Yale University Press

And diverse are their hues; color in Islamic art and culture.

In keeping with its founding premise to consider larger issues in Islamic art and architecture, the Third Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art and Culture, held in 2009 in Córdoba, Spain, was devoted to the use of color. Written by senior scholars, the 13 essays of this beautifully produced proceedings have been written to be accessible to students and the general reader rather than solely a specialized audience, making this a useful introductory volume to the world of Islamic art and architecture. The essays consider specific examples as well as entire histories, each copiously illustrated with color plates of the best quality, many of them full-page in size. The origins and significance of gold inscriptions on a blue background, the use of blue in the story of Majnun in Persian painting, the development and spread of cuerda seca tile, the technology of color in manuscript painting, the use of color in designing carpets and gardens, the color red in Rasulid Yemen, and the symbolism of color in mysticism are among the topics. The volume, which is oversized (9.5x11.75 inches) was co-published by the Qatar Foundation, the Virginia Commonwealth U. School of the Arts, and its School of the Arts in Qatar, all of whom are organizers of the conference. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)