Iran : five millennia of art and culture / for the Museum für Islamische Kunst - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin ; edited by Ute Franke, Ina Sarikhani and Stefan Weber.

Catalog of an exhibition held at the James-Simon-Galerie, Museumsinsel Berlin, December 6, 2021-March 20, 2022.

Includes bibliographical references.

Greeting / Hermann Parzinger -- Greeting / Mark Jones -- Prelude / Ina Sarikhani Sandmann -- Iran- Five Millennia of Art and Culture / Stefan Weber and Ute Franke -- I. Iran- A Land Between East and West / Ute Franke -- II. First Cities, Early Empires / Ute Franke -- Elam- An Old Culture at the Dawn of Iran's History / Wouter F. M. Henkelman -- III. The Era of the Petty Kingdoms- Rivalries and Alliances / Christian Konrad Piller -- The Luristan Bronzes / Christian Konrad Piller -- Ziwiye- A Mysterious Hoard / Christian Konrad Piller -- Hasanlu- A Lost City / Christian Konrad Piller -- Marlik- A 'Royal Cemetery' near the Caspian Sea / Christian Konrad Piller -- IV. The Achaemenid Empire / Bruno Jacobs -- Persepolis / Alexander Nagel -- 'Artazerxes, the Great King... says:' -- An Achaemenid Elephant Goad / Norbert Franken -- In the Saddle- The Persians as Warriors and Hunters / Ellen Rehm -- Jewellery for Protection and Prestige / Ellen Rehm -- 'In vino veritas'- Carousing Persians / Ellen Rehm -- 'Horses... equiped most splendidly' / Ellen Rehm -- volume The Parthian and Sasanian Empires / Josef Wiesehöfer -- The Parthian Empire / Josef Wieshöfer -- Not All that Glitters is Gold- Fire-Gilding / Ellen Rehm -- A 'Greek' Bowl from Nihavand in Iran? / Agnes Schwarzmaier -- Bright and Clear- New Glassmaking Techniques / Ellen Rehm -- Polytheism in the Parthian Empire / Ellen Rehm -- The Sasanian Empire / Josef Wiesehöfer -- Sasanian Royal and Elite Images / Prudence Oliver Harper -- Statue of a 'Saint' from the Church in Veh Ardashir / Jens Kröger -- Sasanian Courtly Tableware / Jens Kröger -- Head of a Fierce Lion / Jens Kröger -- Two Sasanian Silver-Gilt Plates with Scenes of a Hunt / Prudence Oliver Harper -- The Indian Goddess Hariti on a Lion Throne with other Celestial Beings / Michele Minardi -- The Art of Glassmaking in the Sasanian Empire / Jens Kröger -- Sasanian Coinage / Jens Kröger -- Sasanian Seal Stones / Jens Kröger -- Scripts in the Persian Empire / Alberto Cantera -- VI. The Arab Conquest of Iran / Claus-Peter Haase -- Arabic Script before Calligraphy / Claus-Peter Haase -- Calligraphy- The Discovery of the Curve / Claus-Peter Haase -- Artistic Inspiration and Innovation / Oliver Watson -- The Art of Glassmaking from Eight to the Thirteenth Century / Jens Kröger -- VII. The Iranian Revival- From the Late Ninth to the Early Eleventh Century / Robert Hillenbrand -- Silver- Culture of the Urban Elites and Economic Driving Force / Martina Müller-Wiener -- Urban Elites along the Silk Road / Oliver Watson -- Aesthetic Self-Determination in the Eastern Abbasid Caliphate / Claus-Peter Haase -- VIII. The Age of the Saljuqs / Robert Hellenbrand -- Silk Robe with Bird Medallions / Miriam Kühn -- Masterful Images- Damascened Metalwork / Martina Müller-Wiener -- 'Saljuq' Art? / Oliver Watson -- IX. The Arrival of the Mongols- Genghis Khan and his Heirs / Robert Hillenbrand -- Gold Brocade Silk Lampas / Miriam Kühn -- Enlightenment through Illumination / Claus-Peter Haase -- The Earliest Manuscripts of Firdausi's Shahnama / Eleanor Sims -- Mongol Iran- Ceramics and China / Oliver Watson -- X. The Timurids- Conquests, Decline and Cultural Flowering / Robert Hillenbrand -- The Well-Balanced Curve in Illumination and Calligraphy / Claus-Peter Haase -- The Illustration of Classical Persian Literature- Faith and Morality / Eleanor Sims -- Qisas al-Anbiya ('Stories of the Prophets') / Ina Sarikhani Sandmann -- Two Cenotaph Posts Decorated with Inscriptions / Miriam Kühn -- The 'Chinese Look'- The Invention of Persian Blue-and-White / Oliver Watson -- XI. The Safavid Era- A Sense of Place / Sussan Babaie -- Capital Cities, Elite Patronage and Centres of Artistic Production / Sussan Babaie -- The Illustration of Classical Persian Literature- Shahnama and History / Eleanor Sims -- Arms and Armour of the Safavids / Filiz Çakir Phillip -- Silk Textiles with Figural Motifs / Miriam Kühn -- Young Men Reading in the Garden / Miriam Kühn -- Sleeveless Overgarment of Silk Brocade with Floral Pattern / Miriam Kühn -- Three Silk Tomb Coverings / Miriam Kühn -- The Illumination of Safavid Religious Texts / Claus-Peter Haase -- The Give and Take- Animal Combat in Safavid Carpet Fragment / Moya Carey -- The Sarre Vase Carpet from Kerman / Anna Beselin -- Textile Fragment with Boat Scene / Miriam Kühn -- Wall Hangings with Garden Idyll / Miriam Kühn -- On Non-Illustrative Persian Paintings and Those Who Painted Them / Eleanor Sims -- Safavid Tableware / Oliver Watson -- Isfahan- The Image of an Extraordinary World / Stafan Weber.

"Lying between deserts, mountain chains and seas, Iran developed a fascinating cultural landscape. 360 objects from the time of the first advanced civilisations during the 3rd millennium BC until the end of the Safavid Empire in the early 18th century illustrate the outstanding significance of Iran as the initiator and centre of intercultural exchange. Exquisite artworks from the Sarikhani Collection in London and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin invite visitors to embark on a journey in time through the cultural heritage of Iran. The highlights include the great pre-Islamic empires of the Achaemenids and the Sasanids, the establishment of a Persian-Islamic culture, the masterly artistic achievements of the 9th to the 15th centuries and the Golden Age of the Safavids. They are brought together as in a multifaceted kaleidoscope in the copious illustrations and provide insight into the art of the courts and the urban elites."--Provided by publisher.

"Lying between deserts, mountain chains and seas, Iran developed a fascinating cultural landscape. Exquisite works of art from the time of the first advanced civilisations during the third millenium BCE until the early eighteenth century illustrate the outstanding significance of Iran as an initiator and centre of intercultural exchange. The great pre-Islamic empires of the Achaemenids and the Sasanians, the establishment of a Persian-Islamic culture, the supreme artistic achievements of the ninth to the fifteenth centuries and the Golden Age of the Safavids are just some of the highlights of this journey in time through the cultural heritage of Iran."-- Publisher's description, lower cover.

Text in English.

"Iran: Five Millennia of Art and Culture" : December 6, 2021-March 20, 2022, James-Simon-Galerie, Museumsinsel Berlin, Berlin, Germany.