Islamic Art in Oman

摘要

Islamic Art in Oman is a collection of essays of considerable interest, some of which address entirely new ground. The volume reflects the interest in cultural heritage which has been a feature of all of the states of Arabia in recent years and which has been particularly marked in the Sultanate of Oman. The work presented in Islamic Art in Oman underlines the distinctiveness of the Sultanate's culture, with its contrast between the self-contained mountainous interior and the outward facing coastal areas. One of the least known aspects of Oman's Islamic arts of the past is addressed by Salimi and Faysal al-Hafiyan in their account of "Omani Quranic Manuscripts" (pp. 106-117) which enters onto a virtually unstudied field. The authors frankly admit the difficulty that they have had in compiling their research for the lack of textual reference that they have at their disposal-academic or otherwise. They recount how the Ministry of Heritage and Culture has gathered about 156 MSS so far and they regard the present publication as an opportunity to appeal for gathering together many more of the scattered MSS of the Holy Quran of Omani origin. An established major collection is the library of Seyyid Mohammad bin Ahmad Al Busaidi.