Earthly beauty, heavenly art - M. B. Piotrovskii

The number of people who adhere to the Islamic religion is considerable, and it is on the increase. However, very few people who do not follow Islamic culture know anything about this religion. What awareness does exist tends to be coloured by the extreme forms of Islam which are frequently projected in the media. This book, by using art as a medium, aims to give a unique insight into Islam. It contains over 300 Islamic works of supreme beauty and quality brought together from many distinguished international collections including: The British Museum (London), The State Hermitage Museum (St Petersburg) and the Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris). By looking at various themes such as the palace, the mosque and paradise, the reader is led through myriad of jewelled objects, splendid ceramics and glassware, elegant Qur'ans, textiles and prayer rugs. Piotrovsky's text deals with various fundamental facets of Islamic art, whilst all objects in the book are accompanied by a detailed description written by the curators of the museums and collections to which they belong.