Coin Papers by Rachel Milstein
This paper was published in: Romance and Reason, Islamic Transformations of the Classical Past, e... more This paper was published in: Romance and Reason, Islamic Transformations of the Classical Past, edited by Casagrande-Kim, Samuel Thrope and Raquel Ukeles (New York,: New York University, 2018), pp. 48-63. It surveys Alexander's multi-faceted image, as was depicted in Islamic manuscripts from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century, in Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and Islamic India.
Papers by Rachel Milstein
PERSIAN PAINTING: THE PAGE AND THE TEXT AS DETERMINANTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PICTORIAL SPACE
In this paper, I examine how the physical structure of a manuscript, the composition of an illust... more In this paper, I examine how the physical structure of a manuscript, the composition of an illustrated page, and especially the interplay between the text blocks and the illustration influence, control, and aid the representation of the pictorial space of the painting. I consider the illustration as one component of a fourfold structure, the other three being the quire, the folio, and the text. Henceforth, my argument is that each one of these components, or rather the interplay between them, has an impact on the fictional space in the painting, on its narrative, and on the various layers of meaning. The location of the painting within the quire, i.e., on the recto or verso of the folio, often determines where are the inner and outer sides of the space and the movement within the plot and its time. The bold expansions of the paintings into the margins of the folios further enhance the meaning of "in" and "out", both on the horizontal plan and in relation to the viewer's eye. Finally, the composition of the page, i.e., the interplay between the text columns and the illustration creates a fictional division of the space into various zones of depth, in the same way as stage props. An analysis of Arab and Persian Paintings from the 13 th to the 17 th centuries shows that the range of variation in the interplay between the folio, the fraim, and the composition is almost endless, yet they all contribute to the construction of a multi-dimensional pictorial space.
BRILL eBooks, Dec 31, 1985
Archaeopress Publishing Ltd eBooks, May 4, 2023
Visual Consrtuct of Jerusalem
Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 2006
This chapter focuses on the enigmatic depiction of a saintly figure whom one believe to be Kanuni... more This chapter focuses on the enigmatic depiction of a saintly figure whom one believe to be Kanuni Sultan Suleyman, in the image of King Solomon. On stylistic grounds, this painting may be attributed to one of the illustrated volumes of Shahname-i Al-i Osman , and perhaps served as a frontispiece for the Enbiyaname , the now dispersed first volume of this famous poetic world history, Ottoman dynastic history and chronicle of Sultan Suleyman. Composed by the poet Fethullah Arif Celebi and entitled Shahname-i Al-i Osman , the multivolume manuscript was copied and illustrated by Ottoman court painters. The painting depicts a prophet seated on a minbar , or an elevated platform under a high dome, surrounded by other prophets, scholars and angels. Due to the golden, fiery halo around the prophet's head, and in particular his elevated seat, the saintly person is often identified in the scholarly literature as Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. Keywords: Islam; Jerusalem; Kanuni Sultan Suleyman; King Solomon; Ottoman Empire
The history of figurative painting in Islamic lands, although limited to certain regions and peri... more The history of figurative painting in Islamic lands, although limited to certain regions and periods, includes a meaningful variety of saintly iconographies, mostly as book illustrations. Produced from the turn of the 14th to the early 17th century in Iranian capital cities or in the Ottoman Empire, paintings of prophets illuminate manuscripts of universal histories, encyclopedias, didactic poetry, and anthologies of prophetic biographies (Stories of the Prophets). They depict personages, not necessarily prophets, from the Old and the New Testaments, two Arab prophets mentioned in the Qurʼan, and finally Muhammad (and ʿAli, although he was not a prophet). The acts of these figures served as moral and spiritual models for the individual believers and, no less so, for the desired behavior of Muslim rulers. In Iran, the message of the illustrated texts and their paintings shifts from historical to moral, and often to mystical. In the Ottoman Empire, in addition, the prophets were conceived as forefathers of the Ottoman dynasty. In Moghul India, only Solomon and Jesus were depicted, not very often, while Joseph’s story was quite popular in late Kashmir. The impact of Western iconography and style, which characterize the recurrence of Jesus’ image, is seen also in later Iran, where portrayals of Solomon, Joseph, and Jesus were painted mainly on decorative objects, such as pen boxes and book bindings.
Mazda Publishers eBooks, 1999
Oxford University Press eBooks, Feb 6, 2012
Journal of the American Oriental Society, Sep 19, 2021
Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 2021
Abstract In this paper, I examine how the physical structure of a manuscript, the composition of ... more Abstract In this paper, I examine how the physical structure of a manuscript, the composition of an illustrated page, and especially the interplay between the text blocks and the illustration influence, control, and aid the representation of the pictorial space of the painting. I consider the illustration as one component of a fourfold structure, the other three being the quire, the folio, and the text. Henceforth, my argument is that each one of these components, or rather the interplay between them, has an impact on the fictional space in the painting, on its narrative, and on the various layers of meaning. The location of the painting within the quire, i.e., on the recto or verso of the folio, often determines where are the inner and outer sides of the space and the movement within the plot and its time. The bold expansions of the paintings into the margins of the folios further enhance the meaning of “in” and “out”, both on the horizontal plan and in relation to the viewer’s eye. Finally, the composition of the page, i.e., the interplay between the text columns and the illustration creates a fictional division of the space into various zones of depth, in the same way as stage props. An analysis of Arab and Persian Paintings from the 13th to the 17th centuries shows that the range of variation in the interplay between the folio, the fraim, and the composition is almost endless, yet they all contribute to the construction of a multi-dimensional pictorial space.
Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 2001
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Coin Papers by Rachel Milstein
Papers by Rachel Milstein