Jewish book art between Islam and Christianity : : the decoration of Hebrew bibles in medieval Spain / / by Katrin Kogman-Appel ; translated by Judith Davidson.

• Superior document: The Medieval and early modern Iberian world, v. 19
• Author: Kogman-Appel, Katrin.
• Year of Publication: 2004
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Medieval and early modern Iberian world ; v. 19.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (xxiii, 245 pages) :; illustrations (some color).
• Notes: First published in Hebrew in 2001. With revisions and additions.

This book discusses the decoration types of Sephardic illuminated Bibles. Unlike illuminated Passover manuscripts from the same period with their rich figurative and narrative picture cycles, Bibles are almost exclusively aniconic. Whereas the former borrow heavily from Christian art, the Bibles are entirely indebted to Islamic culture. The volume elaborates in particular on the cultural history of the decorative motifs and types of ornamentation in an era of cultural transition in Iberia and culture struggle within Spanish Jewry.

Table of Contents

Contents; Preface; List of Illustrations; List of Maps and Diagrams; Introduction; Chapter One: Acculturation, Assimilation, and Convivencia: The Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages; Chapter Two: The Artistic Environment of Illuminated Sephardic Bibles; Chapter Three: The Castilian Workshops of the Thirteenth Century; Chapter Four: Joshua ibn Gaon and Joseph Hatsarfati; Chapter Five: The Catalan Workshops of the Fourteenth Century; Chapter Six: Cultural Transition and the Art of the Hebrew Book; Chapter Seven: Castilian Schools of the Fifteenth Century; Conclusion; Bibliography; General Index; Index of Manuscripts