The Appearance of Persian on Islamic Art.

AuthorPancaroglu, Ova
PositionBook review

The Appearance of Persian on Islamic Art. By BERNARD O'KANE. Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series. vol. 4. New York: PERSIAN HERITAGE FOUNDATION. 2009. Pp. xiv + 208. illus. $68.

Every now and then, but not frequently enough, a book comes along and connects dots strewn across the vast landscape that is the field of Islamic art and architectural history. The Appearance of Persian on Islamic Art by Bernard 0' Kane is one such book and it is a welcome addition to the elusive category of expository reference books. In four chapters O'Kane dutifully charts the epigraphic history of the New Persian language in the medieval and early modern periods by collecting inscriptions on objects and buildings from Anatolia to Central and South Asia. Originally delivered as lectures in the Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series on Iranian Art and Archaeology (2002) at SOAS in London, the book has a mainly chronological approach with a special nod to India (Hindustan), which is treated discretely in chapter three. This survey takes in both the well-known highlights of Persian epigraphy and the myriad examples of inscriptions recorded at one time or another in a diverse array of publications in several languages since the nineteenth century. By bringing together a significant corpus of inscriptions, the author builds a bridge from the hazy beginnings of Persian epigraphy in the ninth and tenth centuries to the considerably better defined horizons of Timurid and Safavid epigraphy. The value of this effort will be readily apparent not only to those interested in epigraphy in Islamic art and architecture but to all who study the history of the New Persian language and literature and who often remain ignorant of texts beyond the conventional book/ manuscript format.

The scope of the book reflects 0' Kane's extensive familiarity with and research in art and architecture in Persianate societies in the medieval and early modern eras. Thus, the ingathering of Persian inscriptions in this book is accompanied by discussion of the relevant historical and cultural contexts. The author has adopted a somewhat cursory approach to the analysis of the inscriptions, which may be due either to the derivation of the book from the lecture format or to the necessarily preliminary nature of the endeavor, to present a comprehensive view of Persian epigraphy. Because the book is not envisioned as a straightforward catalogue but rather as a discursive exposition of the collected...

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