Oleg Grabar is Professor Emeritus in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Islamic Art and Architecture at Harvard University, USA.

• Contents: Preface; Introduction. Part One Theory of Art: History of art and history of literature: some random thoughts; An art of the object; On the universality of the history of art; From utopia to paradigms; Geometry and ideology: the Festival of Islam and the study of Islamic art; Different but compatible ends; Die ethische Dimension des Ornaments; Islamic ornament and Western abstraction. Part Two General Islamic Architecture: The Islamic dome, some considerations; The architecture of the Middle Eastern city: the case of the mosque; Art and architecture; Cities and citizens: the growth and culture of urban Islam; Symbols and signs of Islamic architecture; The meaning of history in Cairo; Architecture as art; From dome of heaven to pleasure dome; Graffiti or proclamations: why write on buildings? Part Three General Islamic Art: What makes Islamic art Islamic; Islamic art and archaeology; Reflections on the study of Islamic art; On catalogs, exhibitions and complete works; Between connoisseurship and technology: a review; The aesthetics of Islamic art. Index.

'Ashgate Variorum has now acknowledged Grabar's signal contribution to the field with a beautifully produced four-volume collection of his shorter publications. Grabar's former students and numerous other fans will welcome the ready access this matched set affords to scores of Grabar's articles... Even readers broadly familliar with Grabar's variegated contributions to the field will find something new here. In its very thougthful thematic arrangement, this collection presents a comprehensive methodological overview that truly lives up to its series title, Constructing the Study of Islamic Art... All in all, this marvelous collection by a truly memorable man belongs in every serious art history collection.' Religion and the Arts

Oleg Grabar is Professor Emeritus in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Islamic Art and Architecture at Harvard University, USA.

• Contents: Preface; Introduction. Part One Theory of Art: History of art and history of literature: some random thoughts; An art of the object; On the universality of the history of art; From utopia to paradigms; Geometry and ideology: the Festival of Islam and the study of Islamic art; Different but compatible ends; Die ethische Dimension des Ornaments; Islamic ornament and Western abstraction. Part Two General Islamic Architecture: The Islamic dome, some considerations; The architecture of the Middle Eastern city: the case of the mosque; Art and architecture; Cities and citizens: the growth and culture of urban Islam; Symbols and signs of Islamic architecture; The meaning of history in Cairo; Architecture as art; From dome of heaven to pleasure dome; Graffiti or proclamations: why write on buildings? Part Three General Islamic Art: What makes Islamic art Islamic; Islamic art and archaeology; Reflections on the study of Islamic art; On catalogs, exhibitions and complete works; Between connoisseurship and technology: a review; The aesthetics of Islamic art. Index.

'Ashgate Variorum has now acknowledged Grabar's signal contribution to the field with a beautifully produced four-volume collection of his shorter publications. Grabar's former students and numerous other fans will welcome the ready access this matched set affords to scores of Grabar's articles... Even readers broadly familliar with Grabar's variegated contributions to the field will find something new here. In its very thougthful thematic arrangement, this collection presents a comprehensive methodological overview that truly lives up to its series title, Constructing the Study of Islamic Art... All in all, this marvelous collection by a truly memorable man belongs in every serious art history collection.' Religion and the Arts

Oleg Grabar is Professor Emeritus in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Islamic Art and Architecture at Harvard University, USA.

• Contents: Preface; Introduction. Part One Theory of Art: History of art and history of literature: some random thoughts; An art of the object; On the universality of the history of art; From utopia to paradigms; Geometry and ideology: the Festival of Islam and the study of Islamic art; Different but compatible ends; Die ethische Dimension des Ornaments; Islamic ornament and Western abstraction. Part Two General Islamic Architecture: The Islamic dome, some considerations; The architecture of the Middle Eastern city: the case of the mosque; Art and architecture; Cities and citizens: the growth and culture of urban Islam; Symbols and signs of Islamic architecture; The meaning of history in Cairo; Architecture as art; From dome of heaven to pleasure dome; Graffiti or proclamations: why write on buildings? Part Three General Islamic Art: What makes Islamic art Islamic; Islamic art and archaeology; Reflections on the study of Islamic art; On catalogs, exhibitions and complete works; Between connoisseurship and technology: a review; The aesthetics of Islamic art. Index.

'Ashgate Variorum has now acknowledged Grabar's signal contribution to the field with a beautifully produced four-volume collection of his shorter publications. Grabar's former students and numerous other fans will welcome the ready access this matched set affords to scores of Grabar's articles... Even readers broadly familliar with Grabar's variegated contributions to the field will find something new here. In its very thougthful thematic arrangement, this collection presents a comprehensive methodological overview that truly lives up to its series title, Constructing the Study of Islamic Art... All in all, this marvelous collection by a truly memorable man belongs in every serious art history collection.' Religion and the Arts