What to read after Art of the Persian Courts?

Perhaps no cultural aspect of the medieval Iranian world has been less understood than one of its most seductive expressions - the art of the book. Born of Islam's reverence for the written word and refined by royal patronage, manuscript production flourished in royal library-ateliers. The imaginative powers of Persian artists and craftsmen working in the context of the book fashioned a distinctive view of the world and man's place in it. This extensive survey of the Art and History Trust collection emphasizes the historical circumstances of artistic production at those courts, from Anatolia to India, where Persian art and culture prevailed. The allure of Persian literature and imagery for foreign invaders, both inside and outside the Iranian cultural sphere, is repeatedly demonstrated. During the centuries following the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, Persian ideals and sensibilities dominated elite taste among the great dynasties of the eastern Islamic world: the Il-Khanids, Teymurids, Safavids, and Mughals. Under their lavish patronage the illustrated manuscript, calligraphy, painting, and drawing were elevated to complex new heights, as both objects of beauty and vehicles for dynastic aspirations. The Art and History Trust collection is particularly notable for its superb holdings of Persian and Mughal painting. It not only features acknowledged masterpieces but also brings into public view an array of previously unknown works. Utilizing an impressive range of historical sources, many of them unfamiliar to Western scholars, the authors have shed new light on the formation and development of these rich traditions.