bowls lunch-boxes door-knockers buckets and lamps. Rooted in earlier artistic traditions from the Mediterranean Iraq Iran and the Indian subcontinent the metalwork traditions in this book reflect the complex history of the Arab world following the advent of Islam. The collection starts in the Late Antique period which informed the early Islamic royal styles of the Umayyad Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties and goes on to trace the emergence of Mosul as a centre for metalwork in the 12th-13th centuries; the influential courtly Mamluk style during the Bahri period (1250-13805); the Circassian era (1380s-1517); the growth of the European export market from the 15th century; distinctive vernacular styles in Yemen during the 14th-16th centuries; and the many revivals and fusions of international styles over six centuries of Ottoman rule (1517-1900s). Finally an enigmatic group of zoomorphic fitrings that defies easy dating is celebrated for the craftsmanship and charm of its animal figures. (OS)