MASSUMEH FARHAD is chief curator and curator of Islamic art at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. A specialist in the arts of the book from 16th- and 17th-century Iran, Farhad has curated numerous exhibitions on the arts of the Islamic world and coauthored Slaves of the Shah- New Elites in Safavid Iran (2004) and Falnama- The Book of Omens (2009). SIMON RETTIG is the curatorial fellow for the arts of the Islamic world at the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. He holds a PhD in the history of Islamic art and architecture from Aix-Marseille University. He curated the Sackler's 2014 exhibition Nasta'liq- The Genius of Persian Calligraphy.
LIBRARY JOURNAL
Published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name at the
Freer Sackler Galleries at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington,
DC, this volume succeeds in giving a thorough overview of the
history of the Qur'an and the role of Qur'anic text in Islamic
societies from the late seventh through the 17th centuries.
Accompanying essays from experts with academic, museum, and library
backgrounds cover a historiography of the topic, a history of
collecting and exhibiting Qur'ans, and the evolution of and
regional distinctions in materials, layouts, and styles (in
calligraphy and in illumination and ornamentation). Though dry at
times, the writing is clear and easy to follow. The catalog's 67
entries include beautiful photographs of the items (Qur'ans, Qur'an
chests, and Qur'an stands) alongside detailed item descriptions. A
glossary is included. VERDICT Students and experts of Islamic
history, religious studies, and Islamic art will find this work
extremely useful and will delight in its comprehensive nature.
Essential for academic and art libraries, but not a necessary
purchase for public libraries.--Jennifer Naimzadeh, Richland Lib.,
Columbia, SC
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