The Muslim world has given rise to a rich and varied tradition of
jewelry making, characterized by the combination of great artistic
invention and a fidelity to inherited traditions. Beauty of overall
design and harmony of color -- the aesthetic impulses underlying all the
arts of Islam -- were the Islamic jeweler's highest priorities. These
skills and aesthetic principles are splendidly exemplified in the
extensive collection of Islamic jewelry in The Metropolitan Museum of
Art. Based on recent scholarship, as well as on early visual
representations and literary documents, the text traces the development
of Islamic jewelry from the seventh century to the twentieth through
aesthetic and technical analyses of selected Islamic jewelry pieces in
the Museum's collection. This volume also includes a glossary and an
informative technical appendix.