This book is a collection of papers from the Giorgio Levi Della Vida Conference. It explores the meaning of Islamic art in various different contexts, beginning with its effect on those who experience the art firsthand, using as examples the mantle of Roger II of Sicily and the ceiling of the Capella Palatine, both of which are remarkable works of Islamic art used and experienced by non-Muslims. The idea that objects can be used to demonstrate the reaction of one culture to another is explored, and we are given a glimpse into the social meanings of objects. The role of colonization in the representation of the Islamic art of Algeria following the French invasion is followed by a discussion of India's Deccan Plateau as a civilizational frontier between the Hindus and Muslims. The book ends with a look at how historical accounts of events affecting holy buildings in India can be vital in motivating present day action, and that these accounts must therefore be written in a historically and morally responsible way.

The Experience of Islamic Art, Oleg Grabar
Letters and Language/Ornament and Identity in Byzantium and Islam, Robert S. Nelson
"Islamic" Art and Architecture in French Colonial Discourse: Algeria 1930, Zeynep Celik
The Articulation of Islamic Space in the Medieval Deccan, Richard M. Eaton
Memories of Broken Idols, Richard H. Davis