The dynamic process of identification of action and interpretation consists in interdependence between the social world and its mental model with its intellectual and emotional context. People do not relate to nature directly but do so through symbolic interpretations where symbols represent and stand for nature or any object of perception. Thus, the main issue seems to be the relation between symbols and that which is symbolized, what symbols stand for and how this relation is established. Whatever other function sign and symbol may fulfill, it is clear that they make it possible for human individuals to send and receive messages, and therefore to establish relations between each other and consequently make all kinds of human groupings and cultural constructions possible. Establishing identities of objects through acts of identification composes one dimension of this process of creating the world of culture. The question of the origin of Islamic art and the nature of the forces and principles which brought this art into being must be related to the worldview of Islam itself, to the Islamic revelation, one of whose radiations is directly the sacred art of Islam and indirectly the whole of Islamic art through jewellery. This work offers a comprehensive yet complex study on the matter.

Künye

CONTENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

SIGN, SYMBOL, IMAGINARY: THE QUESTION OF IDENTITY

CHAPTER TWO

THE TRADITIONAL MIDDLE EAST: ITS REGIONS AND CHANGES IN MEANING OVER TIME

CHAPTER THREE

PRE-ISLAMIC BELIEFS AND CULTS ON THE TERRITORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST

CHAPTER FOUR

THE CONTACT: ISLAM-ART-JEWELLERY

CHAPTER FIVE

ISLAM AND JEWELLERY

CHAPTER SIX

ISLAMIC METALWORK

CHAPTER SEVEN

AMULETS AND TALISMANS – MIDDLE EAST

ILLUSTRATIONS

TIMELINE OF ISLAM

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX