Reference Tools in Islamic Art & Architecture

Basic Reference Tools

This guide presents a selection of the most useful reference tools for the study of the art and architecture of the Islamic world. All entries include Harvard library call numbers and/or links to online resources; most are annotated. For specialized reference assistance, please contact the appropriate subject specialists in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies in the Harvard libraries.

For convenience, the Reference Guide has been divided into two sections. This section includes annotated bibliographies organized by broad subject or artistic medium (e.g. General Reference; Architecture; Arts of the Book; Ceramics; Dictionaries and Glossaries, etc.). There is another section covering bibliographies organized by geographic or cultural region (e.g. Central Asia; Iran; Egypt; Islamic Spain, etc.).

Unless otherwise noted, items listed can be found in the Fine Arts Library (fal), shelved in the reading room [RFA call nos.] or in the stacks [FA and Fogg call nos.]. Some items are available at other Harvard libraries, incl. Widener (wid), Loeb Design Library (des), and Tozzer (toz); many of the basic reference works in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies can also be found in the Gibb Memorial Room at Widener Library (3rd Floor, Room Q) and in the Islamic Legal Studies reference collection at the Law School Library.

The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture also provides collections and reference services for research in Islamic architecture at MIT's Rotch Library of Architecture & Planning.

ArchNet, an online community for architects and scholars with a special focus on the Islamic world, features a virtual library of books, journals, reference tools, as well as thousands of images of architecture in the Islamic world.

For additional on-line reference resources on art, see the Harvard Libraries Portal home page. For links to more on-line resources on Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, see the Islamic Studies pages of Dr. Alan Godlas (University of Georgia), the Links to Resources on the Middle East and Judaica (University of Michigan Library), and the University of Texas's Middle East Network Information Center.

The Library of Congress/ALA standard transliteration tables are available (as PDF files) for Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, and all languages.

General Bibliographies and Periodical Indexes

Creswell, K. A. C. A Bibliography of the Architecture, Arts, and Crafts of Islam to 1st Jan. 1960. Cairo, 1961; reprt. 1978.
(RFA 270.14.1; stacks: FA370.2F)

The largest and most comprehensive compilation of books and articles on all aspects of Islamic art and architecture (except numismatics -- for titles on Islamic coins and medals see: L.A. Mayer, Bibliography of Moslem Numismatics and the periodical Numismatic Literature). Intelligently organized; incl. detailed annotations, e.g. listing buildings & objects illustrated in each of the works cited.

Supplements:

[1st]: 1961-1972 (Cairo, 1973)
[2nd]: 1972-1980, with omissions from previous years (Cairo, 1984).

Index Islamicus 1665-1905, ed. W. Behn. Millersville, Pa., 1988.
(RFA 31.60 & suppl; also at wid)

Indexes articles published from 1665 (the date of the first appearance of scholarly periodicals in Europe) until 1906, when Pearson's Index Islamicus takes over. It pinpoints much useful 19th-c. material; includes subject & author index.

Index Islamicus, ed. J. D. Pearson. London, 1958-
(RFA 31.60.1 through RFA 31.60.7; also available as Index Islamicus Online

Indexes articles published on Islamic subjects in Western languages since 1906; cumulative supplements publ. every 5 years; since 1993 cumulations have been coming out annually; between cumulations coverage is provided by "preview" fascicles, issued 3 times a year. Since 1976, Index Islamicus has covered books as well as articles. Book reviews have been included since 1993. For book reviews published during the decade 1982-92, see Islamic Book Review Index. In the print edition of Index Islamicus, entries are arranged first by a series of topical categories (e.g. Art and Architecture; Archaeology, Epigraphy, Numismatics; etc.), foll. by a set of geographical categories (Muslim Spain; Egypt; Arabian Peninsula; East & South Asia; etc.), each of which provides citations on the history, geography and literature of a particular country or region; not all of the entries in the topical sections are duplicated in the geographical sections. Every volume has an author index; the more recent cumulations also include subject indexes.

Bulletin signalétique. Série 526: Art et archéologie: Proche-Orient, Asie, Amérique. Paris, 1970-1983.
(RFA 130.29)

Classified bibliography and abstracts of periodical articles and monographs on the art and archeology of the Near East and Asia. Now available through FRANCIS from 1984-.

Répertoire d'art et d'archéologie: RAA. Paris, 1910-1972
(RFA 110.75)

Classified annual bibliography and abstracts of books and periodicals. Includes a section on Islamic art until 1964. This coverage was continued by the Bulletin signalétique. Série 526, above, and is now available through FRANCIS from 1984 -. Later volumes of the Répertoire, which continued to index studies of the influence of Islamic art on Western art and areas of contact, e.g. Spain and Sicily, are indexed in the Bibliography of the History of Art.

Bulletin critique des Annales islamologiques. Cairo, 1984-
(RFA 10.55.5) Also available from 2000- on Research Workstations in the Fine Arts Library Reading Room.

Important review journal with significant art-related content.

General Reference

Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed. Leiden, 1960-
(RFA 50.23.50; also available as the Encyclopaedia of Islam Online

Often referred to as EI₂, this is an indispensable reference tool, with articles containing state-of-the-art summations (note, however, that some entries in the first part of the alphabet are by now outdated); useful short bibliographies are provided for each entry. Its method of arrangement makes using EI₂ a bit of a challenge: thus, while a few important entries at the beginning of the alphabet (e.g. ARABESQUE, ARCHITECTURE) are found under their English names, most entries are now entered under the Arabic, Persian, or Turkish form of the heading: e.g. ceramics are covered under FAKHKHAR and KHAZAF, while painting will appear under the heading TASWIR.

To help locate the correct heading, there is a separate Index vol. of proper names and terms as well as a Subject Index [currently covering vols. 1-9 of EI₂ and fascs. 1-6 of its Supplement].

Islam ansiklopedisi: Islam alemi tarih, cografya, etnografya ve biyografya lugati. 13 vols. + index. Istanbul, 1950-1988.
(RFA 50.23.50.7)

The Turkish edition includes many original articles on subjects related to Turkey, the Ottoman Empire and Central Asia; the equivalent articles in EI₂ are often based on or abridged from originals in Islam ansiklopedisi.

The Grove Dictionary of Art. Ed. by Jane Turner [et al.]. 34 vols. London & New York, 1996.
(RFA 150.18.100; also available as Grove Dictionary of Art Online

Includes many entries on Islamic art.

The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Modern Islamic World. 4 vols. Oxford & New York, 1995.
(RFA 50.23.50.9)

Incl. articles on subjects such as art, architecture, mosque and other aspects of the visual arts in the contemporary Islamic world.

Hasan, Zaki Muhammad. Atlas al-funun al-zukhrufiyah wa-al-tasawir al-Islamiyah. Cairo, 1956; reprt. Beirut, 1981.
(FA 372.185 F)

Although the reproductions are not of high quality, this remains a handy compendium of illustrations showing the major works of Islamic decorative and book arts gathered in a single volume.

Names and Dates

Bosworth, C. E. The Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Handbook. rev. ed. Edinburgh, 1980.
(RFA 79.28.2; also at wid, div): This is a basic research tool, listing names and dates of rulers from the Prophet Muhammad to the 20th c., from Andalusia to India and Central Asia; for details not found in Bosworth, consult relevant entries in the name index of EI₂, or in Zambaur (below).
Zambaur, E. von. Manuel de généalogie et de chronologie pour l'histoire de l'Islam. Hannover, 1927; reprt. 1955.
(wid: Asia 1540.20F): Much more comprehensive than Bosworth; those who can read Arabic would do well to consult the Arabic translation:
Zambaur, E. von. Mu`jam al-ansab wa-al-`usarat al-hakimah fi-al-tarikh al-Islami. Rev. and expanded by Zaki Muhammad Hasan & Hasan Ahmad Mahmud. Beirut, 1980.
(RFA 79.48.200F)

There are several handy computer programs available for converting between the various Christian (Gregorian, Julian, Coptic etc.), Islamic (lunar Hijri, Persian/Afghan solar Hijri, Ottoman mali/solar Hijri), and other calendars used in the study of the Middle East and the Islamic world. The most comprehensive calendar conversion program is COMPUTUS, easy to use and available for free download (for PC only).

A simple, Web-based Gregorian-Hijri date converter can also be found on the Web.

Unat, Faik Resit. Hicrî tarihleri Milâdî tarihe çevirme kilavuzu. 5th ed. Ankara, 1984.
(RFA 79.12.3; also at wid): An easy-to-use, inexpensive paperback, with tables for converting AD/AH dates, Unat's tables can be used even by those who do not read Turkish; in addition to the usual AH-AD conversion tables, Unat also has conversion tables for the Ottoman solar Hijri calendar (Mali/Rumi), handy among other things for converting publication dates of Turkish books fr. the 19th-early 20th c.
Spuler, B. & J. Mayr (eds.) Wüstenfeld-Mahlersche Vergleichungs-Tabellen zur muslimischen und iranischen Zeitrechnung. 3rd rev. ed. Wiesbaden, 1961.
(RFA 79.12.1; also at wid): This is to Unat what Zambaur is to Bosworth: a comprehensive and complex series of calendar conversion tables, covering almost every conceivable conversion conundrum (Julian-Gregorian-lunar Hijri-solar Hijri-Coptic-Syriac, etc.); instructions for use, in English, are found in a pocket in back of the book.

General Reference Tools for Architecture

ArchNet, an online community for architects and scholars with a special focus on the Islamic world, features a virtual library of books, journals, reference tools, as well as thousands of images of architecture in the Islamic world.

General Works and Surveys of Islamic Art & Architecture

Atasoy, Nurhan, Afif Bahnassi, and Michael Rogers. The Art of Islam. UNESCO Collection of Representative Works, Art Album Series. Paris, 1990.
(FA 372.181.2)
Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Beauty in Arabic Culture. Princeton, 1998.
(FA 500.800.13.2)
Gonzalez, Valérie. Beauty and Islam: Aesthetics in Islamic Art and Architecture. London, 2001.
(wid: WID-LC N6260.G65 2001x)
The Image and the Word: Confrontations in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Ed. Joseph Gutmann. Missoula, 1977.
(FA 201.19)
Blair, Sheila S., and Jonathan Bloom. The Art and Architecture of Islam, 1250-1800. Pelican History of Art. New Haven, 1994.
(FA 376.33)
Bloom, Jonathan. Minaret, Symbol of Islam. Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, 7. Oxford and New York, 1989.
(FA 1718.21.4)
Brend, Barbara. Islamic Art. London & Cambridge, Mass., 1991
(FA 372.183)
Creswell, K. A. C. A Short Account of Early Muslim Architecture. Rev. and suppl. by James W. Allen. Aldershot, 1989.
(FA 1716.11.2)
Ettinghausen, Richard, and Oleg Grabar. The Art and Architecture of Islam, 650-1250. Pelican History of Art. Harmondsworth, UK and New York, 1987.
(FA 372.145)
Frishman, Martin, and Hasan-Uddin Khan, eds. The Mosque: History, Architectural Development and Regional Diversity. London & New York, 1994.
(FA 2893.25)
Garaudy, Roger. Mosquée, miroir de l'Islam. Paris, 1985.
(FA 2893.13): A good source of illustrations.
Grabar, Oleg. The Formation of Islamic Art. Rev. and enlarged ed. New Haven, Ct., 1987.
(FA 372.55.2)
Grube, Ernst J. Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History and Social Meaning, With a Complete Survey of Key Monuments. Ed. George Michell. London, 1978; reprt. 1984.
(FA 1716.37)
Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Architecture: Form, Function and Meaning. Edinburgh and New York, 1994.
(FA 1716.65)
Hoag, John D. Islamic Architecture. Paperback ed. New York, 1987.
(FA 1716.33.2)
Michaud, R. & S. Design and Color in Islamic Architecture: Eight Centuries of the Tile-Maker's Art. New York, 1996.
(FA1069.11.10.2)
Necipoglu, Gülru. The Topkapi Scroll: Geometry and Ornament in Islamic Architecture. Santa Monica, Ca., 1995.
(FA 4499.177.1F)
Rogers, Michael. The Spread of Islam. Oxford, 1976.
(FA 372.95)

Urbanism

Bonine, Michael, et al., eds. The Middle Eastern City and Islamic Urbanism: An Annotated Bibliography of Western Literature. Bonner Geographische Abhandlungen, 91. Bonn, 1994.
(RFA 10.55.11)
Cuneo, Paolo. Storia dell'urbanistica: Il mondo islamico. Rome, 1986.
(FA 2998.101.3.25): A good source of illustrations for both gardens and cities.
Djaït, Hichem. Al-Kufa: naissance de la ville islamique. Islam d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, 29. Paris, 1986.
(FA 1945.503.2)
Hakim, Besim S. Arabic-Islamic Cities: Building and Planning Principles. London, 1986.
(FA 2999.40.301.1)
Lapidus, Ira M. Muslim Cities in the Later Middle Ages. Student ed. Cambridge & New York, 1984.
(FA 2999.40.201)
Raymond, André. Grandes villes arabes à l'époque ottomane. Bibliothèque arabe. Collection Hommes et sociétés. Paris, 1985.
(FA 2999.40.460.3): An abbreviated English version of this work was published as: The Great Arab Cities in the 16th-18th Centuries: An Introduction. New York, 1984. (FA 2999.40.460.1)

Gardens

Gardens in the Time of the Great Muslim Empires: Theory and Design. Ed. by Attilio Petruccioli. Leiden & New York, 1997.
(FA 2998.101.3.33)
Brookes, John. Gardens of Paradise: The History and Design of the Great Islamic Gardens. New York, 1987.
(FA 2998.101.3.27)
Lehrman, Jonas B. Earthly Paradise: Garden and Courtyard in Islam. London, 1980.
(FA 2998.101.3.11)
The Islamic Garden. Ed. Elizabeth McDougall & Richard Ettinghausen. Dumbarton Oaks Colloquia on the History of Landscape Architecture, 4. Washington, 1976.
(FA 2997.3.2)
Petruccioli, Attilio. Il giardino islamico: architettura, natura, paesaggio. Milan, 1994.
(FA 2998.101.3.31): A good source of illustrations.
Wilber, Donald. Persian Gardens and Garden Pavilions. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C., 1979.
(FA 2999.47.301.6)

Miniature Painting, Calligraphy & Other Book Arts

World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts. Ed. G. J. Roper. 4 vols. London, 1992-94.
(RFA 79.41.1): The essential guide to manuscript collections and their published catalogs.
Bosch, Gulnar, J. Carswell, G. Petherbridge. Islamic Bindings & Bookmaking. Chicago, 1981.
(FA 9660.3)
Raby, Julian, and Zeren Tanindi. Turkish Bookbinding in the 15th Century: The Foundation of an Ottoman Court Style. London, 1993.
(FA9661.3 F)
al-Mu`izz ibn Badis. Mediaeval Arabic Bookmaking and Its Relation to Early Chemistry and Pharmacology. Transl. M. Levey. Philadelphia, 1962.
(wid: LSoc4685.100 n.s. 52, pt. 4)
Roxburgh, David. Prefacing the Image: The Writing of Art History in Sixteenth-century Iran. Leiden, 2001.
(FA514.601.10)
Ahmad ibn Mir Munshi. Calligraphers and Painters, a Treatise by Qadi Ahmad, Son of Mir-Munshi, circa A.H. 1015/A.D. 1606. transl. by V. Minorsky. Washington, 1959.
(Fogg 67W27nfo v.3 no.2)
Huart, Clement. Les calligraphes et les miniaturistes de l'Orient musulman. Paris, 1908.
(FA 9095.1): Based on Mirza Habib Isfahani's classic treatise Khatt va khattatan.
Schimmel, Annemarie. Calligraphy and Islamic Culture. New York, 1984.
(FA 9076.61)
James, David. The Master Scribes: Qurans of the 10th to 14th Centuries AD. London, 1992. (The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, 2.)
(AM345.114.1 (2)F)
James, David. Qur'ans of the Mamluks. New York, 1988.
(FA 3318.17)
James, David. After Timur: Qurans of the 15th and 16th Centuries. New York, 1992. (The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, 3.)
(AM345.114.1 (3)F)
Bayani, Manijeh; Anna Contadini; Tim Stanley. The Decorated Word: Qurans of the 17th to 19th Centuries. London, 1999. (Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, 4/1.)
(AM345.114.1 (4)F)
Safwat, Nabil F. The Art of the Pen: Calligraphy of the 14th to 20th Centuries. London, 1996. (The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, 5.)
(AM345.114.1 (5)F)
Lings, Martin. The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination. NY, 1987.
(FA9076.10)
Pedersen, Johannes. The Arabic Book. Transl. G. French; ed. R. Hillenbrand. Princeton, N.J., 1984.
(FA 9033.3.3)
The Book in the Islamic World: The Written Word and Communication in the Middle East. Ed. by George N. Atiyeh. Albany, 1995.
(wid: WID-LC Z8.M63 B66 1995)
Ettinghausen, Richard. Arab Painting. Geneva & New York, 1977.
(FA 3316.1.2)
The Arts of the Book in Central Asia, 14th-16th Centuries. Ed. Basil Gray, Oleg Akimushkin et al. London & Paris, 1979.
(FA 3403.17.5)
`Isa, Ahmad Muhammad. Painting in Islam: Between Prohibition and Aversion. Istanbul, 1996.
(FA372.255)

See also entries under Persian Art, Indian Art, Turkish & Ottoman Art etc.

Ceramics, Glass, Metalwork & Other Objects

Soustiel, Jean, & Charles Kiefer. La céramique islamique. Fribourg, 1985.
(FA 7574.45)
Grube, Ernst. Cobalt and Lustre: The First Centuries of Islamic Pottery. London, 1994.
(AM 345.114.1 (9) F)
Syria and Iran: Three Studies in Medieval Ceramics. Ed. James Allan and Caroline Roberts. Oxford, 1987.
(FA 7650.440.1)
Kroger, Jens. Nishapur: Glass of the Early Islamic Period. New York, 1995.
(FA7978.47.560.1)
Gilded and Enamelled Glass from the Middle East. Ed. by Rachel Ward. London, 1998.
(FA7978.40.600.1)
Ward, Rachel. Islamic Metalwork. London & New York, 1993.
(FA 8074.21)
Allan, James. Persian Metal Technology, 700-1300 A.D. London, 1979.
(FA 8147.450)
Komaroff, Linda. The Golden Disk of Heaven: Metalwork of Timurid Iran. Costa Mesa, 1992.
(FA 8147.460.3)
Jacob, Alain. Les armes blanches du monde islamique: armes de poing, epées, sabres, poignards, couteaux. Paris, 1985.
(FA 1495.17)
Alexander, David. The Arts of War: Arms and Armour of the 7th to 19th Centuries. London, 1992. (The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, 21.)
(AM345.114.1 (21)F)
Kühnel, Ernst. Die islamischen Elfenbeinskulpturen. 8.-13. Jh. Berlin, 1971.
(FA 4648.2 PF): An illustrated catalogue of medieval Islamic ivories.
Gladiss, Almut von. Metall, Stein, Stuck, Holz, Elfenbein, Stoffe: Berlin, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Museum fŸr Islamische Kunst. Mainz, 1985.
(FA372.119 (2))
Anglade, Elise. Catalogue des boiseries de la section islamique: Musée du Louvre. Paris, 1988.
(Fogg 60 P23lao 1988)
Pauty, Edmond. Catalogue général du Musée arabe du Caire: les bois sculptés jusqu'à l'époque ayyoubide. Cairo, 1931.
(Fogg 47 C136m 1931a F)

Rugs & Textiles

A series of selective bibliographies on various subjects related to Islamic textiles, compiled by the curators at the Textile Museum, can be consulted on line at Textile Arts of the Islamic World: Working Bibliographies.

Washington, D.C. Textile Museum. Arthur D. Jenkins Library. Rug and Textile Arts: A Periodical Index, 1890-1982. Boston, 1983.
(RFA 1004.4)
O'Bannon, G.W. Oriental Rugs: A Bibliography. Metuchen NJ, 1994.
(RFA 1039.60): Standard bibliography on rug literature, also incl. material on textiles.
Dozy, Reinhart. Dictionnaire détaillée des noms des vêtements chez les arabes. Amsterdam, 1845; reprt. Beirut:, 1969.
(wid: WID-LC PJ6680.D7 1969)

Numismatics

Mayer, L.A. A Bibliography of Moslem Numismatics, India Excepted, 2nd ed. London, 1954.
(wid: Arc 1433.1.12): Remains the most comprehensive bibliography in its field; an important complement to Creswell's Bibliography (which does not cover numismatics); for later titles see Numismatic Literature.
Numismatic Literature. New York, 1947-
(wid: Arc 1300.1.15): A periodical bibliography with strong coverage of research on Islamic numismatics (much of the latter is sponsored by the American Numismatic Society, which puts out this index).
Zambaur, E. von. Die Münzprägung des Islams, zeitlich und örtlich geordnet. Ed. P. Jaeckel. Wiesbaden, 1968-
(Arc 1048.5 F at wid): A classified & illustrated guide to the coinage of the Islamic world.

Interactions between Islamic Art and Western Art & Architecture

Includes an extensive bibliography on exoticism in art & architecture.
Koppelkamm, S. Der imaginäre Orient: exotische Bauten des achtzehnten und neunzehnten Jahrhunderts in Europa. Berlin, 1987.
(FA 2107.36.2)
Beauthéac, N, & F.-X. Bouchart. L'Europe exotique. Paris, 1985.
(FA 2107.36)
Conner, Patrick. Oriental Architecture in the West. London, 1979.
(FA 2999.145.61)
Peltre, Christine. Orientalism in Art. New York, 1998.
(FA 607.74.14 F)
Çelik, Z. Displaying the Orient: Architecture of Islam at Nineteenth-Century World's Fairs. Berkeley, 1992.
(FA 1718.37)
Vernoit, Stephen. Occidentalism: Islamic Art in the 19th Century. New York, 1997. (The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, 23.)
(AM345.114.1 (23)F)
Ali, Wijdan. Modern Islamic Art: Development and Continuity. Gainesville, 1997.
(FA376.29.2)

Museums and Collections

Ådahl, Karin, & M. Ahlund. Islamic Art Collections: An International Survey. Richmond, Surrey, 2000.
(RFA 271.41)
Vernoit, Stephen. Discovering Islamic art: scholars, collectors and collections, 1850-1950. London, 2000.
(FA 376.59)
Pal, Pratapaditya (ed.). American Collectors of Asian Art. Bombay, 1986.
(AM203.138.1)
The World of Learning. [Annual] London, 1947-
(RFA 60.95; also at wid): An annual directory with up-to-date information on museums, libraries and other cultural and educational institutions around the world (incl. current tel. & fax nos., e-mail addresses, Web sites, names of directors etc.) An indispensible tool for planning your research trip and correspondence.

Inscription & Scripture

This article contains the best general guide to the problems and literature of Islamic epigraphy.
Répertoire chronologique d'épigraphie arabe, ed. E. Combe, J. Sauvaget & G. Wiet. Cairo, 1931-
(RFA1873.75; wid: OL19902.11)
Matériaux pour un Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum, ed. Max van Berchem et al. Paris & Cairo, 1894- (Mémoires publiés par les membres de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale, t. 19 etc.)
(wid: Arc580.1.2)
Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum. London, 19--.
(wid XA 9F (4- ); also Gibb Room): Part 4- deals with the Islamic period.
Blair, Sheila. The Monumental Inscriptions from Early Islamic Iran and Transoxiana. Leiden, 1991.
(FA 1924.501.1): The introduction includes an up-to-date survey of the scholarly literature on Islamic epigraphy of the pre-Mongol period.
Dodd, Erica, and Shereen Khairallah. The Image of the Word: A Study of Quranic Verses in Islamic Architecture. Beirut, 1981. 2 vols.
(FA9076.29)
Quchani, `Abd Allah. Katibah'ha-yi sufal-i Nayshabur = Inscriptions on Nishapur Pottery. Tehran, 1986.
(FA7647.560.2): A very handy reference, esp. for the non-scriptural inscriptions (s.a.bons mots, formulas of blessing and felicitation, etc.) often encountered as inscriptions on ceramics and other art objects.

For scriptural inscriptions, the foll. references are helpful:

`Abd al-Baqi, Muhammad Fu'ad. al-Mu`jam al-mufahras li-alfaz al-Qur'an al-Karim. Cairo, 1945; reprt. Beirut, 1985.
(RFA79.46.7): Arranged by Arabic roots, this is an essential tool for deciphering any Arabic inscription that might derive from Scripture--take the least common word that you can make out from the inscription, look in up in this concordance, and eight times out of ten the rest of the inscription will fall into place; the rest of the time you are probably dealing with a quotation from Hadith, for which see Wensinck.
Kassis, Hanna. A Concordance of the Qur'an. Berkeley, Cal., 1983.
(RFA 79.46.6): Also arranged by Arabic roots, but since it does not provide the Arabic text, it has its limitations as a tool for deciphering inscriptions; its best feature is an English index, useful as a subject guide to Koranic texts.
Penrice, John. A Dictionary and Glossary of the Kor'ân, with Copious Grammatical References and Explanations of the Text, Arabic-English. London, 1873; numerous reprints: Beirut, Lahore, etc.
(RFA 79.46.5)
The Glorious Koran: A Bi-lingual Edition. Transl. Marmaduke Pickthall. Albany, 1976.
(RFA79.46.4)

There are also Qur'an databases on the Web where once can search the Arabic text as well as English, French, German, Turkish, and Spanish translations on line, such as The Holy Quran and Quran Browser.

Wensinck, A. J., ed. Concordance et indices de la tradition musulmane = al-Mu`jam al-mufahras li-alfaz al-Hadith al-Nabawi. 8 vols. Leiden, 1936-1988.
(RFA 79.46.8.2F): A concordance based on the major compilations of Hadith (reports on what the Prophet said and did), with entries arranged by Arabic root; vol. 8 has indexes (of proper names, etc.).
Wensinck, A. J., ed. A Handbook of Early Muhammadan Tradition, Alphabetically Arranged. Leiden, 1971.
(RFA 79.46.10): A topical index to Hadith, arranged by English terms (s. a. clothes, gifts, gold, vessels, etc.)--a good source for finding out what the Prophet is reported to have said or done about a given subject, and the Muslim cultural/religious attitudes connected with it.

Dictionaries and Glossaries of Art Terms

`Isa, Ahmad Muhammad. Islamic Art Terms (Lexicon, Explained and Illustrated). Istanbul, 1994.
(RFA 195.4.3)
Bahnassi, Afif. Mu`jam al-`imarah wa-al-fann = Dictionary of Architecture and arts. Beirut, 1995.
(RFA 180.6): Arabic-English/English-Arabic, with an added index in French.
Ghalib, 'Abd al-Rahim. Mawsu`at al-`imarah al-Islamiyah: 'Arabi-Faransi-Inkilizi = Encyclopédie de l'architecture islamique: arabe-français-anglais. Beirut, 1988.
(WID-LC MidEast NA380.G441988)
Amin, M.M., & Ibrahim, L.A. al-Mustalahat al-mi`mariyah fi-al-watha'iq al-Mamlukiyah (648-923 H./1250-1517 M.) = Architectural Terms in Mamluk Documents (623-913 A.H./1250-1517 A.D.). Cairo, 1990.
(FA 2010.460.3)
Marzban, P. & Marouf, H. An Illustrated Glossary of Visual Arts (Architecture, Sculpture, Painting): English-Persian, Persian-English. = Vazhah namah-i musavvar-i hunarha-yi tajassumi (mi`mari, paykarah sazi, naqqashi). Tehran, 1986.
(RFA 197.53.1)
Sözen, M. & Tanyeli, U. Sanat kavram ve terimleri sözlügü: resim, heykel, mimarlik, geleneksel Türk sanatlari, uygulamali sanatlar ve genel sanat kavramlari. Istanbul, 1986.
(RFA 198.82.1): An illustrated dictionary of Turkish art terminology.
Sönmez, Neslihan. Osmanli dönemi yapi ve malzeme terimleri sözlügü. Istanbul, 1997.
(RFA1235.61.82): Ottoman terms related to construction and building materials.
Cafer Efendi. Risale-i mimariyye: An Early-seventeenth-century Ottoman Treatise on Architecture. Ed. & transl. by Howard Crane. Leiden & New York, 1987.
(FA1905.665.1): Includes a glossary of architectural terms.

Handbooks and Guides to the Field

Grabar, Oleg. "Islamic Art and Archaeology," in The Study of the Middle East, ed. Leonard Binder (New York, 1976), pp. 228-63.
(RFA 10.55.7): A substantial essay on the history of scholarship the field, its most significant achievements, areas and approaches yet to be fully explored, and new directions; references to particular authors and their work are incorporated in the text.
Grabar, Oleg. "Reflections on the Study of Islamic Art," Muqarnas 1 (1983), pp. 1-14.
(FA 13.149)
Scanlon, George. "Islamic Art, Architecture and Archaeology," in Middle East and Islam: A Bibliographical Introduction, 2nd ed. rev. & enl., ed. by Diana Grimwood-Jones (Zug, 1979), pp. 92-109.
(RFA 10.55): A brief essay with a concise and useful classified bibliography introducing the literature of the field (for the scholarship of the past two decades, see Index Islamicus).
Hillenbrand, Robert. "Islamic Art, Architecture and Archaeology," in: Middle East and Islam: A Bibliographical Introduction: Supplement 1977-1983, ed. by Paul Auchterlonie (Zug, 1986), pp. 41-52.
(RFA 10.55.2): An update and continuation of the above.
An Introductory Guide to Middle Eastern and Islamic Bibliography, ed. by Paul Auchterlonie. Oxford, 1990.
(RFA 10.55.9): A useful list basic research tools in the Islamic field; if you cannot obtain an original, make a photocopy for your own reference collection.
Geddes, C.L. Guide to Reference Books for Islamic Studies. Denver, 1985.
(RFA 270.32): A short, classified & annotated list of titles on all aspects of Islamic studies; some of the listings have been superseded by more recent works, but many are still useful.

This bibliography is continued in Basic Reference Tools (by Region).

András J. Riedlmayer
Bibliographer
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
Fine Arts Library, Harvard University
(tel. 617-495-3372; e-mail: riedlmay@fas.harvard.edu)

Next: 2. Basic Reference Tools (By Region)

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