The IHF/ BL digitisation project keeps producing treasures. A recent BL blog discussed the hybrid paintings of Muhammad Zaman ibn Hajji Yusuf Qummi (fl. 1649-1704): “famous for his figures in European dress and use of night scenes and shadows”. I’ve never much liked these hybrid pictures, but was fascinated to read a whole new way …
The British Museum has a small and very lovely exhibition on now of British fourth century silver – looking at the Great Dish from the Mildenhall treasure. There’s an intimate recreation of a late Roman dining room, with a stibadium (curved couch) for you to recline on, in exactly the right position for eating from …
I’ve already praised the eleventh century Vis and Ramin – and noted how Gorgani wasn’t afraid to have his characters show their faults. Unlike other 11th century writers (like Ferdowsi), he is not embarrassed about the Parthian traditions of endogamy – with the brother-sister marriage between Viru and Vis, and with Vis and Ramin being …
Last week, I showed you the super-expensive so-called Clark-Corcoran carpet, and commented that – with these prices – none of us are likely to be actually seeing it face-to-carpet, so to speak. There are some other carpets that are even less likely to be seen: the 17 large-format classical carpets, including the iconic white-ground Safavid …
Last week, the world’s most expensive carpet was sold at auction: at a $30 million hammer price (this goes up to $33,765,000 with Sotheby’s commission). This price was more than triple the previous record for a rug, and almost five times the high pre-auction estimate of cost. If you want to see the bidding war …
I couldnt believe my eyes when I saw Ahriman (as Goebbels) with serpents with the faces of Mussolini and Tojo growing out of his shoulders, egged on by Zahhak (as Hitler’s cook). Then Zahhak-Hitler dreams of the three warriors who will cause his demise (obviously: Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt). It’s all finished off by Kaveh, …
Dr Cyrus Alai – the author of the seminal books on General Maps of Persia, and Special Maps of Persia – has donated his balanced and cohesive collection of maps of Persia to SOAS – and last week was the official thankyou ceremony. There was a keynote speech, but I wanted to share some of …
I was given a copy of Vis and Ramin by a good friend of mine – thankyou! This is a wonderful book (written in the 11th century, almost certainly Parthian, and with tantalising parallels to the – later – Tristan and Iseult) Seeing as so few people seem to read it (click here or here …
Just for a change, there’s some good news from Kabul. The Mughal India exhibition that was at the British Library is now on show at the Queens Palace, in the Babur Gardens in Kabul. The Babur Gardens – with their 13 levels – include Babur’s Tomb, and the gardens and the tomb have been restored …
Stephennie Mulder sent this on H-Islamart. It is indeed terrible news “Dear Colleagues, I am heartbroken to inform you that the 11th-century minaret of the Umayyad mosque in Aleppo was destroyed yesterday. It was one of the great treasures of Islamic architecture, a restrained and elegant example of the exquisite stone-carving of medieval Syrian stonemasons. …