This groundbreaking book examines portable art collections assembled in the courts of Greater Iran in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Made for members of the royal families or ruling elites, albums were created to preserve and display art, yet they were conceptualized in different ways. David Roxburgh, a leading expert on Persian albums and the art of the book, discusses this diversity and demonstrates convincingly that to look at the practice of album making is to open a vista to a culture of thought about the Persian art tradition.The book considers the album’s formal and physical properties, assembly, and content, as well as the viewer’s experience. Focusing on seven albums created during the Timurid and Safavid dynasties, Roxburgh reconstructs the history and development of this codex form and uses the works of art to explore notions of how art and aesthetics were conceived in Persian court culture. Generously illustrated with over 175 images, many rare and previously unpublished, the book offers a range of new insights into Persian visual culture as well as Islamic art history.

The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection

Arts & Photography

Roxburgh, David J.

History & Criticism

Yale University Press

In Islamic culture, calligraphy has long been considered a quintessential art form. This beautiful writing practice constitutes an expression of piety, and calligraphers are among the most highly esteemed artists. Traces of the Calligrapher portrays the intimate world of the calligrapher during the early modern period of Islamic culture. It brings together the tools of the trade”works in their own right that are rarely exhibited or publishedand the exquisite art made with these functional objects in India, Iran, and Turkey.
This richly illustrated and fascinating book presents exceptional works of the 17th through 19th centuries, drawn primarily from an unrivaled private collection. It features pens, pen boxes, chests, tables, paper scissors, knives, burnishers, and book bindings of superb manufacture and design, accompanied by examples of calligraphy that were executed as practice exercise, occasional works, wall hangings, and manuscripts.

Traces of the Calligrapher: Islamic Calligraphy in Practice, c. 1600-1900

McWilliams, Mary

Museum Fine Arts Houston

The art of Islamic calligraphy developed from the 7th to the 14th century, beginning in western Arabia, spreading south to Yemen and north to the Near East, and continuing east and west to Iran, Egypt, North Africa, and Spain. This handsome book demonstrates the breadth and beauty of Islamic calligraphy across centuries and continents, as seen in rare early folios of the Qur’an.
Noted scholar David J. Roxburgh begins by discussing the Qur’an, which Muslims believe to be the written record of a series of divinely inspired revelations to the Prophet Muhammad. He then analyzes Kufic script, the preeminent vehicle for writing early manuscripts of the Qur’an; reforms of calligraphy in the 10th century; and the great master Islamic calligraphers, in particular Yaqut al-Mustasimi. The beautiful reproductions of folios and bifolios validate Roxburgh’s conclusion that the miracle of the text of the Qur’an found its equal in the technical mastery of the calligrapher’s practice, a miracle in its own right.”

Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qur'an

This groundbreaking book examines portable art collections assembled in the courts of Greater Iran in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Made for members of the royal families or ruling elites, albums were created to preserve and display art, yet they were conceptualized in different ways. David Roxburgh, a leading expert on Persian albums and the art of the book, discusses this diversity and demonstrates convincingly that to look at the practice of album making is to open a vista to a culture of thought about the Persian art tradition.
The book considers the album’s formal and physical properties, assembly, and content, as well as the viewer’s experience. Focusing on seven albums created during the Timurid and Safavid dynasties, Roxburgh reconstructs the history and development of this codex form and uses the works of art to explore notions of how art and aesthetics were conceived in Persian court culture. Generously illustrated with over 175 images, many rare and previously unpublished, the book offers a range of new insights into Persian visual culture as well as Islamic art history.

Writing the word of God : Calligraphy and the Qur'an

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Roxburgh, David J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Roxburgh, David J.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Roxburgh, David J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection

Traces of the Calligrapher: Islamic Calligraphy in Practice, c. 1600-1900

Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qur'an

The Persian Album, 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection

Writing the word of God : Calligraphy and the Qur'an