Books by Sheila R. Canby

How do we know Islamic art? What tells us that images and artifacts are products of the Muslim world, a culture that has historically extended from Spain to Southeast Asia and spanned a period from A.D. 622 to our day? This exquisitely and extensively illustrated book allows readers to identify those elements and themes that define art forms as Islamic, and to examine them in works of painting and metalwork, in calligraphy and manuscripts, ceramics, glass, wood, and ivory comprising one of the most imposing collections of arts from across the Muslim world.

As leading painter at the court of Shah 'Abbas I (1587-1629), Riza often expressed the progressive mood of Safavid Iran. This volume provides a catalogue of his work and analyses the relationship of his life to his stylistic development, which exerted enormous influence on other Iranian artists.