This is a detailed study of the illustrations to Amir Khusrau's Khamsah, in which twenty discourses are followed by a brief parable, and four romances. Amir Khusrau (1253-1325) lived the greater part of adventurous life in Delhi; he composed in Persian, and also in Hindi. From the point of view of manuscript illustration, his most important work is his Khamsah (Quintet'). Khusrau's position as a link between cultures of Persia and India means that the early illustrated copies of the Khamsah have a particular interest. The first extant exemplar is from the Persian area in the late 14th century, but a case can be made that work was probably illustrated earlier in India.

Product Description: Commissioned by Prince Sultan Ibrahim Mirza in 1556, five Iranian court calligraphers devoted nine years to transcribing the poetic text of the great Persian classic, the Haft awrang (Seven Thrones), by the mystical poet Abdul-Rahman Jami...read more

A guide to budget travel in Europe provides money-saving tips, sightseeing information, and thousands of listings of economical hotels, hostels, pensiones, guesthouses, and bed-and-breakfasts for all major European cities. Original.

Product Description: Reveals the mind and spirit of various cultures, from Islam, Greece, Japan, and medieval France to the 20th century, through their use of space in artistic works. The author asserts that the artistic destiny of both Europe and Asia is made of the interaction between two formative art currents: m...read more

Product Description: Over the last forty years, Basil Robinson has established a reputation as a leading authority on the art of Persia. His work on Persian manuscript illumination represents one of the most important contributions made in this century to the study of the development of this pivotal branch of Islamic art, which absorbed the influence of Arab and Chinese painting, and influenced in turn the miniature painting of Mughal India...read more

A guide to budget travel in Europe provides money-saving tips, sightseeing information, and thousands of listings of economical hotels, hostels, pensiones, guesthouses, and bed-and-breakfasts for all major European cities. Original.