Book Competition

This week’s competition prize is Damascus Tiles: Mamluk and Ottoman Architectural Ceramics from Syria, by Arthur Millner (Prestel, £60). Click here for your chance to win.

Architectural ceramic decoration is one of the most celebrated manifestations of the arts of Islam. Spanning the period from the 13th to the 20th century, during which the Mamluk and Ottoman cultures dominated the Near East, the tiles showcased in this lavish book exhibit a rich range of influences from Persia, Turkey, China and even Europe. This book presents a comprehensive re-­evaluation of Syrian architectural ceramics. It explores the historical context that allowed the uniquely creative achievement of the region’s skilled craftsmen to flourish and answers the question why tiles from Syria are less restricted in artistic expression than those from better­-known parts of the Islamic world.

For your chance to win simply answer the following question and submit your details here below before midday on 25 September 2015.

Which 19th-century English painter decorated the ‘Arab Hall’ at his London home with tiles from Damascus?

This competition closes at midday on 25 September 2015.

For our last competition prize we offered Drawing in Silver and Gold: Leonardo to Jasper Johns, by Stacey Sell & Hugo Chapman (Princeton University Press, £34.95).

In which museum collection is Leonardo’s celebrated silverpoint drawing, Bust of a Warrior (c. 1475/1480)?

Answer: The British Museum

Congratulations to the winner, Jan Annoot.