Papers by Robert Hillenbrand
The making of Islamic Art ed. Robert Hillenbrand
The topic of this chapter is a melancholy one, for it concerns what often passes for conservation... more The topic of this chapter is a melancholy one, for it concerns what often passes for conservation and restoration in the medieval architecture of Iranshahr. 1 That term might be rendered as 'the Iranian world', whose fluid boundaries, ever-expanding and ever-contracting, encompassed over the millennia the area between Anatolia and India and between the Persian Gulf and northern Central Asia. The present chapter places particular emphasis on Central Asia, since this is where the main killing fields of 'restoring' medieval architecture are to be found. The replacement of the trained craftsman's hand by the soulless efficiency of the machine, a theme that preoccupied Ruskin 150 years ago, 2 is at the heart of this chapter. Iran, especially since the Islamic Revolution, has a very much better record than its neighbours in preserving medieval architecture, though its record is not unblemished. 3 This is no accident. Iran has immeasurably better infrastructure in this field than they do, in that the country's various provinces each has an office and a team, many of them architects or engineers, charged with protecting and maintaining the local monuments. Obviously, over time these local teams get to know the buildings under their care very well indeed. These local offices maintain photographic records of the buildings under their care, have a growing archive of drawings at their disposal, and have the authority to conduct limited excavations, repairs, conservation and restoration. And above this network of local offices is the organisation responsible not only for the oversight and control of their activities but also for formulating policy. So there is a proper chain of command, with local work subject to inspection from the central office. And in Afghanistan too, despite the political turmoil it has endured over the last forty years, restoration projects are under way and specialists are being trained in the techniques of restoration. 4 That said, it will be appropriate to draw on an occasional example from Iran in this chapter, as well as others from Anatolia and
The Making of Islamic Art ed. Robert Hillenbrand, 2021
Bloom, whose friendship Carole and I have enjoyed for many years, have both contributed very gene... more Bloom, whose friendship Carole and I have enjoyed for many years, have both contributed very generously over the years to the Festschriften of other scholars, including my own, so it is a particular pleasure to be able to return the compliment, and moreover to welcome its appearance in the series Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art which I have edited for over a decade, and to which both of them have also contributed a title. The range and depth of the contributions to this volume offer another kind of compliment, this time to the wide horizons which these two scholars have opened for their colleagues in the course of their spectacularly productive careers as researchers. It is quite plain that their example has been inspirational. It is a tribute to them that every one of these chapters reflects some aspect or other of their own interests as expressed in their publications. Hence the frequent references to 'B&B' in the footnotes and bibliographies of the chapters in this book. A special word of thanks goes to the contributors. It is they who have made this book. Many are based in the United States and Britain, but Denmark, Egypt, Germany and Italy are also represented. Some of them have generously devoted time that they did not have to prepare their chapters, as a gesture of friendship and respect to Sheila and Jonathan; others have chosen to build on work done by the very scholars whom they honour, and yet others, responding to the challenge set by these two eminent scholars that their Festschrift should celebrate what they themselves have termed 'thinginess', have dug deep to unearth something appropriate that they would not otherwise have explored. That word 'thinginess' is not in the lexicon just yet, but its meaning is clear. The field of Islamic art these days has no shortage of theorists, and there have been many attemptsnot always happy ones-to make research into the world of Islamic art fit the Procrustean bed of theories generated by Western scholars for Western culture in its many expressions. Sheila and Jonathan
The Islamic-Byzantine Boarder in History - From the rise of Islam to the end of the Crusades edited by D.G. Tor and Aleander D Beihammer
See also Jean Sauvaget, 'Châteaux umayyades de Syrie: Contribution à l'étude de la colonisation a... more See also Jean Sauvaget, 'Châteaux umayyades de Syrie: Contribution à l'étude de la colonisation arabe aux Ier et IIe siècles de l'hégire', Revue des Études Islamiques (1967), 1-49, a posthumous assessment of Umayyad secular architecture; but his overview does not include either Umayyad religious architecture or the non-architectural material.
Journal of Art Historiography, 2023
Ivories, Rock Reliefs and Merv Studies on the Ancient Near East in Honour of Georgina Herrmann Edited by Dirk Wicke and John Curtis, 2022
In this paper I want to deal with four topics, some briefly, some at more length. First, why stud... more In this paper I want to deal with four topics, some briefly, some at more length. First, why study the zone of transition-otherwise known as the squinch zone-in the first place? After all, it sounds terminally boring. Second, what kind of architectural forms for this zone did the Muslims inherit? Third, what caused the radical changes in the squinch zone in the Islamic period? Fourth, and lastly, what were these changes, and what are the key points in the evolution of the squinch zone in medieval Iran? First, then: why study the squinch zone? Any examination of an architectural feature is liable to be dry. Those that attempt such a study must steer a treacherous course between the two poles of taxonomy-that is, close, detailed description, often involving the creation of multiple categories-and of analysis, where scholars are equally apt to get bogged down in
The Diez Albums, 2017
might once have belonged in the Great Mongol Shahnama. So there is a frustrating obliqueness abou... more might once have belonged in the Great Mongol Shahnama. So there is a frustrating obliqueness about his remarks. Dorothea Duda discusses fol. U2r at some length; she puts it alongside fol. 23r, 28v, 55r, 65v, 112v, and 156v in the period 1350-75, and more specifically from 1358 onwards ("Die Buchmalerei der Gala'iriden", Der Islam 49 (1972), pp. 154-165). But she too was not looking for lost leaves of the Great Mongol Shahnama. 5 Ernst]. Grube, "Persian Painting in the Fourteenth Century. A Research Report", Supplemento no.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
The article sets the discussion of Islamic art within the very animated discussions of the last f... more The article sets the discussion of Islamic art within the very animated discussions of the last few decades by many prominent scholars that have sought to pinpoint its nature and that have highlighted the twin dangers of over-generalisation and too narrow a focus. Given that the parameters of the discussion have undergone radical change, and the need to revise traditional paradigms, the article confines itself to Islamic art in the medieval period and the central Islamic lands, especially through the prism of nature. Problems of definition and of the usefulness of medieval texts, and the roles of abstraction and contemplation, are reviewed in turn and the article ends with an attempt to define more closely the aesthetics of a single branch of Islamic art, namely medieval Persian book painting.
The Making of Islamic Art
Ferdowsi, the Mongols and the History of Iran
Samanid
Oxford Art Online, 2003
CHAPTER 3 Seljuq Art: An Overview
The Seljuqs and their Successors, 2020
Persians Abroad: The Case of The Jami' Masjid of Gulbarga
The ʿAmiriya in Radaʿ : the history and restoration of a sixteenth-century madrasa in the Yemen
This volume is devoted to one of the most important 16th-century buildings still extant in the Ye... more This volume is devoted to one of the most important 16th-century buildings still extant in the Yemen - the Amiriya Madrasa in Rada. The building is fully described and its place in the development of Rasulid and Tahirid architecture fully discussed. A final section details the extensive restoration of the building which was led by Dr Al-Radi of the University of New York's Institute of Fine Arts over a period of four years. The project employed a team of local craftsmen and made full use of indigenous materials to return the monument to its former glory. One intention of this volume is to encourage other developing countries to use their resources to rejuvenate their own national heritage. Dr Venetia Porter of the British Museum and Dr Ruth Barnes of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford have made detailed contributions regarding the architectural decoration and history of the building.
Architecture and Politics: The North and South Dome Chambers of the Isfahan Jāmi‘
Erudition Exalted: The Double Frontispiece to the Epistles of the Sincere Brethren
Beyond the Legacy of Genghis Khan, 2006
C. Edmund Bosworth 1928–2015
Iran, 2015
Persian painting: from the Mongols to the Qajars: studies in honour of Basil W. Robinson
Choice Reviews Online, 2001
Published in honour of Basil W. Robinson, Keeper Emeritus of the Victoria and Albert Museum and a... more Published in honour of Basil W. Robinson, Keeper Emeritus of the Victoria and Albert Museum and a key contributor to the growing scholarly interest in Persian miniatures for over 50 years, this book contains both personal appreciations of his work and a bibliography of his writings. The contributions cover Persian painting from Ilkhanid to Qajar times, and include material from Turkey, Central Asia and India.
Seeing the Art in Good Teaching
Principal, Nov 1, 1981
Muhammad As Warrior Prophet Images from the World History of Rashid al-Din
A Scholarly Investigation
Uploads
Papers by Robert Hillenbrand