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Ludvik Kalus, J.M. Rogers, Manijeh Bayani and Chris Cavey
The collection of seals and talismans, with more than 2,800 examples, is the largest in the world, by far outstripping its nearest rival, the Hermitage in St Petersburg. Carved from a variety of precious and semi-precious stones, and inscribed in Arabic or Persian, they are mostly of Ottoman, Iranian or Mughal origin and span the entire Islamic period. Drawing on this wealth of material, the volume will be the most important work in the field to date.
The material presented in this volume ranges from a fine group of personal seals from the early Islamic period, to an impressive collection of 15th- and 16th-century seals from Iran and Turkey, and a large selection of seals of office from the Qajar period.
Among the early seals is a rare dated example - a seal of the privy treasury bearing the date AH 132 (AD 750-51) which corresponds to the last year of the reign of the last Umayyad Caliph, Marwan II. Royal seals from later periods are also represented, and these include the seal of the first Qara Qoyunlu ruler, Qara Muhammad; of the Safavid shahs Tahmasp and Suleyman; and of Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar.
Essays include a study of the materials and techniques used in the production of Islamic seals and talismans and another on the theory and practice of the use of seals in the early Islamic period.
Professor Ludvik Kalus teaches at the Department of Arabic Studies, Université de Paris IV (Sorbonne).
Professor J. M. Rogers is The Nasser D. Khalili Professor of Islamic Art, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and Honorary Curator of the Khalili Collection; he is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a leading authority with numerous publications covering many aspects of Islamic art and history.
(to be published)
fully illustrated in colour; line drawings; inscriptions reproduced in their original language, with translations
35.5 x 25.5 cm
hardback with dust jacket (slipcased)
£89 $180
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