Stories of the Prophets: English 1999

(For US customer $ 65) This volume presents a detailed iconographic and stylistic study of a group of profusely illustrated manuscripts, from 1570's-80's. This group comprises 21 copies of three Persian texts, all entitled Stories of the Prophets. The lives and deeds of mostly biblical figures, considered by Muslims as prophets, are mentioned briefly in the Koran. They are then developed and enlarged upon in the writings of religious scholars, historians, sufi poets, and popular storytellers. The variation of literary details reflect the differences between Muslim religious trends and the debts of Islamic thinking and art, to pre-Islamic traditions and the syncretism of these various traditions with Islamic theology. Textual and visual analysis in this book show that in spite of the language and the Persian style of decoration, most of the manuscripts were copied and illustrated by a group of unidentified painters in the Ottoman Empire rather than Iran. The iconographical study reveals ideological programs and cliche typical of the Ottoman polemical discourse with its Shi`ite rival in Iran, and its Christian neighbors in the West. The non-royal style of the miniatures suggests t