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Arabic and Persian Seals and Amulets in the British Museum
by Venetia Porter, with special assistance from Robert Hoyland and Alexander Morton, contributions by Shailendra Bhandare, and scientific analysis by Janet Ambers, Sylvia Humphrey, Nigel Meeks, and Margaret Sax
This catalogue is the first on the outstanding collection of Arabic and Persian seals and amulets in the British Museum, by a specialist in the field.
The first part focuses on the 638 Arabic, Persian and Indian seals covering material from the 8th to the 20th century. The introduction covers seal practice in different periods and levels of society; the role of the seal and the "alama" or motto, the use of figural representation on the seals, seal engravers, the forgery of seals and the importance of the stones used are described. The features of the seals themselves, in particular the palaeography and dating of early Islamic seals, some grammatical features of the inscriptions, and the range of designs present on the seals are analysed. The types and form of Islamic names, the range of phrases that commonly appear and the characteristics of later seals are also discussed. The second part focuses on 170 amulets in the collection preceded by an introduction to the subject. Research into the engraving techniques is presented with analysis of the stones used.
This publication will be a standard work of reference for years to come. 196p (British Museum Research Publication 160, 2011)
About the Author
Venetia Porter is curator of the Islamic collections in the Department of the Middle East in the British Museum. She has published widely on different aspects of Islamic art. She curated the British Museum exhibition Word into Art in 2006, with its associated catalogue.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Catalogue
1. Clay, bronze and lead sealings c. eighth–tenth centuries
2. Names
3. Names and phrases
4. Phrases
5. Re-engraved seals and seals with Arabic inscriptions on both sides
6. Seals c. 14th century and later
7. Dated seals
8. Indo-Muslim seals and Miscellaneous seals
9. Amulets Introduction
Amulets catalogue
Identification of the Materials of the Seals and Amulets (Sylvia Humphrey and Janet Ambers)
Methods of Engraving (Margaret Sax and Nigel Meeks)
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