Islamic Art & Achitecture: Research Tools

Bibliography of Art and Architecture in the Islamic World. Ed. by Susan Sinclair. 2 vols. Leiden, 2012. (RFA 270.7).

A well-organized bibliography of books and articles on all aspects of Islamic art and architecture published from 1906 through 2011, covering publications in all European languages (except Turkish). It includes some titles that are not represented in Index Islamicus.

Creswell, K. A. C. A Bibliography of the Architecture, Arts, and Crafts of Islam to 1st Jan. 1960. Cairo, 1961. (RFA 270.14.1; 2nd copy: FA370.2F). 1st Supplement: 1961-1972 ; 2nd Supplement: 1972-1980, with omissions from previous years.

A comprehensive bibliography of books and articles on Islamic art and architecture published from the 18th century through 1980. Covers publications in European languages as well as Middle Eastern languages, especially in the 2nd Supplement. Many of the citations are annotated. Note that Creswell's Bibliography does not cover numismatics (for titles on Islamic coins and medals see the research guide for Numismatics).

Grube, Ernst. "A Bibliography of Iconography in Islamic Art," in: Image and Meaning in Islamic Art, ed. R. Hillenbrand. London, 2005, pp. 159-320. (FAL-LC N6260 .I43 2005)

Grube, Ernst, "Additions and Corrections to 'Iconography in Islamic Art' and 'A Bibliography of Iconography in Islamic Art,'" in: Islamic Art 6 (2009): 215-275. (FA 9.116)

Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, by Andrew Petersen. London, 1996. (RFA 270.69.1)

This dictionary is also available & searchable online as part of Archnet's digital library.

Grove Art Online (electronic resource)

An online encyclopedia of the visual arts with over 45,000 articles (searchable by subject and keyword) and over 130,000 images; included are many entries on Islamic art and architecture, with illustrations and bibliographies. A good starting point for research.

The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. 3 vols. Oxford, 2009. (RFA 270.33)

The entries on Islamic art and architecture from Grove Art Online collected in an illustrated book.

Dictionnaire des arts de l'islam. Ed. Jean-Paul Roux. Paris, 2007. (RFA 271.77)

The Illustrated Ecyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Ed. Moya Carey. London, 2010. (FAL-LC N6260.I42 2010)

The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects. 4 vols. New York, 1982. (RFA 1211.53.1)

Includes concise entries for some of the famous architects of the Islamic world. For more information, see L.A. Mayer, Islamic Architects and Their Works, Geneva, 1956 (FA 1716.1), and Grove Art Online.

Archnet is an online community for architects and scholars with a special focus on the Islamic world. It features a digital library with photos, plans and descriptions of hundreds of buildings and sites, digitized journal articles, reference tools and other publications.

HOLLIS Images is Harvard's online union catalog of visual images documenting the arts and material culture. It has descriptive records and images available for download representing architecture, paintings, sculpture, photography, drawings, prints, decorative arts, trade cards, rubbings, theater designs, maps and plans. It includes thousands of digital images from collections throughout Harvard University. New material is added daily.

ARTstor is a nonprofit digital library of more than 1.25 million images representing the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences together with a suite of software tools to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes. In addition, more than 250,000 images from the Fine Arts Library and 40,000 images from the GSD's Loeb Library are available in ARTstor's Harvard Study Collections.

HIAA – website of the Historians of Islamic Art Association; many resources, lists of new publications, announcements of conferences, workshops, jobs, fellowships, etc. Student memberships available.

H-ISLAMART – The H-Net discussion list on the study of the art and architecture of the Islamic world; sponsored by HIAA.

Also see the LibGuide: Resources for Medieval Art & Architecture

Islamic Art and Architecture: General Works & Surveys

A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture, ed. by Finbarr Barry Flood & Gülru Necipoğlu. Hoboken, NJ, 2017. 2 vols. (FAL-LC N6260 .C66 2017)

The Art of Islam. Nurhan Atasoy, Afif Bahnassi, Michael Rogers. UNESCO Collection of Representative Works. Paris, 1990. (FA 372.181.2)

Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Beauty in Arabic Culture. Princeton, 1998. (FA 500.800.13.2)

Gonzalez, Valérie. Beauty and Islam: Aesthetics in Islamic Art and Architecture. London, 2001.(WID-LC N6260.G65 2001x)

The Image and the Word: Confrontations in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Ed. Joseph Gutmann. Missoula, 1977. (FA 201.19)

Ettinghausen, Richard, and Oleg Grabar. The Art and Architecture of Islam, 650-1250. Pelican History of Art. New York, 1987. (FA 372.145)

Blair, Sheila S., and Jonathan Bloom. The Art and Architecture of Islam, 1250-1800. Pelican History of Art. New Haven, 1994. (FA 376.33)

Brend, Barbara. Islamic Art. London & Cambridge, Mass., 1991. (FA 372.183)

Creswell, K.A.C. A Short Account of Early Muslim Architecture. Revised by J. W. Allen. Aldershot, 1989. (FA 1716.11.2)

The Mosque: History, Architectural Development and Regional Diversity. Ed. by Martin Frishman and Hasan-Uddin Khan. London & New York, 1994. (FA 2893.25)

With chapters on regional traditions in architecture, from North Africa to Southeast Asia, and a concluding chapter on contemporary mosques.

Bloom, Jonathan. Minaret, Symbol of Islam. Oxford, 1989. (FA 1718.21.4)

Garaudy, Roger. Mosquée, miroir de l'Islam. Paris, 1985. (FA 2893.13)

A well-illustrated survey of mosques throughout the Islamic world.

Macaulay, David. Mosque. Boston, 2003. (FA 2893.39)

An accessible picture-book showing how a classical Ottoman mosque was constructed.

Pre-Modern Islamic Palaces. Ed. by Gülru Necipoğlu. Special issue of Ars Orientalis, vol. 23 (1993). (FA 1.376 v. 23); also available online

Grabar, Oleg. The Formation of Islamic Art. Rev. and enlarged ed. New Haven, Ct., 1987. (FA 372.55.2)

Grabar, Oleg. The Mediation of Ornament. Princeton, N.J., 1992. (FA 376.35)

Grabar, Oleg. Early Islamic art, 650-1100. Constructing the Study of Islamic Art, 1. Aldershot, 2005. (FAL-LC N6260 .G688 2005) - also available online on Archnet

Grabar, Oleg. Islamic Visual Culture, 1100-1800. Constructing the Study of Islamic Art, 2. Aldershot, 2006. (FAL-LC N6260 .G6915 2006) - also available online on Archnet

Grabar, Oleg. Islamic Art and beyond. Constructing the Study of Islamic Art, 3. Aldershot, 2006. (FAL-LC N6260 .G69153 2006) - also available online on Archnet

Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History and Social Meaning, with a Complete Survey of Key Monuments. Ed. George Michell. London, 1978; reprt. 1984. (FA 1716.37)

Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Architecture: Form, Function and Meaning. Edinburgh and New York, 1994. (FA 1716.65)

Hoag, John D. Islamic Architecture. Paperback ed. New York, 1987. (FA 1716.33.2)

And Diverse Are Their Hues: Color in Islamic Art and Culture. Ed. Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair. New Haven, Ct., 2011. (FAL-LC N7432.7 .H36 2009)

Michaud, R. & S. Design and Color in Islamic Architecture: Eight Centuries of the Tile-Maker's Art. New York, 1996. (FA1069.11.10.2)

Calligraphy and Architecture in the Muslim World. Ed. Mohammad Gharipour and İrvin Cemil Schick. Edinburgh, 2013. (FAL-LC NK 3636.5.A2 C36 2013)

Necipoğlu, Gülru. The Topkapı Scroll: Geometry and Ornament in Islamic Architecture. Santa Monica, Ca., 1995. (FA 4499.177.1F)

Rogers, Michael. The Spread of Islam. Oxford, 1976. (FA 372.95)

O'Kane, Bernard. Treasures of Islam: Artistic Glories of the Muslim World. London, 2007. (FAL-LC N6260 .O33 2007)

Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic courts. Ed. by L. Komaroff. New Haven, Ct., 2011. (FAL-LC NK720 .G54 2011)

Ibn al-Zubayr, Aḥmad ibn al-Rashīd. Book of Gifts and Rarities = Kītab al-hadāyā wa al-tuḥaf. Selections Compiled in the Fifteenth Century from an Eleventh-century Manuscript on Gifts and Treasures. Transl. & ed. by Ghāda-al-Hijjāwī al-Qaddūmī. Cambridge, Mass., 1996. (FA 6569.9)

Islamic Art and Visual Culture: An Anthology of Sources, ed. by D. Fairchild Ruggles. Malden, MA, 2011. (FAL-LC N 6260 .I823 2011)

A collection of primary sources in translation that serve as evidence for the visual and cultural history of Islam.

See also: Persian Art, Indian Art, Turkish & Ottoman Art etc.