Sara Kuehn Knihy

This volume brings together fifteen new perspectives on the angel in primarily Islamic contexts. The contributions examine the origin, evolution, visual representation, and conceptual elaboration of this vital class of beings that bridges the gap between divine and human realms. The Intermediate World of Angels offers a nuanced and varied picture of the angel and provides new insights into the defining characteristics of this class of being and the pivotal role played by the figure of the angel in religious and cultural history.

This book is a pioneering work on a key iconographic motif, that of the dragon. It examines the perception of this complex, multifaceted motif within the overall intellectual and visual universe of the medieval Irano-Turkish world. Using a broadly comparative approach, the author explores the ever-shifting semantics of the dragon motif as it emerges in neighbouring Muslim and non-Muslim cultures. The book will be of particular interest to those concerned with the relationship between the pre-Islamic, Islamic and Eastern Christian (especially Armenian) world. The study is fully illustrated, with 209 (b/w and full colour) plates, many of previously unpublished material. Illustrations include photographs of architectural structures visited by the author, as well as a vast collection of artefacts, all of which are described and discussed in detail with inscription readings, historical data and textual sources.