Islamic Art: Decorative Arts of the Islamic World

Christopher Bradley will take us on a tour from Morocco to China, looking at both the religious and non-religious influences on Islamic art. We will visit some of the most important cities, sites and museums in the world.

Islamic art encompasses the great wealth of artistic treasures inspired by the Islamic religion, but there is also a wealth of non-religious art, such as the colourful dancing figures from the pleasure palaces of Persia; the simple mud brick decorations of a merchant caravanserai; or the delicate carved marble of arguably the world’s most beautiful building – the Taj Mahal.

Christopher Bradley began his career as a civil engineer and now specialises in the history and art of the Islamic world. He is the writer and photographer of a dozen travel guidebooks of the Middle East and North Africa. A lifelong interest has been art deco buildings and decoration from around the world.