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Drawing on medieval Arabic sources and earlier scholarship, this book is a study of the life and work of Ibn Dāniyāl (d. 1310). It also presents the first full English translation of his shadow play \"The Phantom.\".

In early 20th century, the art historical institute in Vienna led by Josef Strzygowski (1862-1941) offered the unique opportunity to study the arts of Asia and the Middle East at university level (fig. I).· 1 The rich material repository for the study of 'Oriental' art - consisting of ca. 4000 books, 52.000 photographs and images, and 20.000 lantern slides - was unparalleled in Europe.2 It attracked a large number of students and turned the institute into a hub for Asian and Islamic art. Numerous guest auditors from all over Europe and abroad further enriched the lively community.3 Between 1910 and 1933, more than one hundred students supervised by Strzygowski completed their dissertations on Northern European, Austrian, Persian, Islamic, Chinese, Japanese and Indian art.4 Suzanne Marchand has directed attention to the strikingly Targe number of female students' at Strzygowski's institute, 'who would make careers outside Central Europe and remain relatively free from racist ideologies' The article pursues the twofold aim of combining a historical intersectional study of the Vienna school with a critique of patriarchal patterns of historiography. This study aims to contribute to research of the co-constitutive relation of art and identity markers such as gender and race.The article consists of three parts: two historical studies (part I and III) embrace a theoretical section on patriarchal patterns in historiography (part II). In the first part, Melanie Stiassny's presidency of the Society of Friends of Asian Art and Culture is the centerpiece of the historical investigation. The society was one of the liveliest in inter war Vienna, and Stiassny, as its managing vice-president, organized exhibitions, broadcasts and adult education, edited the journal of the society, and published articles on Chinese art. Knowledge about Stiassny and the infrastructure of the society sheds light on the processes of valorizing Asian art. It furthermore gives insights into how Strzygowskian graduates built networks and professionalized.23 The second part, the theoretical section, draws on feminist, gender and intersectional studies to analyse patterns and conventions of historiography. A close reading of several articles on Viennese art history reveals how androcentric criteria shape historiography to date. The third part adopts some of the androcentric historiographical criteria such as 'success' to comparatively trace careers of 'successful' women and men art historians.24 Interestingly, their migratory trajectories reveal a gendered and raced pattern of migration: Women and non-European men art historians often found their first academic positions at universities in the Middle East or Asia, whereas European men began their careers at museums in Vienna and Berlin. Eventually, most worked in area studies departments at US-American universities.

: Decoration techniques have changed over time in bookbinding art, as in every branch of art. The 18th century is a period in which the classic style bindings were continued to be made, but at the same time new decoration techniques were tried. Yekşah, one of these techniques, is a decoration technique applied in the form of inlaying/pressing a flat or oval metal iron tool on the motifs embroidered with gold on the binding. This decoration technique takes its name from the metal tool used in the application. This tool, called yekşah iron, is an average of 15-16 cm long and is a flat or oval hand tool. Yekşah decoration technique is applied on bindings applied with brush. ‘Applied with brush binding’ means to embroider the pattern on the leather using gold-ink with a brush. After the pattern is embroidered on the leather with the applied with brush technique, it is started to be processed with yekşah iron tool. Lines are drawn on the motifs with a yekşah iron tool based on the direction of the pattern. The leather is partially pitted during this striping. Yekşah decoration technique joined Turkish bookbinding art at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. Examples continued to be seen in the 19th century. However, the period in which the technique was most frequently used is the 18th century. It is known that yekşah decoration technique is mostly applied by the palace bookbinders and especially on the bindings of the manuscript of high value. As a result of the examinations of the yekşah bindings samples published in the literature of Turkish binding art and found in museums and libraries, it was determined that the yekşah decoration technique was applied on 3 different patterns in Turkish bindings. These; rūmī, lattice (zerbahar/zilbahar) and baroque-rococo patterns. It is seen that the yekşah technique was applied in all parts of the rūmī patterned yekşah binding cover. However, it is most common and most diverse in medallions. The reason for this may be that, as of the 18th century, when yekşah decorations began to be seen, corner pieces were not frequently used on the covers of the binding and the intensity of the decoration was seen on the center-medallions. Three types of medallions were identified in the rūmī patterned yekşah bindings. These are the classical sliced oval form medallion, the rectangular medallion, and the sliced circular form medallion. On the rūmī patterned yekşah bindings, the center-medallion and pendant backgrounds are often painted in burgundy color in order to see the gold of the pattern more clearly. Another type of pattern in which the yekşah decoration technique is applied is the lattice (zerbahar) pattern. Zerbahar pattern is a type of binding decoration seen at the end of the 18th century and especially in the 19th century and was applied to cover the entire surface of the binding. It has been determined that as of the 18th century, yekşah application has been made on realist-style flower or Western-influenced baroque-rococo motifs seen in Turkish bindings. Turkish Rococo is an attractive decoration style in which the surface is completely filled and decorated with C and S curved motifs. Along with curved and round shapes, leaf, flower motifs and flower bouquets are also included in this decoration style. Although yekşah technique is weak in terms of durability, there is an effort to increase the artistic value of the binding, which is often preferred in 18th century bindings. Thanks to this technique, the pattern applied with brush has been made more attractive. This has increased the artistic value of the binding.

The advent of digital humanities now poses the primary historiographical challenge for contemporary and future historians of Islamic art. No longer simply tools to archive and exchange information, digital humanities technologies are evolving into analytical instruments often embedded with under-scrutinized theoretical assumptions. Without a critical mass of systematically developed databases of historical texts, translations, images and overlaying analytical tools, the way Islamic art history is written will increasingly diverge from the rest of art history. This paper makes the case that the pressing need to consider and apply new theoretical frameworks in Islamic art history is being superseded by the digital turn in humanities scholarship. The practice of Islamic art history now needs to actively participate in the design and development of databases and analytical instruments specifically geared toward the interests of Islamic art historians. At the same time, the digital shift presents an opportunity to confront the field's archival legacies. (Author abstract)

This essay seeks to open discussion on the history of Islamic art and artistic production within the critical framework of colonial and postcolonial studies; and, at the same time, to contribute to the ongoing discourse surrounding the creation and definition of the term ‘Islamic art history’ as a scientific field within the wider discipline of art history. Arguing for the urgent need for a large-scale and methodical critical reconsideration of the field, the article exposes and explores a number of problematic paradigms that have been embedded in the field of Islamic art history from the period of its founding, many of them springing directly from the ‘imagined Islam’ that remains the field’s point of definition. The imposition of universalism, cosmopolitanism and medievalism upon Islamic art, the persistent models of Classicism and degeneracy, and anxieties relating to terminology and the ‘spiritualization’ of Islam are among the key concepts questioned, with the ultimate aim of generating new pathways for research into the visual culture of the Islamic world.