Ghada Hijjawi-Qaddumi (Ghāda al Ḥijjāwī al-Qaddūmī), an independent scholar based in Kuwait, is President of the World Crafts Council, Asia Pacific Region. Oleg Grabar was Professor Emeritus of Islamic Art and Architecture at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey.
This is a magnificent book on the fascinating subject of exchange
of gifts between different strata of society involving élite and
commoners, including Muslim rulers and their foreign counterparts,
courtiers, governors, ministers, chieftains and army commanders, on
a variety of occasions...The translator's attempt to define the
Arabic terms for various things and gifts alone should merit wider
recognition. It has been a labour of love to bring Book of Gifts
and Rarities to print and to give the flavour of the original. As a
critical edition and translation it has few parallels in
contemporary Arabic scholarship...Ghada al-Qaddumi's version of
Gifts and Rarities illustrates refined taste in high society under
Islamic rule, besides shedding light on related historical topics,
such as estates owned by the Prophet's Companions, the enviable
inheritances of Muslim ladies famous in Islamic history, and the
booty won by Muslim armies in historic battles...This book gives
the reader a feeling of pride and joy in the Islamic heritage...It
is a treasure of cultural history.
*Muslim World Book Review*
This book, which casts light on many areas of life in the medieval
Muslim world, will undoubtedly be useful to social, economic and
art historians interested in the period.
*British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies*
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