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Wonder, image, and cosmos in medieval Islam / Persis Berlekamp.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Berlekamp, Persis, 1968- author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Art and philosophy--Islamic countries.
- Art and philosophy.
- Cosmography in art.
- Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval.
- Islamic illumination of books and manuscripts.
- Islamic philosophy.
- Islamic countries.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (xi, 220 pages) : 97 illustrations, maps
- Other Title:
- Wonder, image, & cosmos in medieval Islam
- Place of Publication:
- New Haven : Yale University Press, [2011]
- Summary:
- "This original book untangles fundamental confusions about historical relationships among Islam, representational images, and philosophy. Closely examining some of the most meaningful and best preserved premodern illustrated manuscripts of Islamic cosmographies, Persis Berlekamp refutes the assertion often made by other historians of medieval Islamic art that, while representational images did exist, they did not serve religious purposes. The author focuses on widely disseminated Islamic images of the wonders of creation, ranging from angels to human-snatching birds, and argues that these illustrated manuscripts aimed to induce wonder at God's creation, as was their stated purpose. She tracks the various ways that images advanced that purpose in the genre's formative milieu-- the century and a half following the Mongol conquest of the Islamic East in 1258. Delving into social history and into philosophical ideas relevant to manuscript and image production, Berlekamp shows that philosophy occupied an established, if controversial, position within Islam. She thereby radically reframes representational images within the history of Islam"--Publisher's description.
- Contents:
- Iconic images : platonic forms and the awe-inspiring cosmos
- Narrative images : astonishing anecdotes and cosmic times
- Mirrored visions : penumbrabl wonders and the position of the viewer
- Talismanice images : astrological composites and efficacious symbioses.
- Notes:
- Description based on print record and online resource (A&AePortal, viewed on October 30, 2021).
- Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2013
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 9780300264371
- 0300264372
- OCLC:
- 1151776249
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