Christian Art of the Near East

An unprecedented history of Christian art—spanning two millennia—in the lands where the religion originally took root and spread. This splendidly illustrated volume is the first to survey the artistic achievement of the Christian communities of the Near East, living in present-day Iraq, southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt. Although these communities belong to diverse churches, they share elements of a common history: they date back to the earliest days of Christianity, they adopted the Arabic language in the ninth and tenth centuries while preserving their original language (Syrian, Greek, Coptic) in their liturgy, they had the status of dhimmis under the Arabs and the Ottomans, they have often served as intermediaries between East and West, and in recent years they have often faced destruction or exile. Raphaëlle Ziadé, a noted authority in the field, brings together the holding of churches, monasteries, museums, and private collections, as well as the findings of archaeology, to present an artistic panorama stretching from the birth of Christianity to the end of the Ottoman empire. Her rigorously researched account—encompassing architecture, frescoes, mosaics, wood and ivory carvings, metalwork, illuminated manuscripts, icons, and textiles—breaks down denominational, political, and geographic barriers to reveal the civilisational dimension of Christian art in the Near East.