Christiane Gruber

Francesca Leoni

* Power and Protection is an innovative, beautifully illustrated account of the link between artistic production and divinatory practices in pre-modern and early modern Islamic societies* An exhibition of the same title will be displayed at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford from 20 October 2016 to 15 January 2017. It will tour to the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto in March to May 2017Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural is a ground-breaking investigation of divinatory arts in the Islamic world discussing their impact on, and expression through, material culture. This part of the Islamic tradition has hitherto received limited attention, leaving a fascinating and rich chapter of Islam s cultural production largely unexplored. Essays by three leading experts contextualize over 100 extraordinary objects produced between the twelfth and the twentieth centuries - including personal ornaments, weaponry, textiles, miniature books, and scrolls - demonstrating the currency of astrology, geomancy, bibliomancy, dream interpretation, and the science of divination through letters at all levels of society. Insights gleaned from historical sources unveil and chart the animated debates surrounding divinatory 'sciences', reflecting changing attitudes towards these practices over the centuries.Thoroughly researched and richly illustrated, Power and Protection offers a stimulating and accessible introduction to this topic for the general reader as well as a fresh and well-balanced account for the specialist.

Islamic Art and the Supernatural

Power and Protection

Ladan Akbarnia

Light of the Sufis introduces the complex and multilayered topic of Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, by concentrating on its expression in the visual arts and offers new insights into the integrative and fluid nature of the Sufi experience that has solicited strong reactions—both negative and positive—in Muslims and non-Muslims alike for several hundred years. Sufism became well established in the 9th to 10th century and reached its height in the 12th to 13th century. From its inception, Sufism recognized the traditions and practices of other faiths and cultures with which it came into contact, adapting and incorporating elements of Greek philosophies, Christian mysticism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Buddhism. This diversity has been reflected not only in the words and the lives of celebrated Sufi mystics but also in some of the finest literature, music, performance, and visual arts produced in the Islamic world. Lavishly illustrated, this exhibition catalogue presents exceptional works in various media from diverse areas of the Islamic world, including North Africa, Turkey, Iran, and India, and dating from the ninth century to the present.

The Mystical Arts of Islam

Light of the Sufis

Mika Natif

Dedicated to the topic of eroticism and sexuality in the visual production of the medieval and early modern Muslim world, this volume offers new insights and methodological models that extend our understanding of erotic and sexual subjects in the Islamic tradition. The essays shed light on the diverse socio-cultural milieus of erotic images, on the motivations underlying their production, and on the responses generated by their circulation.

Francesca Leoni

Books

Your next favorite book is out there