Books

A MASTERPIECE OF ARAB PAINTING

The ‘Schefer’ Maqāmāt Manuscript in Context

of the best-known works of Arabic literature. Why and how did this impenetrable work of Mediaeval Arabic philology and linguistic acrobatics, dressed up as a collection of picaresque tales, become the vehicle for such extraordinarily lively, life-like and technically competent paintings? This study of the Schefer Maqamat manuscript looks at the work of the scribe-illustrator, Yahya ibn Mahmad al-Wasit, in detail. The author also suggests how the text is related to the illustrations and how it developed and altered over the centuries.

David James

260 x 200mm, 226pp., 54pp colour.

May 2013

ISBN 978 1 907318 08 5£39.00 hardback

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THE MARTYRED CHURCH

A History of the Church of the East

David Wilmshurst 232 x 154mm; 544 pp., 12 plates, maps, full colour cover.

20 September 2011 ISBN 978 1 907318 04 7£30.00 hardback

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EASTWARD HO!Diplomats, Travellers and Interpreters

of the Middle East and Beyond, 1600-1940 Clifford Edmund Bosworth

216 x 138mm; 308pp. November 2012

ISBN 978 1 90731811 5 £25.00 hardback

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Melisende of Jerusalem The World of a Forgotten Crusader Queen

Queen Melisende-the remarkable and forgotten ruler of the Middle Ages. Queen Melisende successfully ruled the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the twelfth century even as her own husband and son fought her for control. As the eldest of four daughters, she was raised to rule by her father, King Baldwin II, who took unprecedented steps to ensure his daughter would hold power. In order to grasp the person and world of Queen Melisende, it is necessary to piece together the scant information available about her and explore the world she inhabited. This book examines the circumstances surrounding the First Crusade and the unique geographical, political and cultural position of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in which three rich artistic traditions met and intermingled. Indeed, with the art of the period it is possible to see the breadth of Queen Melisende's world. As Queen of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, she was in contact with the wealth of the Byzantine, Islamic, and European artistic output. She could commission work from practitioners of all three traditions, and the way these traditions met and intertwined tells us a great deal about the central position of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the twelfth century as a crossroads for the exchange of art and ideas. By exploring the life and times of Queen Melisende, we get a glimpse of the tumultuous and fascinating period of the twelfth century, and an appreciation for the woman who ruled the fragile Crusader States during such a pivotal time. Margaret Tranovich received a Master of Philosophy in History of Art and Connoisseurship from the University of Glasgow. She teaches Art History courses at colleges in Southern California. Format: 232 x 154mm; 240 pp. (approx.), many plates, maps, full colour cover ISBN 978 1 907318 06 1 Publication: November 2011

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Lapis Lazuli

The amazing quality of lapis lazuli, the purity of its colour and the mystery of its origins have meant that it has been pursued through the ages as a rare and precious gemstone. Sarah Searight's passion, set ablaze at school by a line in a poem by Robert Browning, has led to a lifetime in search of the stone itself and the role it played in the great civilisations of the Old World. In this book Sarah Searight seeks out the stone across a number of cultures and their histories and traverses a wide geographical area from Saharan Africa and the Middle East, to Central Asia and into Europe. She examines the different perceptions and the role of lapis lazuli from its origins, usually in the remote mountains of north western Afghanistan.

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Messiah And Mahdi

MESSIAH AND MAHDI Caucasian Christians and the Construction of Safavid Isfahan Emma Loosley

260 x 200mm; 144 pages, 32 pp. colour 17 November 2009 ISBN 978 1 907318 01 6£35.00 hardback

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Et In Arcadia

A Re-embodiment of the frieze of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassai

Edited by Ramón Casanova and Jorge Egea Equipo Confluencias [The Crossing Lab]

210 x 210 mm; 192 pp., 112 illustrations mainly in colour.

10 January 2012

ISBN 978 1 907318 1 08

Music Wars: 1937-1945

Music played an unprecedented role in World War II. Whether live or through the recently developed mechanical media of radio, film, and gramophone records, it was used by all sides for propaganda and morale-boosting. The heightened need for music felt by millions was satisfied and exploited in a multitude of ways. The pianist Myra Hess stiffened the resolve of Londoners by launching a series of lunchtime concerts at the National Gallery. The Bayreuth Festival opened its doors to war-wounded and munitions workers. In Paris on one day alone, 16 January 1944, a choice of eleven major musical events was offered to occupiers and occupied. Everywhere classical music flourished and reached new audiences. The mightiest musical weapon of the war was Swing, an irresistible force that even the Nazis attempted to harness. Ultimately, the music that most potently evokes the emotions and experiences of the war is that of the sentimental songs of loss and separation-Vera Lynn singing Well meet again, Zarah Leander singing Ich weiss es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehen and, of course, the song that changed sides Lili Marleen.

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