The richness of Near Eastern art is epitomized by sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Persian carpets. Among the finest ever produced, the two Ardabil carpets are believed to have been made as offerings for the Shrine of Sheikh Safi at Ardabil during the Safavid dynasty in sixteenth-century Persia. In this text Rexford Stead, deputy director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, explores the intricacies of the Ardabil carpets—one formerly in the Getty Museum and now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the other in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. A bibliography and exhibition history are included.

This illustrated book gives a unique introduction to the world of Shah 'Abbas and the beautiful mosque and shrines that he created and adorned in the so-called golden age of Persian art.

These essays examine Iran’s place in the world--its relations and cultural interactions with its immediate neighbors and with empires and superpowers from the beginning of the Safavid period in 1501 to the present day. The book provides important historical background on recent political and social developments in Iran and on its contemporary foreign relations. The topics explored include Iranian influence abroad on political organization, religion, literature, art, and diplomacy, as well as Iran's absorption of foreign influences in these areas. A special focus is the prevailing political culture of Iran throughout its early modern and contemporary periods. The authors combine approaches from history, political science, anthropology, international relations, and culturalstudies. Some essays address Iran’s interactions with various Arab and Turkic ethnicities in the region stretching from India to Egypt. Others examine its relations with the West during the Qajar and Pahlavi eras, women's issues, culture inside Iran during the Islamic Republic, and the Shi`ite theocracy of Iran as compared with other Muslim states.

This volume deals with the formative period of Islamic art (to c. 950), and the different approaches to studying it. Individual essays deal with architecture, ceramics, coins, textiles, and manuscripts, as well as with such broad questions as the supposed prohibition of images, and the relationships between sacred and secular art. An introductory essay sets each work in context; it is complemented by a bibliography for further reading.

'Sensuous and transporting... filled with the colours, tastes and fragrances of life in 17th century Isfahan. Amirrezvani clearly knows and loves the ways of old Iran, and brings them to life with the cadences of a skilled story-spinner' Geraldine Brooks THE BLOOD OF FLOWERS is a mesmerizing historical novel about a young Iranian woman whose destiny changes on the sudden death of her father. Forced to leave their village, the woman and her mother travel to the beautiful city of Isfahan, where they are taken in by an uncle, a wealthy carpet designer, and his unsympathetic wife. When an ill-considered action results in the heroine's fall from grace, she is forced into an extraordinary secret marriage. Spirited and rebellious, she wants to be free to live a life her own choosing, if she can find a way. 'The most wonderful book... Fascinating, totally original and utterly gripping' Esther Freud 'The prose... positively glows on the page, and the characterisation is similarly acute, notably of the wonderfully drawn heroine. As a journey into a society that will be alien to most readers, this is a remarkable achievement' Barry Forshaw

* Features Indian textiles pieces from the Karun Thakar Collection, and The Textile Museum and Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection in Washington, DC* Published to accompany an exhibition at The Textile Museum at George Washington University in Washington, DC, opening January 2022The book features items from one of the world's foremost private collections of Indian textiles, the Karun Thakar Collection, together with key pieces from two recently united American collections, The Textile Museum and the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection in Washington, DC. The book and accompanying exhibition offer a unique approach to understanding Indian textile culture through reference to three distinct traditions: abstract, floral and figurative design.With essays by three leading international Indian textile curators, the publication's focus on textile ornament rather than date, region, usage, or technique provides new perspective and scholarship on this ancient artistic tradition. The book highlights the tradition's remarkable diversity, with objects ranging from folk embroideries to Mughal courtly weavings, and from early textiles traded to Egypt and Southeast Asia to 18th-century chintzes exported to Europe.