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Stories of the Prophets:
Illustrated Manuscripts of Qisas al-Anbiya
Rachel Milstein, Karin Ruhrdanz, Barbara Schmitz
 This volume presents a detailed iconographic and stylistic study of a group of
profusely illustrated manuscripts, from 1570's-80's. This group comprises 21 copies of
three Persian texts, all entitled Stories of the Prophets. The lives and deeds of mostly
biblical figures, considered by Muslims as prophets, are mentioned briefly in the Koran.
They are then developed and enlarged upon in the writings of religious scholars,
historians, sufi poets, and popular storytellers. The variation of literary details
reflect the differences between Muslim religious trends and the debts of Islamic thinking
and art, to pre-Islamic traditions and the syncretism of these various traditions with
Islamic theology.
Textual and visual analysis in this book show that in spite of the language and the
Persian style of decoration, most of the manuscripts were copied and illustrated by a
group of unidentified painters in the Ottoman Empire rather than Iran. The iconographical
study reveals ideological programs and cliche typical of the Ottoman polemical discourse
with its Shi`ite rival in Iran, and its Christian neighbors in the West.
The non-royal style of the miniatures suggests the existence of a hitherto unknown Ottoman
school of painting, either in the provincial town, or in the bazaar of Istanbul. It raises
new questions and offers new ideas concerning the organization of non-royal workshops and
the role of religious art in various social cycles. These questions of cultural identity
and social context of the illustrated manuscripts are studied in this volume. Also
discussed are a literary and visual presentation of the individual stories, a
reconstruction of a hypothetical model for the iconographic cycle, and a checklist of the
manuscripts.
Specifications:
1999: vii+261pp., 45 color plates, 72 black & white plates, bibl., index.
Islamic Art & Architecture Series, No. 8.
ISBN:1-56859-064-4 (cloth): $65.00
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Ancient Iranian Ceramics
Andarz-Nama
Art of the Eastern World
Art of the Saljuqs in Iran and Anatolia
Beyond the Architecture of Death
Discursive Urban Development
Golden Disk of Heaven
Gurgan Faiences
Half the World
Human Figure in Islamic Art
Medieval Tomb Towers
Miniature Paintings in Ottoman Baghdad
Northern Cemetery of Cairo
Shine Like the Sun
Stories of the Prophets
Survey of Persian Art
Surveyors of Persian Art
Tamerlane's Tableware
Timurid Architecture...
Wade Cup
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