Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Medieval Islamic manuscripts on display at the Morgan, NYC The
Middle Ages produced some amazing works of art. Some of the best
are the illuminated manuscripts from the Islamic world. The
above image, courtesy Graham S. Haber and the Morgan Library &
Museum shows a woman relaxing after her bath. It was painted in
Herat, Afghanistan. In many parts of the medieval Islamic world
it was forbidden to create images of living things, but in other
regions it was common. The Morgan Library & Museum in New York
City has an extensive collection of these works of art and now
they're on display in an exhibition called Treasures of Islamic
Manuscript Painting from the Morgan. The earliest manuscript in
the exhibition is a late-thirteenth century treatise on animals
and their uses considered by some experts as one of the most
important medieval Islamic manuscripts. There's also a biography
of the poet Rumi, several richly decorated Korans, and
illustrations from th