About the Author

Sheila S. Blair and Jonathan M. Bloom are area editors of Islam for The Dictionary of Art.

Reviews

Intended as a standard text, this volume by the area editors of Islam for The Dictionary of Art (1980. 3d ed.) is a sequel to Richard Ettinghausen and Oleg Grabar's now classic The Art and Architecture of Islam: 650-1250 (Viking, 1988). Organized simply by chronology (with sections on 1250-1500 and 1500-1800) and then by geography (Iran and Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Asia Minor, and India), the text focuses separately on architecture and "the arts." Each chapter concentrates on a limited number of significant objects, discussing not only stylistic and aesthetic issues but also addressing the social, historical, and economic contexts of those works. Although this book is densely written in a manner typical of survey texts and lacking the richly colored glossy reproductions of a coffee-table tome, its comprehensive coverage entitles it to become part of any library with the slightest interest in art.-Eugene C. Burt, Art Inst. of Seattle Lib.