The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800 by Sheila S. Blair; Jonathan M.

Bloom
Review by: Priscilla P. Soucek
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 55, No. 3 (Sep., 1996), pp. 344-346
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural Historians
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in Cairo, in recognition of the centuries of
Muslim,Jewish, and Christian coexistence
within the city. Lambert,asked to identify a
proper site, wisely turned to al Fustat, the
old section of Cairo within the walls of the
Roman Fortress of Babylon, where reli-
gious buildings of the three faiths-includ-
ing the Ben EzraSynagogue---could stillbe
found in close proximity.
The first part of the book chronicles the
historyand archaeology of the site. Charles
Le Quesne traces the synagogue's history
from the earliestreference of 1006. Demol-
ished around 1013, following an edict that
all Christianand Jewish houses of worship
in Egypt should be destroyed, the syna-
gogue was rebuiltin 1039-1041. An invalu-
able list of materialsused for the reconstruc-
tion survives.The eleventh-centurystructure
stood until the 1890s, when the current
building replaced it.
The book's second part centers on Jo-
han Bellaert'sunusuallycomprehensive ac-
count of the preservationwork.The restora-
tion project agenda was to "preserve and
rehabilitatethe cumulativemodificationsto
the synagogue and site, and its substantial
or ephemeral objects of devotion to their
appearance as left at the time of the aban-
donment in the 1970s. All historicalmodifi-
cations were to be respected" (101). Al-
though the project has been called a
"restoration"throughout the book, the un-
derlying preservation philosophy has been
conservation and preservation of existing
elements, rather the recreation of any spe-
cific former period appearance. Despite
press accounts trumpeting the restoration
of this "medieval"synagogue, it is the nine-
teenth-century synagogue, now pristine,
that greets contemporaryvisitors.
A frank and refreshing essay by John
Stewart addresses the ethics of restoration
and preservation practice which "respects
the collective inheritance of the past." His
discussion of the methodological problems
encountered during the project is invalu-
able, and anyone familiarwith the behind-
the-scenes shortcuts,unavoidable compro-
mises, and inadvertent mistakes common
to real life archaeology and conservation
will welcome Stewart's contribution. Lus-
cious photographs of the building's new
appearance and Bellaert's account detail
the extensive replacement of original exte-
rior elements with replicas. Stewart con-
fronts this aspect of the project and dis-
344 JSAH / 55:3, SEPTEMBER 1996
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creetlydescribesmethodologicaldifferences
voiced by members of the team. Such was
the case, for example, regarding the re-
moval, in 1985, of the building's exterior
render--deemed necessaryfor archaeologi-
cal purposes, but not for conservation.
Given the extensive attention to the
historyof the medieval building, which was
demolished, too little is said about the
modern interior and its conservation.Only
one page describes the decoration, dating
it sometime between 1892 and 1910. The
omission is regrettable since the ceiling
paintings, seemingly Arabic in detail (the
authors repeatedly use the term "ara-
besques"), are more likely derived from
nineteenth-century European "Moorish"
synagogue designs, begun by Gottfried
Semper in mid-century.As such, they tes-
tifyto the influence of European currentsin
Cairo in the 1890s. Indeed, the designs in
the women's gallery are remarkablysimilar
to the 1893-1894 ceiling decorations in
Cracow's Temple Synagogue, now being
conserved by the World Monuments Fund.
Only a few lines are given to the methods of
conservation and repair of the Ben Ezra
interior paintings, not enough to guide
work on the many nineteenth-centurysyna-
gogue wall paintings in need of conserva-
tion. Stewartis silent here, too, not address-
ing the question of whether to conserve
originalwall finishes, or to overpaintwhere
repetitivedesigns establishthe originalcolor
and pattern.
Part3, entitled "The Synagogue and the
Community"covers the legends and tradi-
tions of the synagogue and the history of
the Geniza manuscripts. Essays by Mena-
hem Ben Sasson, Joseph R. Hacker, and
Charles Le Quesne survey the building's
thousand-yearhistory.
This volume combines the form of a
traditional building monograph prepared
for specialistswith the beautiful design and
high production values of a lavish coffee
table book for the general audience. It
succeeds on both counts. The text is thor-
ough (if occasionally dense), presenting
crucial details of building history and con-
servation,and the drawingsand photos are
exceptionallywell reproduced. As an archi-
tectual historian actively engaged in the
give and take of a big conservation project
in a distant country where Jews have been
persecuted, and few remain, and where
Western cooperation has been the excep-
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
tion and not the rule, I am extremely
appreciative of the extent and quality of
Lambert'swork. It will serve as a guide and
primer for others to studyand follow.
- Samuel Gruber
JewishHeritageCenter
Sheila S. Blair andJonathan M. Bloom
THE ART AND ARCHITECTUREOF
IsLAM1250-1800
Pelican History of Art; New Haven
and London: Yale University Press,
1994, xiii + 348 pp., 400 illus., 150 in
color). $65.00 (cloth).
ISBN 0-300-05888-8.
This well-written and well-illustrated vol-
ume, which the authors describe as a "sur-
vey and a manual" (1), provides an over-
viewof the architecturaland artisticheritage
produced under Islamic domination in a
vast area stretching from Spain and North
Africa in the west to the Indian subconti-
nent in the east. The book has two main
chronological divisions (1250-1500 and
1500-1800) and eighteen chapters dealing
with the monuments or objects from spe-
cific regions which are associatedwith par-
ticular dynasties. An introduction outlines
the project'sgoals, and a final chapter deals
with the heritage of Islamic art in both the
Islamic world and western Europe. Com-
ments about a given period and area focus
first on architectureand then consider the
portable arts; these two components are
given nearly equal weight in terms of text
and illustrations.
This separation of architecture from
other media followsa scheme establishedin
the earlier companion volume, TheArtand
Architecture of Islam: 650-1250 by Richard
Ettinghausenand Oleg Grabar(Harmonds-
worth, 1987). The Blair-Bloom book dif-
fers, however, in its greater stress on royal
patronage and in the pivotalrole attributed
to Iranian court art in the broader artistic
evolution of the regions surveyed. The fo-
cus on court patronage is particularlystrik-
ing in the treatment of architecture,where
monuments of some dynasties are dis-
cussed almost ruler by ruler. The basic
method is the analysisof major monuments
and well-documented objects connected
with principal dynasties. Structures de-
scribed at length are illustratedwith both
plans and general views.
 The decision to use dynasties as the
point of departure is a logical one which
not only provides an armatureof periodiza-
tion but also reflects the nature of available
documentation about Islamic architecture.
A structureis much more likely to contain
information,usuallyin form of inscriptions,
about a patron than about anyone else
involved in its construction. Most Islamic
historians focus at length on the deeds of
rulers and their close associates, whereas
references to architects, builders, design-
ers, or other craftsmen are infrequent and
laconic. Even if such a name is given,
virtuallynothing can be known of the per-
son's life, training, or individual contribu-
tion. A focus on courtly patronage facili-
tates the linking of buildings and objects
with a historicaland culturalcontext. Also,
royal monuments are in many cases the
most impressiveof their time.
This approach is obviously best suited
for analyzing periods with well-established
dynasties of rulers active as patrons of art
and architecture, chiefly the Timurids,
Mamluks,Ottomans and Mughals. In such
cases the discussion of a sequence of major
royal commissions also provides a visual
counterpoint to a dynasty'shistory.Regions
or periods which lack a clear dynasticfocus
such as Anatolia between 1250 and 1450
(chapter 10) or the Indian subcontinent
before the Mughals (chapter 11) are more
difficult to treat in this fashion. The au-
thors' solution is to present a sample of
building types of different dates and from
diverse regions to indicate the range of
surviving monuments. The geographical
and typological diversityof the pre-Mughal
Indian monuments discussed is particularly
welcome.
This book's consideration of architec-
ture builds on the informationcontained in
a number of earlier studies with a regional
or dynastic focus, but the authors go be-
yond the summary of important informa-
tion about the structuresstudied and pro-
vide insight into the ways in which the
individual monuments can be integrated
into a historicalor dynasticcontext. This is
particularly true in the treatment of Il-
khanid (Mongol) Iran (chapter 2) Mamluk
Cairo (chapters 6-7), and Uzbek Central
Asia (chapter 14).
The Ilkhanid chapter refines the infor-
mation provided by earlier scholars such as
Donald Wilber and adds historicalinsights
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about specific patrons along with a clear
analysis of the diverse monuments they
sponsored (see Donald M. Wilber,TheArchi-
tectureof IslamicIran: The IlkhanidPeriod
[Princeton, 1955]). The discussionof Mam-
luk structuresfocuses specificallyon Cairo
using the compilations of K. A. C. Creswell,
Doris Behrens-Abouseifand M. Meinecke
(K. A. C. Creswell,TheMuslimArchitecture of
Egypt,vol. 2 [Oxford, 1959]; Doris Behrens-
Abouseif, IslamicArchitecturein Cairo:An
Introduction[Leiden, 1989]; M. Meinecke,
Die mamlukische Architekturin Agyptenund
Syrien,2 vols., Gluickstadt,1992]). The dis-
cussion stresses references to historical
sources of the period which provide insight
about the aims of specific patrons and also
explain how such buildings were actually
used. The creation of documentary links
between the historicalsettingand the monu-
ments is particularlywelcome for the archi-
tecture of sixteenth-and seventeenth-cen-
tury central Asia. Previously this region's
artisticheritage was mainly accessible to an
English-speaking audience through lav-
ishlyproduced picture books which offered
little informationeither about the buildings
themselves or their cultural and historical
importance.
The book also has larger themes which
frame the discussion of individual periods
and regions. One is the pride of place given
to Iran; a consideration of the architecture
and art from the Ilkhanid and Timurid do-
mains opens its first section, and a discus-
sion of Safavidand Zandmonuments opens
the second half.This configurationis ampli-
fied by references to connections between
Iranian monuments and those of other re-
gions made in the variouschapters.Connec-
tions between Iraniandecorative traditions
and those of Ottoman Turkey are stressed
(232, 234, 237-238), as are the links be-
tween Iranian art and architecture and
those of the Mughals (269-270, 287-288).
Such ties have been acknowledged for
some time, but this book puts particular
stress on the links between Iranian and
Mamlukarchitecture.Parallelsare noted in
both the plans and decoration of several
mid-fourteenth-centuryCairene buildings
which are hypothesized to reflect features
of buildings from Mongol Tabriz (80, 84).
Parallelsbetween fourteenth-centuryEgyp-
tian calligraphyand illuminationand those
produced under Ilkhanid domination are
also noted (102), as are the debt of both
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
groups of manuscriptsto those of Abbasid
Iraq, particularlyBaghdad.
The claim that "Iranian art was the
channel though which Chinese decorative
motifs were disseminated throughout the
Islamicworld"(1), however,needs qualifica-
tion. There appear to have been multiple
channels linking the Islamic Near East and
China. Connections between the Red Sea
ports and Asia may have been the predomi-
nant source of both Chinese ceramics and
textiles for Egypt, Syria,and Anatolia. The
popularity of such goods in the Mamluk
cities is noted on page 97. Such objects,
which must have circulatedlargely through
commercial channels, could have provided
ample inspiration for local craftsmen to
develop their own variants of these im-
ported wares without reference to Iranian
precedents. A particular type of Chinese
fabricexcavated in Egypt is the basisfor the
design used in one of the Turkish carpets
illustrated(figure 188).
Both of the majorthemes of this book-
the presentation of definable dynastic
"styles"and the possibility of artistic links
between distant regions-raise the ques-
tion of how plans or patterns were codified
and transmitted. The authors stress the
importance of paper records in both the
creation of standardized architecturaland
decorative types and in their transferfrom
one place to another, and they propose
that the greater availabilityof paper in the
post-Mongol period was a catalyticfactorin
the evolution of art and architecture (21,
92, 172, 233, 238, 248). Although the
examples provided by the authors do sug-
gest that paper was an important tool for
designers and craftsmen, other materials,
such as thin leather, were used for similar
purposes. The recording and transfer of
patterns and designs must have been fueled
by a varietyof factors, such as the growing
popularityof intricateornament, including
cut-tile mosaic and various kinds of inlays,
which required a high level of precision.
Even if this book had only chronicled
the architecturalmonuments of the periods
and regions surveyed, it would have been
most welcome, but the extensive coverage
given to metalwork,manuscripts, and tex-
tiles complements the discussion of build-
ings. A desire to present such interconnec-
tions seems to have guided the selection of
objectsdiscussed.This approachowes much
to the catalogue of T. Lentz and G. Lowry,
BOOKS 345
 Timurand thePrincelyVision:PersianArtand
Culturein theFifteenthCentury(Los Angeles
County Museum of Art, 1989). There have
been several publications based on exhibi-
tions combining works in various media
from a given period or region, such as Esin
Atil'sRenaissanceof Islam:Artof theMamluks
(Washington,D.C., SmithsonianInstitution,
1981), The Indian Heritage:CourtLife and
ArtsunderMughalRule (London, Victoria&
AlbertMuseum, 1982), and a seriesof books
on Ottoman court art under Sultan Siiley-
man; but this book is the first to present a
comprehensive surveyofvarious media with
such a wide scope (EsinAtil, TheAge of Sul-
tan Suiileyman [Washington, D.C., National
Gallery of Art, 1987];J. M. Rogers and R.
Ward, Sileyman the Magnificent[London,
British Museum, 1987]; Marthe Bernus
Taylor et al., SolimanLe Magnifique[Paris,
Ministredes AffairesEtrangeres, 1990].
The treatment of Ottoman art is espe-
ciallywell rounded. It highlights the varied
artistictrends during the reign of Mehmet
II (1451-1481) knownforhis broadintellec-
tual interestsand eclectic taste. This sultan's
attempts to link the artistic traditions of
Italy with those of the Islamic world were
largely repudiated by his successors, but
other developments of his period, such as
the introducion of Iranian designs, were
more enduring. A recent publicationwhich
provides further analysis of these develop-
ments is TurkishBookbindingin the 15th
Century:the Foundationof an OttomanCourt
StylebyJ. Rabyand Zeren Tanidi (London,
1993).
The attractivedesign of the book is to be
applauded, but the frequent absence of
page numbers makes the use of its index
laborious. It is reasonable to sacrifice the
occasional number to a color plate, but the
omission of numbers from several conseq-
utive pages seems excessive (80-87,
136-142, 179-182, 265-272, 275-286).
The worst case is chapter 18, in which only
four of twenty-one pages are numbered.
There are also a few minor problems with
the plates such as the omission of a caption
for plate 262. Most readers will probably
realize that plates 179 and 182 have been
reversed but they may not know that the
right and left sides of plate 80 have also
been transposed.
The book's structurewill make it a par-
ticularly useful adjunct to teaching, for it
can be used on its own to gain an overview
346 JSAH / 55:3, SEPTEMBER 1996
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of the subject. Both the individual monu-
ments selected for extended consideration
and their illustrationsare well chosen. The
rich annotation provided also allows a
reader to explore other facets of the topics
discussed.
- PriscillaP. Soucek
Instituteof FineArts,New YorkUniversity
Antonio Paolucci et al.
IL BATISTERO DI SAN GIOVANNI A
FIRENZE/THEBmrAPTISTERY OF SAN
GIOVANNI,FLORENCE
Mirabilia Italiae, 2; Modena: Franco
Cosimo Panini, 1994; 2 vols., 659 + 580
pp., 1071 color + 259 b & w illus.
Distributedin North Americaby George
Braziller,Inc. $450 (cloth).
ISBN 88-7686-274-9.
With the series entitled Mirabilia Italiae,
directed by SalvatoreSettis, the publishing
house of Franco Cosimo Panini in Modena
intends to set a new standard of opulent
monographs on various monuments of
Italy.The first product of the serieswas The
Galleryof Maps in the Vatican;TheBaptistery
of San Giovanniis the second. The brilliant
photographic images in this series are
clearly its main selling point. Foldouts and
special graphics give the reader special
access to the art that none of the harried
visitors to either monument could possibly
enjoy on the spot. For the Vatican Gallery,
the format could hardly work better, since
the sequence of paintings was intended
from the first to be uniform, and the works
themselves are both didactic and elegant.
The baptisteryof S. Giovanniwas made for
worship, not for exhibition, but since it is a
centralized structure, it too lends itself
readilyto this kind of minute photographic
coverage. In these pages the historic octa-
gon turns itself into a sort of Benthamite
Panopticon of a thousand images caught in
the camera'slens. There is no question that
an attentive reading of these images (one
fan-tailed foldout reproduces both the
shape and the decoration of the entire
dome; another renders the whole floor)
gives the scholar a powerfultool with which
to examine the building. Of the forthcom-
ing volumes, the most revealing will prob-
ably be the one devoted to the Arch of
Constantine, which will finally overcome
the usual inaccessibilityof its reliefs.
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
One expects a set of books that are high
in both cost and weight (eighteen pounds)
to produce visual effects not hitherto expe-
rienced, and that is the case here. The
photographic campaign required the bet-
ter part of three years for its execution: few
visual features inside or outside the build-
ing have been missed, though the lantern is
not conveyed adequately in the photo-
graphs, and the text omits the important
mid-twelfth-centuryinscriptionatop the lan-
tern that was transcribedyears ago by Wal-
ter Horn. The detailed coverage applies
not only to the mosaics and the three
famous bronze doors, but also to every
capital, every decorative panel inside and
out, and even the graffitiin the gallery.The
majorityof the images in the photographic
atlas are annotated in detailed notes at the
end of the text volume. Every photograph
is keyed to its location within or outside the
building by a series of diagrams, so that the
images create not merely a reflection of the
baptisterybut an exhaustive photographic
inventoryof the church that ought to be of
great value for future studies.
The photographic album is just one-
half of this production, however: a text
volume forms the other half. The text is
certainly of value, since it stimulates us to
reviewwhat we know about the baptistery,
just as the pictures stimulate us to review it
visually. But the words here afford much
less pleasure than the images: they seem
hobbled and narrow as they rehearse the
baptistery "problems"for the thousandth
time. The writing of the original Italian is
pedestrian, and the English translation
reads like the work of a sophomore com-
puter. (Unsurprisingly,a vague Italian ref-
erence on page 39 to the apostolatoof St.
Ambroseemerges in Englishas the misstate-
ment that St. Ambrosewas once pope.) The
bilingual text is an expensive luxury, since
one is paying unnecessarily for half the
book that goes unread, and the two-
column/two-language format is distracting.
The text consists of thirteen essays on
the architecture,the pavement, the sculp-
ture, and the mosaics, plus notes on the
plates and a bibliography.The notes on the
plates are the best thing in the volume. In
contrast to the sometimes muddled text,
the notes are focused and rather rich with
suggestions, doubtless because they have to
comment on specific concrete images.
Among the notes are full transcriptions of