Intersections: Art and Islamic Cosmopolitanism

  This richly illustrated book celebrates a reflection of Islam's inherent cosmopolitanism, characterized by diversity and the exchange of ideas. Each of the 10 scholarly essays in this oversized volume-stemming from a May 2018 symposium sponsored in part by the University of Texas at Dallas and the Dallas Museum of Art-highlight examples of artistic "intersections" between the West and the Islamic world across centuries. The striking similarity of two 12th-century gildedsilver bowls, one Byzantine, the other Seljuq, demonstrates "both shared and differentiated identities" of their courtly origins. Lavishly decorated 17th-century Syrian 'ajami rooms, awash in murals and wooden inlays, "incorporated and reinterpreted European elements and motifs" while inspiring later Orientalist architecture like as 19th-century American artist Frederick Church's Hudson Valley mansion Olana. An engaging book for fans of history, especially art history.