This volume, the seventh in Thames & Hudson’s celebrated series on the treasures of The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, catalogues more than forty Persian illuminated manuscripts, miniature paintings and elaborately decorated bookbindings dating from the 11th century CE to the early 20th century.
The dazzling array of painted illustrations reproduced depict court scenes, lovers’ trysts, lion hunts and battles, gardens and palaces, exotic plants and animals, angels and demons, mythical beasts, zodiac signs and personal portraits. Collectively they testify to the rich tradition of Persian representational art, alongside equally elaborate Qu’ran manuscript illuminations with elegant calligraphy.
Written by two eminent scholars, the catalogue descriptions explore the stylistic affinities, attributions, ownership history and artistic significance of each work.
Adel T. Adamova is a curator at the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Manijeh Bayani is a specialist in Persian epigraphy, and has contributed to numerous publications on Persian manuscripts and subjects related to epigraphy.