Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set

Recent changes in Islamic art in areas such as Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq are elucidated here by distinguished scholars. Entries provide in-depth art historical and cultural information about dynasties, art forms, artists, architecture, rulers, monuments, archaeological sites and stylistic developments. In addition, over 500 illustrations of sculpture, mosaic, painting, ceramics, architecture, metalwork and calligraphy illuminate the rich artistic tradition of the Islamic world. With the fundamental understanding that Islamic art is not limited to a particular region, or to a defined period of time, The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture offers pathways into Islamic culture through its art.

The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture is the most comprehensive reference work in this complex and diverse area of art history. Built on the acclaimed scholarship of the Grove Dictionary of Art, this work offers over 1,600 up-to-date entries on Islamic art and architecture ranging from the Middle East to Central and South Asia, Africa, and Europe and spans over a thousand years of history.

Recent changes in Islamic art in areas such as Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq are elucidated here by distinguished scholars. Entries provide in-depth art historical and cultural information about dynasties, art forms, artists, architecture, rulers, monuments, archaeological sites and stylistic developments. In addition, over 500 illustrations of sculpture, mosaic, painting, ceramics, architecture, metalwork and calligraphy illuminate the rich artistic tradition of the Islamic world. With the fundamental understanding that Islamic art is not limited to a particular region, or to a defined period of time, The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture offers pathways into Islamic culture through its art.

Library Journal

Grove has become synonymous with excellence in reference materials in art and music, and the latest entry in the series is no exception. Edited by Bloom and Blair, professors of Islamic and Asian art at Boston College, the encyclopedia expands and updates the Islamic art entries from the well-known, massive Grove Dictionary of Art. Rewritten, reedited, and reorganized, these entries amount here to over 1600 A-to-Z articles and over 450 illustrations, drawings, and maps detailing "the art made by artists and artisans whose religion was Islam, for patrons who lived in predominantly Muslim lands, or for purposes that are restricted or peculiar to a Muslim population or in a Muslim setting." Long articles, such as the massive entry on architecture, are divided into chronological, geographical, or medium of art form as required by the topic under discussion, and a list of references follows each entry. Cross-references to other articles appear within the text, and unfamiliar Arabic words are translated for ease of comprehension. BOTTOM LINE This volume is everything that one has come to expect from a Grove title: literate, comprehensive, and authoritative. Smaller libraries may also want to consider Richard Ettinghausen and Oleg Grabar's classic Islamic Art and Architecture, 650–1250 (Yale, 2001) if cost is an issue, but for libraries with specialized art or Islamic collections, this is essential.—Amanda K. Sprochi, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia

Jonathan M. Bloom and Sheila S. Blair share the Norma Jean Calderwood University Professorship of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College and the Hamad bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. A husband-and-wife team, they study all aspects of Islamic art from the seventh century to modern times. Bloom is particularly interested in the arts of the medieval Mediterranean region as well as the history of paper. His most recent book is Arts of the City Victorious (2007), a study of the art and architecture of the Fatimid period in North Africa and Egypt. Blair is particularly interested in the arts of Iran and Central Asia, the Mongols, and the history of the Islamic book. Her latest book is Islamic Calligraphy (2006), for which she won several international awards. In addition to their hundreds of individual articles, reviews, and monographs, they have written or edited seven books jointly. They also served as consultants to the 3-hour documentary Islam: Empire of Faith, shown nationally on PBS, and are convenors of the Hamad bin Khalifa Biennial Symposium on Islamic Art. Both Bloom and Blair received their Ph.D.s in Middle Eastern Studies and Fine Arts from Harvard University in 1980.