Muslim world

Jahangir’s Turkey: Early Modern Globalization and Exotic Animals

Leave a Comment / Animals, Body Art, British Empire, East Indies, Jahangir, Muslim world, Mythological Beasts, Nanban art, Natural History, Portuguese Empire, Res Obscura, Seventeenth Century, Visual Culture, World of Goods / By

The above image is one of my favorite examples of the bizarre cross-pollinations that early modern globalization brought about. It is a detail from a lavish watercolor painting created in 1618 by Bichitr for the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569-1627). Here we find the strange juxtaposition of James I and VI of England and Scotland (1566-1625) …

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Pseudo-Kufic: Renaissance Imitations of Arabic Script

1 Comment / Intercultural Encounters, Muslim world, Renaissance art, Res Obscura / By

Kufic script is a lovely and ancient variant of the Arabic alphabet that developed out of the Nabatean alphabet of Classical-era Petra. This example from a c. 8th century Koran highlights the characteristic angular style of the script, which made it uniquely well-suited for use in stone inscriptions, pottery and in rugs and other woven …

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