Ink, Silk & Gold

About this book

Ink, Silk & Gold explores the dynamic and complex traditions of Islamic art through more than 115 works of art drawn from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Works in a range of media are reproduced in full color and exquisite detail--manuscripts inscribed with gold, paintings on silk, elaborate metalwork, intricately woven textiles, luster-painted ceramics and more. These objects, which originated within an Islamic world that ranges from Western Europe to Indonesia and across more than 13 centuries (from the 8th up to the 21st century), share a distinctive relationship to the materials they are made of: their color, shape, texture and technique of production all convey meaning. Many of the objects included are functional as well as aesthetically refined, and their histories as objects that were gifted, sold, bought, modified, collected and displayed are explored in this volume. Drawing on the latest technical information and enhanced by texts from an international team of scholars, Ink, Silk & Gold is an inviting introduction to the riches of the Islamic art collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and a window into a vibrant global culture.