The coexistence of Christianity and Islam in the medieval Mediterranean led to an interchange of knowledge in architecture and material culture that went well beyond religious and geographical boundaries. The use of Islamic objects in Christian contexts, the conversion of churches into mosques, and the mobility of craftsmen are only some manifestations of this process. From crosses found in mosques to European-Christian coins with pseudo-shahada inscriptions, medieval material culture is rich with visual evidence of the two faiths intermingling in both individual objects and monuments.

In this volume, thirteen international scholars explore various aspects of pan-Mediterranean Christian-Islamic encounters in material culture and art, from textiles to precious oils, and from metalwork to ceramics, covering most of the Mediterranean, as well as parts of its extended hinterland, from Spain and Italy to Egypt and Georgia.

Within this frame, one of the most relevant, yet underexplored lines of investigation is that of the “aesthetic space,” the notion that aesthetic pleasure transcends boundaries, paving the way to a cross-religious experience and appreciation. “Indeed, God is beautiful, and He loves beauty,” as mentioned in a Hadith narration, a universal cry of visual beauty that resonates with all cultures and civilizations.

Sami De Giosa is assistant professor at the College of Fine Arts and Design, University of Sharjah. His most recent publication is The Crosses of the Sultan. He has curated exhibitions on Islamic art around the world including Hajj: Memories of a Journey Exhibition at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

Nikolaos Vryzidis is post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of History and Archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His latest publications include the article « Between Three Worlds: The ‘Veneto-Saracenic’ Candleholder of Docheiariou Monastery » for which he has received the N. Drandakis Prize by the Christian Archaeological Society.

Table des matières :

Introduction: The Aesthetic Space of Interreligious Encounter: Microhistorical Case Studies from the Medieval Mediterranean
Sami Luigi de Giosa and Nikolaos Vryzidis

Islamo-Christian Mediterranean Trade and Its Artistic Ramifications
1. From One Edge of the Mediterranean to the Other: Prolegomena on Mamluk and Iberian Ceramics in Venetian Crete
Maria Bormpoudaki
2. Reconsidering “Andalusi” Textiles in Two Christian Contexts: The San Isidoro and Bayonne Silks between Art Historical Myth and Reality
Ana Cabrera-Lafuente
3.The Mamluk Contribution to Christian Liturgy: A Critical Reading of the Arabic and Coptic Sources on the Balsam Oil of Matariya
Hani Hamza
4. Judging a Book by Its Cover: The Contribution of Islamic Bindings to the Look of the European Book
Alison Ohta

Rituals and Liturgies: Objects, Meaning, and Decoration
5. Counter-propaganda and Talismanic Power: The Conciliar Edict of 1166 from Hagia Sophia to Suleiman’s Mausoleum
Faruk Bilici and Hélène Fragaki
6. Venetian Cross Fixed on aSeljuk Candleholder: Composite Mediterraneanism at Saint Paul’s Monastery, Mount Athos
Nikolaos Vryzidis and Paschalis Androudis
7. Inscribing the Christian Body in Life and Death: Tiraz Textiles with Coptic and Greek Inscriptions
Arielle Winnik

Monumental Legacies
8. Stone and text: Christian Architectural Spolia in Egypt during the Mamluk Period (1250–1517)
Sami Luigi de Giosa
9. The Syncretism of Regal Images in Georgia: The Sculpted Program of the Church of Saint John the Baptist of Oshki (963–976)
Nino Simonishvili
10. The Use of Muqarnas in the Christian Buildings of Medieval Anatolia and Mosul
Richard McClary

Informations pratiques :

The Medieval Mediterranean between Islam and Christianity: Crosspollinations in Art, Architecture, and Material Culture, éd. Sami Luigi De Giosa, Nikolaos Vryzidis, Le Caire, The American University in Cairo Press, 2025 ; 1 vol., 342 p. ISBN : 978-1-64903-187-7. Prix : GBP 60,00.

Source : The American University in Cairo Press