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Treasures of Islam: The Glories of Islamic Civilization
Discover the grandeur of Islam in a vivid portrait of some of the greatest and most creative civilizations ever to have existed—a wide range of peoples and cultures all united spiritually by their adherence to Islam and its holy book. This important survey—which features outstanding production values, an oversized volume, a foil-trimmed cover, and special five-color printing—celebrates the remarkable diversity of Muslim art, from beautiful textiles and peerless ceramics to awe-inspiring architecture and exquisite metalwork. With superb photography throughout, this guide marries the religion’s artistic legacy with its rich history, travelling from the royal mosque at Isfahan to the beauty of Quranic illumination.
- GenresArtNonfictionHistory
244 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 11, 2016
All the photos in this book are absolutely exquisite! The perfect symmetry in every design on every mosque or on any artifact is staggering to behold. The colours are marvellous; all these things are true treasures of the world. The information was also very interesting, overall a very well written and designed book. One that I would gladly love to add to my collection of books.
October 17, 2014
I was very enthused about this book. So much so that I ordered it in the US, and someone brought it to me all the way to Pakistan, which is no mean feat given its hefty weight and airline luggage weight restrictions.
Art is an interesting subject and Islamic art even more so, especially for me, since I have an interest in religion, history and human creativity which manifests itself through science, art, philosophy and literature.
Art is the rendering of a visual narrative of history. You cannot understand art, unless you understand history. History itself, is highly subjective, since it is viewed from a perspective, whether that of the insider or the unbiased outsider and even the marauding outsider. When one views European art, we have the western narrative explaining it to us, and in the absence of intellectual input from those of other civilizations, the understanding of that art is based entirely on the western understanding. This seems to be an acceptable situation, but unfortunately the issue with western intellectual imperialism is that it tends to clothe all civilizations with its own narrative, which is unfair not only to the civilizations in question but also to art itself.
Islamic art is complex.
It is complex because unlike any other art, it is the confluence of a religious ideologue - unlike any other - with the history of conquests and assimilation with an enduring legacy.
To understand Islamic art one has to be versed with Islamic theology, geo-political history and the regional legacies of art. Quite obviously, very few people can achieve sufficient knowledge of all three to pen a book as this one. Mr. Kane is one such individual and I applaud his interest and effort in this field, which is neglected by others. That said, I feel the book did not capture the true spirit of Islamic art, as it should have been presented.
Mr Kane had the unique opportunity to present a local understanding of Islamic at while maintaining the prism of western incisiveness viz a viz the historical narrative. But it did not come across as such. Perhaps the publisher flexed his muscle and steered the book in a narrative more palatable to the western reader, but then if cultural flavors are suppressed for the audience, then the joyful merit of exploration is lost. That is what happens with this book.
Muhammad (pbuh) culminated the Abrahamic tradition, by teaching the world the Qur'an. Earlier works such as the Torah and Injil (gospels) were lost and their followers had strayed from pure monotheism and the idea of accountability of the day of Judgment. Abraham (pbuh) was calling out to his followers to submit to the one true God. He changed home from Iraq to Palestine, and settled his nephew Lot in Jordan, and his son Ishmael in Mecca, so as to spread the religion far and wide. He was not preaching to his Hebrew tribe alone. But among his followers the Jews claimed privileged exclusivity in race and religion, claiming to be the chosen ones- a belief rooted in false pride. Christians similarly began to deify a prophetic descendant of Abraham, who they claim to have died and paid for everyone's sins. Both groups strayed from Abrahamic monotheism and its central tenet of accountability of all men before God.
Islam is hence resolute on pure monotheism, and the idea of all men being equals before Allah gaining merit only through righteous actions.
All major world scriptures strictly forbid graven images, be it Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism or Islam. Iconography is oxygen for idolatry and hence it is a grave sin in Islam. This may be difficult to understand let alone to appreciate, but pagan traditions and festivals of Graeco-Rome were kept alive and wedded to Christianity mainly through iconography. If there were Michelangelo paintings in the Vatican, the Christian world could not have a "white" Jesus and all other trappings of Christianity. The white man's burden, and colonialism through genocide were the outcomes of these trappings.
Images of ancient Egypt breathe oxygen into the Jewish tradition by retelling the tale of the exodus of Moses, creating the psyche of victimhood through the theme of persistent persecution ("I am hated because I am different/special"). Buddha worship is also owed to the millions of idols of Buddha in the region-a practice Buddha himself forbade.
Islam came to liberate from all these ideologues, as the religion rooted in the verb s-l-m or submission. Surrender to Allah, as equals before God, irrespective of color, language or social status - competing only for righteousness.
Islamic masjids (mosques) with Quranic inscriptions thus celebrate the glory of the ever-living Allah alone, above mortal rulers and conquerers.
This book with its inundation of form art - aimed at drawing parallels to western art - subverts the message of Islam, which only allows pattern art.
The scientific glory of the world of Islam which invented Chemistry on the eve of the eighth century and created the Arabic numerals and algebra a century later, enabled artistic sophistication wedded to science. Muslim tiling techniques in the 1200's embraced quasi-crystalline, a method of non-repetitive tiling patterns. This technique was discovered by the west as a scientific breakthrough in the twentieth century (Roger Penrose of Oxford University). There is one or two fleeting mentions of Muslim Science in the book, and this avoidance leads to a failure in explaining Islamic art.
On another note, as someone with a Mughal heritage, I believe that this richest civilization of its day was not given due coverage. The Taj Mahal alone was revered, but Mughal poetry, painting, jewelry and fabrics, which remain unsurpassed even today, were ignored.
The Muslim world today is mostly poor, with the exception of oil wealth of some Arab states. These Arab states are deeply immersed in mindless consumerism, with no thought to scholarship. It is only the western world which is producing scholars researching Islamic history. Hence this book has no Muslim counterpart. For that reason, it is a excellent book, as it offers a rare glimpse into the splendor of a world which is largely understood as barbaric.
Art is an interesting subject and Islamic art even more so, especially for me, since I have an interest in religion, history and human creativity which manifests itself through science, art, philosophy and literature.
Art is the rendering of a visual narrative of history. You cannot understand art, unless you understand history. History itself, is highly subjective, since it is viewed from a perspective, whether that of the insider or the unbiased outsider and even the marauding outsider. When one views European art, we have the western narrative explaining it to us, and in the absence of intellectual input from those of other civilizations, the understanding of that art is based entirely on the western understanding. This seems to be an acceptable situation, but unfortunately the issue with western intellectual imperialism is that it tends to clothe all civilizations with its own narrative, which is unfair not only to the civilizations in question but also to art itself.
Islamic art is complex.
It is complex because unlike any other art, it is the confluence of a religious ideologue - unlike any other - with the history of conquests and assimilation with an enduring legacy.
To understand Islamic art one has to be versed with Islamic theology, geo-political history and the regional legacies of art. Quite obviously, very few people can achieve sufficient knowledge of all three to pen a book as this one. Mr. Kane is one such individual and I applaud his interest and effort in this field, which is neglected by others. That said, I feel the book did not capture the true spirit of Islamic art, as it should have been presented.
Mr Kane had the unique opportunity to present a local understanding of Islamic at while maintaining the prism of western incisiveness viz a viz the historical narrative. But it did not come across as such. Perhaps the publisher flexed his muscle and steered the book in a narrative more palatable to the western reader, but then if cultural flavors are suppressed for the audience, then the joyful merit of exploration is lost. That is what happens with this book.
Muhammad (pbuh) culminated the Abrahamic tradition, by teaching the world the Qur'an. Earlier works such as the Torah and Injil (gospels) were lost and their followers had strayed from pure monotheism and the idea of accountability of the day of Judgment. Abraham (pbuh) was calling out to his followers to submit to the one true God. He changed home from Iraq to Palestine, and settled his nephew Lot in Jordan, and his son Ishmael in Mecca, so as to spread the religion far and wide. He was not preaching to his Hebrew tribe alone. But among his followers the Jews claimed privileged exclusivity in race and religion, claiming to be the chosen ones- a belief rooted in false pride. Christians similarly began to deify a prophetic descendant of Abraham, who they claim to have died and paid for everyone's sins. Both groups strayed from Abrahamic monotheism and its central tenet of accountability of all men before God.
Islam is hence resolute on pure monotheism, and the idea of all men being equals before Allah gaining merit only through righteous actions.
All major world scriptures strictly forbid graven images, be it Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism or Islam. Iconography is oxygen for idolatry and hence it is a grave sin in Islam. This may be difficult to understand let alone to appreciate, but pagan traditions and festivals of Graeco-Rome were kept alive and wedded to Christianity mainly through iconography. If there were Michelangelo paintings in the Vatican, the Christian world could not have a "white" Jesus and all other trappings of Christianity. The white man's burden, and colonialism through genocide were the outcomes of these trappings.
Images of ancient Egypt breathe oxygen into the Jewish tradition by retelling the tale of the exodus of Moses, creating the psyche of victimhood through the theme of persistent persecution ("I am hated because I am different/special"). Buddha worship is also owed to the millions of idols of Buddha in the region-a practice Buddha himself forbade.
Islam came to liberate from all these ideologues, as the religion rooted in the verb s-l-m or submission. Surrender to Allah, as equals before God, irrespective of color, language or social status - competing only for righteousness.
Islamic masjids (mosques) with Quranic inscriptions thus celebrate the glory of the ever-living Allah alone, above mortal rulers and conquerers.
This book with its inundation of form art - aimed at drawing parallels to western art - subverts the message of Islam, which only allows pattern art.
The scientific glory of the world of Islam which invented Chemistry on the eve of the eighth century and created the Arabic numerals and algebra a century later, enabled artistic sophistication wedded to science. Muslim tiling techniques in the 1200's embraced quasi-crystalline, a method of non-repetitive tiling patterns. This technique was discovered by the west as a scientific breakthrough in the twentieth century (Roger Penrose of Oxford University). There is one or two fleeting mentions of Muslim Science in the book, and this avoidance leads to a failure in explaining Islamic art.
On another note, as someone with a Mughal heritage, I believe that this richest civilization of its day was not given due coverage. The Taj Mahal alone was revered, but Mughal poetry, painting, jewelry and fabrics, which remain unsurpassed even today, were ignored.
The Muslim world today is mostly poor, with the exception of oil wealth of some Arab states. These Arab states are deeply immersed in mindless consumerism, with no thought to scholarship. It is only the western world which is producing scholars researching Islamic history. Hence this book has no Muslim counterpart. For that reason, it is a excellent book, as it offers a rare glimpse into the splendor of a world which is largely understood as barbaric.
September 1, 2018
جرعة دسمة من الصور الفنية والجمالية
ابهرني انه رغم التنوع في الاساليب الفنية الاسلامية من اقاصي الشرق الى الغرب، الا انه لا زال يحتفظ بروح مشتركة واحدة ومميزة تجعلك تعرف من النظرة الاولى انه عمل اسلامي ♥️🌬
انا مصممة ازياء واعتقد بعد هذه الرحلة انه يجب علي (وحالًا) تصميم مجموعة لاصف بها هذا الجمال✨
ابهرني انه رغم التنوع في الاساليب الفنية الاسلامية من اقاصي الشرق الى الغرب، الا انه لا زال يحتفظ بروح مشتركة واحدة ومميزة تجعلك تعرف من النظرة الاولى انه عمل اسلامي ♥️🌬
انا مصممة ازياء واعتقد بعد هذه الرحلة انه يجب علي (وحالًا) تصميم مجموعة لاصف بها هذا الجمال✨
February 10, 2010
What a gem!
Such a beautiful book - it's content, pictures and layout. Majority of the works covered is from the 7th century to the 19th century.
Throughout you learn how ideas from one society influnced another. Ideas from Italy, Spain, China, etc., like the stunning stucco work from the Sasanians (my favourite).
The content covers a lot of history, all presented in an easy-to-follow manner making it valuable to those interested in the history but not necessarily the 'artistic glories of the Muslim world'.
Such a beautiful book - it's content, pictures and layout. Majority of the works covered is from the 7th century to the 19th century.
Throughout you learn how ideas from one society influnced another. Ideas from Italy, Spain, China, etc., like the stunning stucco work from the Sasanians (my favourite).
The content covers a lot of history, all presented in an easy-to-follow manner making it valuable to those interested in the history but not necessarily the 'artistic glories of the Muslim world'.
February 23, 2009
Admittedly, I got this book for the photos, and it doesn't disappoint. Islamic design is gloriously intricate, full of color, contrast, and texture. And lots of gold. This book is beautiful.
May 6, 2010
See my review of this book in Magill Book Reviews as carried by EBSCO / Academic Search Premier.
March 13, 2011
beautiful coffee table book
Read
April 3, 2013I got this book from the library for research. It's completely useless. There is nothing of any substance in the text; it's all pretty pictures.
February 23, 2014
I read it during my Graduate Sociology classes. It gave me some great insights to prepare my course project papers, "The Impact of Religion on Islamic Arts" and "Depiction of Prophets in Visual Art".
January 11, 2016
An absolutely wonderful book! The Art of the Muslim World is a wonder to behold. I only wish that when we lived in Pakistan and the Middle East we could have seen more than we were able to.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews