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Sixty gorgeous works of Islamic art, created in the Safavid, Uzbek, Ottoman and Mughal Empires, are reproduced in colour to the highest specification as full-page illustrations in this exceptional volume. Figures, genre scenes and stunning calligraphic pages all come with an authoritative commentary on the facing page, in many cases accompanied by further reproductions showing details in close-up. This was the age of the master artist whose work was eagerly sought by collectors and looted by invaders, not to mention being the currency of political gift-making. The calligraphic artist Mir 'Ali Heravi was forcibly taken from Herat to Bukhara, where he exercised an influence on generations of calligraphers both in India and Iran. The 18th century St Petersburg Album was probably taken as plunder. One of its earliest illustrations is a 14th century scene with a calligraphic border depicting an exploit of the hero Rustam. A 16th century leaf from a Persian manuscript is by Muhammad Muzzahib and depicts Arab brigands brought before the king, who lets them off against his better judgment only to see them return to brigandage. Firdawsi's Shahnama illustrated in the new metropolitan style shows Iskandar (Alexander the Great) outwitting a dragon. Still in the 16th century, a study of a courtly lady represents an idealised beauty of the time, with round cheeks and hennaed fingers. A young man holding a pomegranate is equally elegant in his pose and attire, while a youth in a landscape by Sadiqi Beg, from Isfahan, demonstrates a similar style of good looks with strongly marked brows. An enigmatic crowd scene of the mid-17th century shows a Mughal noble and Abyssinian general embracing at the head of mounted nobles, with a row of elephants behind. A delicate 18th century Indian painting depicts the Virgin Mary. 192pp, over 100 superb colour illustrations.
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