Komaroff, Linda, and Stefano Carboni, eds., with essays by Morris Rossabi, Charles Melville, James C. Y. Watt, Tomoko Masuya, Sheila Blair, Robert Hillenbrand, Sarah Bertalan, John Hirx, Marco Leona, Pieter Meyers, Linda Komaroff, and Stefano Carboni (2002)
This title is out of print.
Under the leadership of Genghis Khan, nomadic horsemen burst out of Mongolia in the thirteenth century and began their sweep across Asia, creating the largest empire the world has ever known. Particularly in Iran and China, the results were far-reaching: the Mongols imposed enormous changes but at the same time were profoundly influenced by the highly developed civilization of their new subjects. Greater Iran was ruled for a century (1256–1353) by the Mongol dynasty known as the Ilkhanids. These Mongol masters first opposed and then enthusiastically adopted Islam. They became sponsors of a brilliant cultural flowering that encompassed the writing of histories, city-building, and many branches of the arts. Local Persian artistic traditions were themselves transformed by Mongol preferences and by contacts with the arts of Europe and especially China, as wares and craftsmen from China and Iran traveled back and forth across the empire.
The arts of the book attained glorious heights under the Ilkhanids. Large Korans were copied by the best calligraphers and their opening pages illuminated with intricate decoration. The figural illustration of secular objects was greatly expanded and, applied to literary and historical works, became a significant means of legitimizing the Mongols' reign. The masterpiece of this era is the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings); its dramatic and varied paintings illustrate an epic poem that weaves together legends about the early kings of Iran. Although the manuscript was later dismembered, many of its magnificent illustrations survive, and twenty-six of them are included in this catalogue.
While the Ilkhanids retained the nomadic practice of moving from place to place and holding court in elaborate tents, they also commissioned permanent pleasure palaces lined with richly decorated ceramic tiles. Jewelry and finely worked metal objects were produced in abundance, as were textiles woven with gold. Mosques and mausoleums, built on a grand scale, were lavishly furnished.
More than two hundred outstanding objects exemplifying all these branches of the arts are illustrated in color and fully described in this catalogue. Eight distinguished scholars in the field present the historical and political background of the Ilkhanid era and address such subjects as manuscript illustration, religious art, and the transmission of design motifs across Asia. Also included are two technical studies, maps, a genealogical chart, and a complete bibliography.
Director's ForewordAcknowledgmentsLenders to the ExhibitionContributors to the CatalogueNotes to the Reader
Introduction: On the Eve of the Mongol ConquestLinda Komaroff and Stefano Carboni
Map of the Mongol Empire
Map of Greater Iran
Genealogy of the Mongol Khans
1. The Mongols and Their LegacyMorris Rossabi
2. The Mongols in IranCharles Melville
3. A Note on Artistic Exchanges in the Mongol EmpireJames C. Y. Watt
4. Ilkhanid Courtly LifeTomoko Masuya
5. The Religious Art of the IlkhanidsSheila Blair
6. The Arts of the Book in Ilkhanid IranRobert Hillenbrand
7. The Transmission and Dissemination of a New Visual LanguageLinda Komaroff
8. Synthesis: Continuity and Innovation in Ilkhanid ArtStefano Carboni
Technical Study 1: Close Examination of Leaves from the Great Mongol ShahnamaSarah Bertalan
Technical Study 2: The Glazed Press-Molded Tiles of Takht-I SulaimanJohn Hirx, Marco Leona, and Pieter Meyers
CatalogueLinda Komaroff and Stefano Carboni
BibliographyIndexPhotograph Credits
Linda Komaroff is Curator of Islamic Art and Department Head of Ancient and Islamic Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Stefano Carboni is Associate Curator of Islamic Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Print Titles
Allan, James W. Nishapur: Metalwork of the Early Islamic Period. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982. See more
Bloom, Jonathan M., Ahmed Toufiq, Stefano Carboni, Jack Soultanian, Antoine M. Wilmering, Mark D. Minor, Andrew Zawacki, and El Mostafa Hbibi. The Minbar from the Kutubiyya Mosque. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998. See more
Breck, Joseph and Frances Morris. The James F. Ballard Collection of Oriental Rugs. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, October, 1923 See more
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014.
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Canby, Sheila R. The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp: The Persian Book of Kings. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Day, Florence E. "Mesopotamian manuscripts of Dioscorides." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 8, no. 9 (May, 1950). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1950. See more
Dimand, M. S. A Handbook of Mohammedan Decorative Arts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1930. See more
Dimand, Maurice Sven. "A Saljuk Incense Burner." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 10, no. 5 (January, 1952). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1952. See more
Dimand, Maurice Sven. "An Enameled-Glass Bottle of the Mamluk Period." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 3, no. 3 (November, 1944). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. See more
Dimand, Maurice Sven. "Saljuk Bronzes From Khurasan." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 4, no. 3 (November, 1945). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1945. See more
Dimand, Maurice Sven. Persian Miniatures: A Picture Book. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, 1940 See more
Ettinghausen, Richard. "Islamic Art." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 33, no. 1 (Spring, 1975). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. See more
Ettinghausen, Richard. "The Flowering of Seljuq Art." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 3 (1970). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970. See more
Galitz, Kathryn Calley. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, 2016 See more
Jenkins, Marilyn. "Islamic Glass: A Brief History." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 44, no. 2 (Autumn, 1986). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. See more
Jenkins, Marilyn. "Muslim: An Early Fatimid Ceramist." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 26, no. 9 (May, 1968). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1968. See more
Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn. Raqqa Revisted: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006. See more
Kern, Karen M., Yael Rosenfield, Federico Carò, and Nobuko Shibayama. "The Sacred and the Modern: The History, Conservation, and Science of the Madina Sitārah": Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 52 (2017). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017. See more
Knauer, Elfriede Regina. "Marble Jar-Stands from Egypt." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 14 (1979). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979. See more
Komaroff, Linda, and Stefano Carboni, eds., with essays by Morris Rossabi, Charles Melville, James C. Y. Watt, Tomoko Masuya, Sheila Blair, Robert Hillenbrand, Sarah Bertalan, John Hirx, Marco Leona, Pieter Meyers, Linda Komaroff, and Stefano Carboni. The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256–1353. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. See more
Komaroff, Linda. "Pen-Case and Candlestick: Two Sources for the Development of Persian Inlaid Metalwork." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 23 (1988). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1988. See more
Pease, Murray. "Two Bowls In One." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 16, no. 8 (April, 1958). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1958. See more
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Iranian Expedition, 1938-1940." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 37, no. 4 (April, 1942). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1942.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Part 2: The Iranian Expedition 1937. Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 33, no. 12 (November, 1938). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1938.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Part 2: the Iranian Expedition, 1936. Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 32, no. 10 (October, 1937). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1937.
Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. "Chessmen and Chess." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 1, no. 9 (May, 1943). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943. See more
Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. "Fashion and Technique in Persian Pottery." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 6, no. 3 (November, 1947). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1947. See more
Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. "Life in Early Nishapur." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 9, no. 2 (October, 1950). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1950. See more
Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. "The Glazed Pottery of Nishapur and Samarkand." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 20, no. 3 (November, 1961). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1961. See more
Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. "The Kilns of Nishapur." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 17, no. 9 (May, 1959). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1959. See more
Online Titles
"The Art of the Ayyubid Period (ca. 1171–1260)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
"The Art of the Fatimid Period (909–1171)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
"The Art of the Ilkhanid Period (1256–1353)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
"The Art of the Mamluk Period (1250–1517)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
"The Art of the Seljuq Period in Anatolia (1081–1307)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
"The Art of the Seljuqs of Iran (ca. 1040–1157)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Courtly Art of the Ilkhanids." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Folios from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Folios from the Jami' al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Takht-i Sulayman and Tile Work in the Ilkhanid Period." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "The Art of the Book in the Ilkhanid Period." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "The Mongolian Tent in the Ilkhanid Period." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "The Religious Arts under the Ilkhanids." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Department of Islamic Art. "The Art of the Almoravid and Almohad Periods (ca. 1062–1269)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Department of Islamic Art. "The Art of the Nasrid Period (1232–1492)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Ekhtiar, Maryam and Julia Cohen. "Early Qur'ans (8th–early 13th centuries)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Rugiadi, Martina. "Poetic License." 82nd & Fifth. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013. See more
Sardar, Marika. "Islamic Art of the Deccan." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Williams, Elizabeth. "Baths and Bathing Culture in the Middle East: The Hammam." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano, and David Whitehouse, with contributions by Robert H. Brill and William Gudenrath. Glass of the Sultans. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001. See more
Carboni, Stefano, and Tomoko Masuya. Persian Tiles. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. See more
Carboni, Stefano. "Ars Vitraria: Glass in The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 59, no. 1 (Summer, 2001). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001. See more
Carboni, Stefano. Following the Stars: Images of the Zodiac in Islamic Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. See more
Diba, Layla S., with contributions by Stefano Carboni and Jean-François de Lapérouse. Turkmen Jewelry: Silver Ornaments from the Marshall and Marilyn Wolf Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. See more
Houghton, James R., Katherine Baetjer, Dorothea Arnold, Joan Aruz, Carlos A. Picon, Peter Barnet, Everett Fahy, Keith Christiansen, Walter Liedtke, Colta Ives, George R. Goldner, Ian Wardropper, Thomas P. Campbell, Dita Amory, Laurence B. Kanter, Morrison H. Heckscher, J. Kenneth Moore, Hilde Limondjian, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Donald J. La Rocca, Maxwell K. Hearn, James C. Y. Watt, Stefano Carboni, Julie Jones, Alisa LaGamma, Eric Kjellgren, Virginia-Lee Webb, Gary Tinterow, Malcolm Daniel, Harold Koda, and John P. O'Neill. Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977–2008. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. See more
Swietochowski, Marie Lukens, and Stefano Carboni, with essays by A. H. Morton and Tomoko Masuya. Illustrated Poetry and Epic Images: Persian Painting of the 1330s and 1340s. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "A New Visual Language Transmitted Across Asia." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Blown Glass from Islamic Lands." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Cut and Engraved Glass from Islamic Lands." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Enameled and Gilded Glass from Islamic Lands." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Glass from Islamic Lands." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Glass with Mold-Blown Decoration from Islamic Lands." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Hot-worked Glass from Islamic Lands." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Mosaic Glass from Islamic Lands." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Stained, or Luster-Painted Glass from Islamic Lands." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "The Legacy of Genghis Khan." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Trinita Kennedy. "Commercial Exchange, Diplomacy, and Religious Difference between Venice and the Islamic world." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Trinita Kennedy. "Islamic Art and Culture: the Venetian Perspective." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Trinita Kennedy. "Venice and the Islamic World, 828–1797." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Trinita Kennedy. "Venice's Principal Muslim Trading Partners: the Mamluks, the Ottomans, and the Safavids." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Abramitis, Dorothy H., Julie Arslanoglu, Linda Borsch, Silvia A. Centeno, Federico Carò;, Tony Frantz, Marco Leona, Dorothy Mahon, Julia Schultz, and Mark T. Wypyski. "Scientific Research in The Metropolitan Museum of Art": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 67, no. 1 (Summer, 2009). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. See more
Leona, Marco. "Magic." Connections. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. See more
Harper, Prudence O., and Pieter Meyers. Silver Vessels of the Sasanian Period. Vol. 1, Royal Imagery. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1981. See more
Meyers, Pieter. "Three Silver Objects from Thrace: A Technical Examination." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 16 (1981). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1981. See more
Watt, James C. Y., and Anne E. Wardwell, with an essay by Morris Rossabi. When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. See more
Watt, James C. Y. "The Giraffe as the Mythical Qilin in Chinese Art: A Painting and a Rank Badge in the Metropolitan Museum." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 43 (2008). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008.
Bunker, Emma C., with contributions by James C. Y. Watt and Zhixin Sun. Nomadic Art of the Eastern Eurasian Steppes: The Eugene V. Thaw and Other Notable New York Collections. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. See more
D'Agostino, Paola, Ana Maria Falchetti, Mary Sprinson de Jesüs, Alisa LaGamma, Donald J. La Rocca, Eckhard Leuschner, Vivian B. Mann, Mary B. Moore, Christine I. Oaklander, Wendy Thompson, Andrew McDonald Watson, and James C. Y. Watt. Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal, Vol. 43 (2008). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008. See more
Fong, Wen C., and James C. Y. Watt, with contributions by Chang Lin-sheng, James Cahill, Wai-kam Ho, Maxwell K. Hearn, and Richard M. Barnhart. Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996. See more
Leidy, Denise Patry. "Chinese Decorative Arts." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 55, no. 1 (Summer, 1997). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. See more
Watt, James C. Y. "A Sixteenth-Century Lacquered Chinese Box." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 37 (2002). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. See more
Watt, James C. Y. "The Arts of Ancient China." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 48, no. 1 (Summer, 1990). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1990. See more
Watt, James C. Y., An Jiayao, Angela F. Howard, Boris I. Marshak, Su Bai, and Zhao Feng, with contributions by Prudence O. Harper, et al. China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200–750 A.D.. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. See more
Watt, James C. Y., and Barbara Brennan Ford. East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991. See more
Watt, James C. Y., and Denise Patry Leidy. Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. See more
Watt, James C. Y., with Maxwell K. Hearn, Denise Patry Leidy, Zhixin Jason Sun, John Guy, Joyce Denney, Birgitta Augustin, and Nancy S. Steinhardt. The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010. See more
In a lifetime characterized by war and conquest, Genghis Khan (1167?–1227) forged the largest contiguous land empire in human history. His legacy was a unified Mongol confederacy that his sons and grandsons ruled for more than a century. During this peaceful era, people, objects, and ideas moved with unprecedented freedom over a vast territory that reached from the Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea. The confluence of previously distant cultures yielded a bold new visual aesthetic that would resonate in Islamic art for centuries to come.
The landmark traveling exhibition The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Arts and Culture in Western Asia, 1256–1353 explores the influence of China's Yüan dynasty, founded by Kublai Khan (a grandson of Genghis Khan), on the art and culture of Iran's Ilkhanid dynasty, founded by Hulagu (another of his grandsons). On view will be some 200 works from museums and collections worldwide, including rare textiles, ceramics, jewelry and metalwork, works in stone and wood, and outstanding examples of the art of the book. A highlight will be the display of more than 30 vividly illustrated pages from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings). Now dispersed in many collections worldwide, this version of the Iranian epic—made for a royal patron—is one of the most luxurious ever produced.
More on the exhibition