Ceramics From Islamic Lands (The al-Sabah Collection) [9780500976340]

Overview

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title

Islamic pottery—the fine ceramics made in the lands of Islam, from the Arab world and Turkey through Iran and into Central Asia—is one of the hidden treasures of world ceramics. It has often been overshadowed by the ceramic legacy of China and Europe, yet it cedes nothing to these great traditions in technical inventiveness and beauty of design. Through close trading links and cultural interchange, Islamic potters have played a crucial role in the development of these other ceramic cultures.

This catalogue of the al-Sabah collection in Kuwait—one of the few truly great collections in private hands—is a richly illustrated volume that presents a comprehensive history of ceramics from Islamic lands and portrays the unfolding story of Islamic pottery over its thousand-year history.

Over four hundred pieces are described, providing both an examination of individual items and an overall history of the subject. Clear and informative introductory essays cover the study and collecting of Islamic pottery over the past hundred years, and trace its technical and chronological history, from the first fine wares made in the eighth century to the destructive impact of European industrialization in the nineteenth century. The individual objects, illustrated with some nine hundred color pictures, are grouped by type and geographically.