Description

Edited by De Giosa, Sami Luigi; Edited by Vryzidis, Nikolaos

Christian–Islamic encounters through religious arts, architecture, and material culture in the medieval era

The coexistence of Christianity and Islam in the medieval Mediterraneanled to an interchange of knowledge in architecture and material culturethat went well beyond religious and geographical boundaries. The use ofIslamic objects in Christian contexts, the conversion of churches intomosques, and the mobility of craftsmen are only some manifestations ofthis process. From crosses found in mosques to European-Christian coinswith pseudo-shahada inscriptions, medieval material culture is rich withvisual evidence of the two faiths intermingling in both individualobjects and monuments.

In this volume, thirteen internationalscholars explore various aspects of pan-Mediterranean Christian-Islamicencounters in material culture and art, from textiles to precious oils,and from metalwork to ceramics, covering most of the Mediterranean, aswell as parts of its extended hinterland, from Spain and Italy to Egyptand Georgia.

Within this frame, one of the most relevant, yetunderexplored lines of investigation is that of the “aesthetic space,”the notion that aesthetic pleasure transcends boundaries, paving the wayto a cross-religious experience and appreciation. “Indeed, God isbeautiful, and He loves beauty,” as mentioned in a Hadith narration, auniversal cry of visual beauty that resonates with all cultures andcivilizations.

Contributors:

Paschalis Androudis Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Faruk Bilici Inalco, Paris, France

Maria Bormpoudaki Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Piraeus, Greece

Sami Luigi De Giosa University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Hélène Fragaki University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany

Hani Hamza Independent scholar, Cairo, Egypt

Ana Cabrera Lafuente Instituto de Turismo de España (Turespaña/Tourspain), Madrid, Spain

Alison Ohta Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, London, United Kingdom

Richard Piran McClary University of York, York, United Kingdom

Nino Simonishvili Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia

Nikolaos Vryzidis University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

Arielle Winnik Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, United States

Table of contents:

Introduction: The Aesthetic Space of Interreligious Encounter: Microhistorical Case Studies from the Medieval Mediterranean
Sami Luigi de Giosa and Nikolaos Vryzidis

Islamo-Christian Mediterranean Trade and Its Artistic Ramifications
1. From One Edge of the Mediterranean to the Other: Prolegomena on Mamluk and Iberian Ceramics in Venetian Crete
Maria Bormpoudaki
2. Reconsidering “Andalusi” Textiles in Two Christian Contexts: The San Isidoro and Bayonne Silks between Art Historical Myth and Reality
Ana Cabrera-Lafuente
3. Balsam Oil of Mattariyya: Mamluk Contribution to Christian Liturgy
Hani Hamza
4. Judging a Book by Its Cover: The Contribution of Islamic Bindings to the Look of the European Book
Alison Ohta

Rituals and Liturgies: Objects, Meaning, and Decoration
5. Counter-propaganda and Talismanic Power: The Conciliar Edict of 1166 from Hagia Sophia to Suleiman’s Mausoleum
Faruk Bilici and Eleni Fragaki
6. Venetian Cross Fixed on aSeljuk Candleholder: Composite Mediterraneanism at Saint Paul’s Monastery, Mount Athos
Nikolaos Vryzidis and Paschalis Androudis
7. Inscribing the Christian Body in Life and Death: Tiraz Textiles with Coptic and Greek Inscriptions