The Experience of Islamic Art on the Margins of Islam

This book is a collection of papers from the 15th Giorgio Levi Della Vida Conference which explore the meaning of Islamic art in liminal contexts. The volume opens with an extended essay on various modes of experience of Islamic art, examining the origins and the continuing use of the so-called Mantle of Roger II of Sicily and the Capella Palatina in Palermo as case studies of Islamic art in liminal spatial and temporal zones. The book also looks at the use of Mamluk luxury objects in the Byzantine court at Constantinople, deconstructing an event in which the sudden perception of the name of Muhammad inscribed on a bronze platter used in ritual service led to the resignation of the Patriarch John XI Bekkos in 1279, and further explores the cross-use of Islamic and Byzantine forms of ornamentation in Qur'ans and lectionaries from the 9th through the 14th centuries. Another essay surveys France's use of 'Islamic' art and architecture in the centennial celebration of its occupation of Algeria, analyzing the hierarchy of forms in the imperial repertory which enhanced the supremacy of the colonizer and contributed to the rationale for colonizing. Also studied is the construction of sacred space in India's medieval Deccan where the Krishna River supposedly divided the Muslim north from the Hindu south. As well, the book looks at historical cycles of conquest and the appropriation of sacred sites in the Indian subcontinent, showing how reformulated and reconstructed myths and memories can serve to motivate new actions in new settings. This book is a collection of papers from the Giorgio Levi Della Vida Conference. It explores the meaning of Islamic art in various different contexts, beginning with its effect on those who experience the art firsthand, using as examples the mantle of Roger II of Sicily and the ceiling of the Capella Palatine, both of which are remarkable works of Islamic art used and experienced by non-Muslims. The idea that objects can be used to demonstrate the reaction of one culture to another is explored, and we are given a glimpse into the social meanings of objects. The role of colonization in the representation of the Islamic art of Algeria following the French invasion is followed by a discussion of India's Deccan Plateau as a civilizational frontier between the Hindus and Muslims. The book ends with a look at how historical accounts of events affecting holy buildings in India can be vital in motivating present day action, and that these accounts must therefore be written in a historically and morally responsible way.