The Mongol Empire

Catalog description

This course examines the artistic production of the Mongol Empire in the 13th and 14th centuries, stretching from the Middle East to East Asia. Under the vast umbrella of an empire built by Chinggis Khan and his successors, artistic exchange brought the introduction of Chinese motifs into Islamic art; increased production of illustrated manuscripts of histories and epics such as the Shahname; production of brocaded silks in Iran and China. Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian religious monuments were built, and new cities founded. This course looks at architecture, textiles, manuscripts, ceramics, and metalwork in this global, pre-modern Empire.