Islamic Manuscript Tradition

Christiane Gruber is Assistant Professor of Islamic Art at Indiana University Bloomington. She is editor (with Frederick S. Colby) of The Prophet's Ascension: Cross-Cultural Encounters with the Islamic Mi'raj Tales (IUP, 2009) and author of The Timurid Book of Ascension (Mi'rajnama): A Study of Text and Image in a Pan-Asian Context and The Ilkhanid Book of Ascension: A Persian-Sunni Prayer Manual.

Collected studies often are uneven and inconsistent affairs, reflecting the distinctive perspectives and expository idiosyncrasies of their various contributors. Not so here, however, where tight editorial control was clearly exercised, and epistolary style uniformly regulated. . . . Besides simultaneously enriching the corpus of Islamic books and the study of Islamic book arts, this handsome volume does Indiana University proud.(Journal of the American Oriental Society) It is Gruber's scholarship that makes this book a desirable addition to a reference or circulating collection. . . . Her introductory essay could serve as course reading for classes on art history or Islamic culture and civilization; it stands alone as a readable, attractive, and extensively footnoted summary of the distinctive artistic character of Islamic book arts thorugh the centuries. 9:3, 2010(Journal of Religious & Theological Intormation) This handsome, large-format volume presents eight essays written in conjunction with an exhibition of the rich collection of Islamic books at Indiana University. . . . This book is a pleasure to hold and to read. . . . Highly recommended.(Choice) Overall this volume brings unpublished material into discussion and serves as a valuable educational tool.(Speculum) [In this title] we may admire the richness of the holdings of Indiana University, especially as represented in the Lilly Library of Rare Books and Manuscripts, and the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction.Feb. 2012(Bulletin of the S.O.A.S.) The book constitutes a welcome addition to the scholarship on the Islamic manuscript tradition . . . . [I]t offers an exemplary introductory text on the Islamic book arts, the book's main interest and usefulness are to be found in the many critical issues raised by the choice of 'intriguing materials' studied.24.2 August 2012(Al-Masaq) [This book] is full of illustrations, pictures, and images that help the reader to better understand the text. The book is highly recommended for academic libraries, art libraries, and larger public libraries.(MELA Notes) [T]his is a useful source material on the development of Islamic book art from the 9th to the 20th centuries in different parts of the world, and will be an essential information tool for all those interested in the Islamic artistic and aesthetic traditions, specifically in the art of the book which is a highly prized item of Islamic material culture.(Journal of Oriental and African Studies)

• Foreword by Oleg GrabarPrefaceAcknowledgments1. Introduction: Islamic Book Arts in Indiana University Collections / Christiane Gruber2. Ruth E. Adomeit: An Ambassador for Miniature Books / Janet Rauscher 3. Between Amulet and Devotion: Islamic Miniature Books in the Lilly Library / Heather Coffey4. A Pious Cure-All: The Ottoman Illustrated Prayer Manual in the Lilly Library / Christiane Gruber5. Ibrahim Müteferrika and the Age of the Printed Manuscript / Yasemin Gencer6. An Ottoman View of the World: The Kitab Cihannüma and Its Cartographic Contexts / Emily Zoss7. The Lilly Shamshir Khani in a Franco-Sikh Context: A Non-Islamic "Islamic" Manuscript / Brittany Payeur8. An Amuletic Manuscript: Baraka and Nyama in a Sub-Saharan African Prayer Manual / Kitty JohnsonBibliographyList of Contributors