Power and Protection

"The desire to know the future, influence life's decisions and repel adversities are deeply human impulses found across time and space. In the Islamic world these could be seen as clashing with Islam's central message -- total surrender to God's will, and its foremost principle -- God's supreme and unmediated authority. Yet history reveals that Muslim societies developed different views towards engaging with the supernatural, ranging from plain acceptance to utter condemnation. Spanning from Morocco to China and the 12th to the 20th century, the books, vessels, garments and jewellery showcased in Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural present divinatory and talismanic arts as intellectual resources and founts of artistic inspiration. By reflecting the daily fears and hopes of lower and upper classes alike, they also reveal how the human quest for protection and good luck has often overlapped with the belief in God's all-powerfulness"--Provided by publisher. Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural' is a ground-breaking investigation of divinatory arts in the Islamic world discussing their impact on, and expression through, material culture. This part of the Islamic tradition has hitherto received limited attention, leaving a fascinating and rich chapter of Islam's cultural production largely unexplored. Essays by three leading experts contextualise over 100 extraordinary objects produced between the twelfth and the twentieth centuries -- including personal ornaments, weaponry, textiles, miniature books, and scrolls -- demonstrating the currency of astrology, geomancy, bibliomancy, dream interpretation, and the science of divination through letters at all levels of society. Insights gleaned from historical sources unveil and chart the animated debates surrounding divinatory "sciences", reflecting changing attitudes towards these practices over the centuries. Thoroughly researched and richly illustrated, 'Power and Protection' offers a stimulating and accessible introduction to this topic for the general reader as well as a fresh and well-balanced account for the specialist. Exhibition: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK (20.10.2016-15.01.2017) / Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada (Spring 2017).