Venice and the Islamic World, 828-1797 (ISBN 0300124309)

A scholarly catalogue:
This book is the catalogue for a traveling exhibition held at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris in 2006 and at the Met in New York in 2007. It is a very complete study of the influence of the islamic world on the Republic of Venice, encompassing all forms of art, painting, architecture, ceramics, textiles, engravings, books, and even religious artefacts (mosque lamps for example). All these works of art are the results of intense cultural and economic exchange between both worlds and the catalogue emphasizes this very well. A scholarly publication well served by wonderful illustrations. A very detailed checklist of all the works in the exhibition (medium, dimensions, location) makes this book a definite reference on the subject.

Dissapointing:
What a dissapointment of a book when the subject has such visual and aesthetic potential. My gripe is mainly with the imagery - paintings are almost invariably reproduced in a size between postage stamp and post-card, when what one would like are full-page reproductions, with details to illustrate the costume and artifacts of the islamic world which began to turn up in Venesian art in this period. Buy it if you want an informative text, but definately not if you want a visual feast.

The Silk Road Adorned:
For centuries The Most Serene Republic of Venice was the the western terminus of the fabled Silk Road. The city's warehouses were the repository of every luxury that Persia, India, China, Siam, the Levant, Byzantium, and the Ottomans had to offer. This book is a wonderful companion to the Met's glittering exhibition of art, illuminated manuscripts and decorative objects, which give a sense of Venice's singular place in the history of the Mediterranean. Viva San Marco!

Venice and Islam:
This book is excelent. This book is the catalog of the exhibiton that is on tne Metropolitan Museum of New York.

A Converging of Western and Muslim Sensibilities:
All around Venice (or Venezia as the Italians call it), you see a profound Muslim influence. In the archways above doors, in the windows of canal architecture, on the rooftops the weaving of these two sensibilities is undeniable. We saw this book at an exhibit at the Doge's Palace in Venezia at the end of summer, 2007. This book is a translation of the book that was published to accompany the exhibit. It is a more than faithful capturing of both the content and spirit of the exhibit. Particularly today, it is important, as well as healthy, to sustain appreciation of these ancestral collaborations because they are weaving of the fabric of our contemporary cultures. In the book and the exhibit, it is easy to feel the curiosity and respect each of these cultures has for the other. They are drawn to one another's differences rather than being repelled by them. Although the cover artwork of the English language version differs from the other language versions of the exhibit publication, the content is either parallel or the same - something I could not verify since I am limited to speaking primarily English (more and more, feeling this is a handicap in today's global culture). This particular book, I'm told, accompanied the same exhibit when it was in New York. I don't know how well it was received there - but in Venice, it was magical! I highly recommend this book and would hope that somewhere in the world, there would be a place for the marriage of these cultures to find a more permanent home. The expression of the cultures working together, dancing and weaving their way through the marketplace of ideas, theology, and trade is something that should not be lost. This book teaches us that we have much to learn from cultures different from our own - whichever culture this may be. This curiosity should not close down with the end of an exhibit's run.