Beschrijving

3 Capitals of Islamic Art: Istanbul, Isfahan, Delhi – Masterpieces from the Louvre Collection is the richly illustrated exhibition catalogue published in conjunction with a major show at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum in Istanbul, featuring over 200 masterpieces of Islamic art drawn from the Islamic Art Department of the Louvre Museum in Paris. The book is written in English and serves both as a visual treasury and a scholarly exploration of art from three historic capitals that were pivotal to Islamic culture and artistic exchange: Istanbul (Ottoman Empire), Isfahan (Safavid Iran), and Delhi (Mughal India).

The volume combines high-quality color plates of artworks — including textiles, ceramics, metalwork, arms and armor, inlay, tiles, and other decorative arts — with essays and contextual analysis that trace the development, influences, and stylistic characteristics of Islamic art in each of the three capitals. It highlights how these cities were cultural hubs in their respective empires, and how their artistic traditions both reflected and shaped broader historical, religious, and social currents across the Islamic world.

Scholarly contributions in the catalogue also discuss the shared Timurid heritage that influenced artistic production across these regions, as well as the interaction between local and imported styles. In addition to visual documentation, the book includes chronologies, curatorial essays, and interpretive texts that help readers understand the historical significance of the works and the empires that produced them.

Overall, 3 Capitals of Islamic Art functions as both a museum catalogue and an art history reference, offering a panoramic view of the aesthetic richness and cultural exchange embodied in Islamic artistic achievements.