The Medieval Mediterranean Between Islam And Christianity (crosspollinations In Art, Architecture, And Material Culture)

Christian–Islamic encounters through religious arts, architecture, and material culture in the medieval era

The coexistence of Christianity and Islam in the medieval Mediterranean led to an interchange of knowledge in architecture and material culture that went well beyond religious and geographical boundaries. The use of Islamic objects in Christian contexts, the conversion of churches into mosques, and the mobility of craftsmen are only some manifestations of this process. From crosses found in mosques to European-Christian coins with pseudo-shahada inscriptions, medieval material culture is rich with visual evidence of the two faiths intermingling in both individual objects and monuments.

In this volume, thirteen international scholars explore various aspects of pan-Mediterranean Christian-Islamic encounters in material culture and art, from textiles to precious oils, and from metalwork to ceramics, covering most of the Mediterranean, as well as parts of its extended hinterland, from Spain and Italy to Egypt and Georgia.

Within this frame, one of the most relevant, yet underexplored lines of investigation is that of the “aesthetic space,” the notion that aesthetic pleasure transcends boundaries, paving the way to a cross-religious experience and appreciation. “Indeed, God is beautiful, and He loves beauty,” as mentioned in a Hadith narration, a universal cry of visual beauty that resonates with all cultures and civilizations.

Contributors:
Paschalis Androudis Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Faruk Bilici Inalco, Paris, France
Maria Bormpoudaki Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Piraeus, Greece
Sami Luigi De Giosa University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Hélène Fragaki University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
Hani Hamza Independent scholar, Cairo, Egypt
Ana Cabrera Lafuente Instituto de Turismo de España (Turespaña/Tourspain), Madrid, Spain
Alison Ohta Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, London, United Kingdom
Richard Piran McClary University of York, York, United Kingdom
Nino Simonishvili Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Nikolaos Vryzidis University of West Attica, Athens, Greece
Arielle Winnik Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, United States

Introduction: The Aesthetic Space of Interreligious Encounter: Microhistorical Case Studies from the Medieval Mediterranean
Sami Luigi de Giosa and Nikolaos Vryzidis 

Islamo-Christian Mediterranean Trade and Its Artistic Ramifications
1. From One Edge of the Mediterranean to the Other: Prolegomena on Mamluk and Iberian Ceramics in Venetian Crete
Maria Bormpoudaki
2. Reconsidering “Andalusi” Textiles in Two Christian Contexts: The San Isidoro and Bayonne Silks between Art Historical Myth and Reality
Ana Cabrera-Lafuente
3. Balsam Oil of Mattariyya: Mamluk Contribution to Christian Liturgy
Hani Hamza
4. Judging a Book by Its Cover: The Contribution of Islamic Bindings to the Look of the European Book
Alison Ohta

Rituals and Liturgies: Objects, Meaning, and Decoration
5. Counter-propaganda and Talismanic Power: The Conciliar Edict of 1166 from Hagia Sophia to Suleiman’s Mausoleum
Faruk Bilici and Eleni Fragaki
6. Venetian Cross Fixed on aSeljuk Candleholder: Composite Mediterraneanism at Saint Paul’s Monastery, Mount Athos
Nikolaos Vryzidis and Paschalis Androudis
7. Inscribing the Christian Body in Life and Death: Tiraz Textiles with Coptic and Greek Inscriptions