Richard P. McClary - Böcker

Mina'i, or polychrome overglaze, ware was made in Iran between the late 12th and the early 13th centuries. However, most pieces in museums have in fact been rebuilt, often from pieces of multiple different vessels with extensive plaster fill and modern overpaint. Only by closely examining unrestored archaeological sherds genuine fragments of pots can we build an authentic picture of what mina'i ware actually looked like. In this innovative book, Richard P. McClary studies sherds in collections around the world to help us to understand the production, decoration and distribution of the wares. He then examines the increased popularity of mina'i ware from the late-19th to the mid-20th century, with a focus on the dealers, collectors and curators, as well as the various types of faking, restoration, repair and conservation that has occurred over the last century.

This is the first major book about Islamic stucco, and the central theme is the re-examination of the uses of stucco in architecture across the Islamic world in the pre-modern period.The book engages with new methodological approaches, including those that go beyond traditional art-historical ones, and works with a wide range of disciplines, including material science and archaeology. It includes numerous sites that have not been previously studied in detail, as well as new approaches to the study of the material, and presents a greater understanding of the use of colour and understanding of materiality.It includes contributions from a range of leading scholars from around the world working on this ubiquitous, important, but at times ephemeral and still poorly understood, medium in a wide variety of different cultural contexts. There are separate parts for each of the main geographic areas, with each of these sections arranged broadly chronologically. Coverage includes Iran and reaches as far afield as Spain and India.

This book examines the well-known but still poorly understood corpus of lajvardina ware from Iran, Central Asia and Russia. Acting as a follow-up volume to Mina'i Ware: A Reassessment and Comprehensive Study of Iranian Polychrome Overglaze Wares Through Sherds (Edinburgh University Press, 2024), it employs a broadly similar methodological approach to the next phase in the development of overglaze painted wares. Most vessels in museums are rebuilt, often from pieces of multiple different vessels with extensive plaster fill and modern overpaint. This is similar to mina’i wares, but, unlike the earlier technique, the majority of extant lajvardina wares are tiles, and not subject to the same level of restoration and overpainting.Beginning with a study of the process of transition from mina’i to lajvardina (with a shift from primarily white glaze to cobalt blue, a decline in figural decoration and a proliferation of new vessel forms), the book then moves on to address the extant corpus of tiles and vessels and integrates the later, related, lajvardina wares produced in Central Asia and Russia in the fourteenth century for the first time. Finally, the book examines the reception, trade, publication and display of lajvardina from the late nineteenth century to today.

This lavishly illustrated volume presents the major surviving monuments of the early period of the Rum Seljuqs, the first major Muslim dynasty to rule Anatolia. A much-needed overview of the political history of the dynasty provides the context for the study of the built environment which follows. The book addresses the most significant monuments from across the region: a palace, a minaret and a hospital are studied in detail, along with an overview of the decorative portals attached to a wide array of different building types. The case studies are used to demonstrate the key themes and processes of architectural synthesis and development that were under way at the time, and how they reflect the broader society.