Lee Lawrence

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Based in Brooklyn, NY, Lee Lawrence writes frequently on Islamic and Asian art for the Wall Street Journal and cultural affairs for The Christian Science Monitor.

Articles by Lee Lawrence

A Researcher Chisels New Perspectives on Ancient Art

A Researcher Chisels New Perspectives on Ancient Art

Zainab Bahrani of Columbia University photographs ancient statues and reliefs carved into the rocks of remote Iraq to create a database for conservators and scholars. The effort is “decentering Europe from histories of art and histories of archaeology.”
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When Metalsmiths Found Their Groove

When Metalsmiths Found Their Groove

Opulent pieces found from some 700 years ago are now understood to be made of a common metal alloy that, in the 12th century CE, metalsmiths in the Turkic Seljuk dynasty transformed into luxury ware. Today, such pieces are as iconic of Islamic art as lavishly illustrated manuscripts or tilework tessellated with arabesques and geometry.
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Pistachios' History of Graft

Pistachios' History of Graft

Stimulated most recently by nutrition studies and marketing, pistachios are more available worldwide than ever. But today’s efforts are possible only thanks to patient bioengineering some 3,000 years ago.
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Bridging Lyres and Lutes

Bridging Lyres and Lutes

For more than 4,000 years. people have adopted, adapted and adjusted the lute, resulting in its countless variations. Along the way. some innovations have proved both consequential and simple.
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Ingenuity And Innovations 1 - Kohl Eyeliner: More Than Meets the Eye

Ingenuity And Innovations 1 - Kohl Eyeliner: More Than Meets the Eye

The black eyeliner known widely today as kohl was used much by both men and women in Egypt from around 2000 BCE—and not just for beauty or to invoke the the god Horus. It turns out kohl was also good for the health of the eyes, and the cosmetic’s manufacture relied on the world’s first known example of “wet chemistry”—the use of water to induce chemical reactions.
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Why Collectors Matter: A Conversation with Arts of South Asia’s Coeditors

Why Collectors Matter: A Conversation with Arts of South Asia’s Coeditors

In Arts of South Asia: Cultures of Collecting, coeditors Allysa B. Peyton and Katherine Ann Paul draw us into the personal, institutional and political dynamics surrounding objects that have journeyed from South Asia India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan to museums abroad and, in one case, undergone repatriation.
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