Reframing the Alhambra : : Architecture, Poetry, Textiles and Court Ceremonial / / Olga Bush.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Edinburgh University Press Complete eBook-Package 2018
• VerfasserIn: Bush, Olga,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2022]; ©2018
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Series: Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art : ESIA
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (344 p.) :; 5 B/W illustrations 94 colour illustrations 16 B/W line art

An interdisciplinary study of one of the most important monuments in Islamic artFinalist for the 2019 Charles Rufus Morey Book AwardThe Nasrid builders of the Alhambra – the best-preserved medieval Muslim palatial city – were so exacting that some of their work could not be fully explained until the invention of fractal geometry. Their design principles have been obscured, however, by the loss of all archival material. This book resolves that impasse by investigating the neglected, interdisciplinary contexts of medieval poetics and optics and through comparative study of Islamic court ceremonials. This reframing enables the reconstruction of the underlying, integrated aesthetic, focusing on the harmonious interrelationship between diverse artistic media – architecture, poetry and textiles – in the experience of the beholder, resulting in a new understanding of the Alhambra.Key FeaturesIllustrated in colour throughoutTakes an inter-medial approach integrating the study of poetic inscriptions, textiles and court ceremonial into the discussion of architectureInter-disciplinary, combining art history, optics and literary studiesCase studies explore specific, relatively neglected spaces within the AlhambraInformed by both medieval and contemporary theoryConsiders the most recent technical analyses to distinguish clearly original elements

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Series Editor’s Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER 1 Colour, Design and Medieval Optics -- CHAPTER 2 Addressing the Beholder: The Work of Poetic Inscriptions -- CHAPTER 3 Qalahurra of Ynsuf I: A Case Study of a Tower-palace -- CHAPTER 4 ‘Textile Architecture’ in the Cuarto Dorado -- CHAPTER 5 Integrating Aesthetic and Politics: The Mawlid Celebration in the Alhambra -- Appendix -- Bibliography -- Illustration Acknowledgements -- Index