The Oliphant: Islamic Objects in Historical Context (Islamic History & Civilization)

Shalem, Avinoam

ISBN 10: 9004137947 / ISBN 13: 9789004137943

Published by Brill Academic Pub, 2004

About this Item

Red cloth boards in dust jacket. A clean and unmarked monograph on Islamic ivories. The previous owner's name is written on the front endpaper, but there are no other condition issues of which to speak. 157pp.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1716169739763

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Oliphant: Islamic Objects in Historical Context (Islamic History & Civilization)
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9004137947
• ISBN 13: 9789004137943
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Setting a group of medieval carved ivory horns in the specific artistic and historical context in which they were manufactured, used and re-used, this book presents a mine of information for the study of medieval history.
The first chapters explore such technical aspects as the cutting and carving of oliphants, and also the broader issues of the morphology of ivory and its availability in the Mediterranean basin in the Middle Ages. On the basis of specific carving methods and varying vocabulary of motifs, the oliphants are organized into groups and their probable sites of production are suggested.
The core of this volume, however, is the attempt to place them in their specific historical context. The purpose of their mass-production, namely their patronage and original function, is explored, but also their reception and new functions in the church treasuries of Latin Europe is broadly discussed.

About the Author

Avinoam Shalem, Ph.D. (1995), History of Art, University of Edinburgh, is Professor of Islamic Art at Munich University. He has published extensively on Islamic ‘minor arts’ including Islam Christianized (Peter Lang, 1998).