 | |||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||
PRIZE No. 6, 2010 WINNERS | |||||||||||||||||
First Prize | |||||||||||||||||
The Godfrey Goodwin Prize | |||||||||||||||||
PREVIOUS ENTRIES PRIZE No.1, Awarded 2000 Winner: Cyril Beecher (England), Field Study of Fourteenth-Century Underglaze Decorated- Ceramics in Yunnan, South China. After a highly successful trip to Yunnan, he lectured on the results to the Oriental Ceramic Society in London, who published his research in the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society in 2004 Helen Espir, 69 (England), Documentation for a Chinese Blue-and-White Bowl Overdecorated in Holland in 1742 Irene Finch, 82 (England) Eighteenth-Century Japanese shonsui Ware Imported to England Brenda Hall, 62 (England) Nineteenth-Century Tapestries: A Guide for Needleworkers Vasileios Marinis, 24 (Greece), Architecture and Liturgial Planning in Byzantine Constantinople Tadeuz Majda, 70 (Poland) Catalogue of the Turkish Wall Hangings in Polish Museums Sonya May, 24 (Austria), Indian Art: The Interaction of Tradition and Modernity Nicholas H. Wright, 62 (US) Defining the Fade Curve of Naturally Dyed Wool for Use in the Repair and Restoration of Oriental Rugs PRIZE No. 2, Awarded 2001 Winner: Emma Dick, 24 (England), An Analysis of the Sûrname-i Hümayun and Comparison with the Sûrname-i Vehbi in the Topkapi Saray, Istanbul Wen-shing Lucia Chou (US), History and Architecture of the Palazzina Cinese in Palermo, Built by Ferdinand of Naples in 1799 Jean Clift-Hill, 71 (England), Chronicle of the English High School for Girls in Instanbul Rosemary Patmore Kemble, 60 (England) Documentation on the History and Provenance of a Country House Carpet Xavier F. Salomon, 22 (Italy), Italian Portraits of Mehmet II Sel Erder Yackley, 62 (Turkey, US), Research at the Tell Kurdu Excavation Site in Southern Turkey Craig Yawe (England), Documentation on Nanticoke Blankets Josh Yiu, 23 (Hong Kong), Archic Vessels on the Altar PRIZE No. 3, Awarded 2002 Winner: Karl Sabbagh, 62 (England), The First King of Palestine Helen Espir, 69 (England), Oriental Porcelain Overdecorated in Europe, 1690-1830 Irene Finch, 84 (England) Chronology of Japanese Nabeshima Ceramics Selin Ipek, 25 (Turkey), Religious Fabrics in the Topkapi Palace Museum Collection Sent to Mecca and Medina Xavier F. Salomon, 22 (Italy) In the Footsteps of the Apocalypse and Its Seven Churches Elizabeth Anne Saloom, 18 (US) The Influence of TV on onternal migration in Turkey Josh Yiu, 24 (Hong Kong) Archaic Vessels on the Altar PRIZE No. 4, Awarded 2005 Winner: David W. and Barbara G. Fraser, both 61 (US), The Roots of Chin Textile Culture Peter Alford Andrews, 68 (GB, Germany), Drawings for a Book about Tents Jere L. Bacharach, 67 (US), The Beginnings of the Islamic All-Epigraphic Gold and Silver Coinage Martha H. Henze, 81 (US), Finding and Recording Early Anatolian Kilims in Ethiopian Orthodox Churches andMonasteries David James, 64 (Ireland), An English Translation of the History of Ibn al-Qutiyah LynnAnn Meisch, 60 (US), Ancient and Modern: Coca, Culture and Cloth in the Andes Eleanor Sims, 63 (England), Mural Decoration in a Princely House of the early Twentieth Century in Bukhara Kendra Weisbin, 23 (US), The Export of Islamic Textiles from Turkey and Egypt to Western Europe During the Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century PRIZE No. 5, Awarded 2008 Winner: Martha H. Henze, 81 (US) Inventory of early Anatolian kilims surviving in Ethiopian Orthodox churches. Her extraordinary discovery of fragmentary 17th century Ushak carpets in the treasury of a remote monastery in Ethiopia was published with colour illustrations as the lead article in HALI, 160, July 2009 'Wayward Ushaks' HALI 160 Winner, Godfrey Goodwin Prize: Charles Moore, 24 (England) Visit to Kyrgyzstan, mainly to photograph and take notes. Charles successfully completed the field research in Kyrgystan in July 2009 (to be published shortly) Gayane Eliazyan, 65 (Armenia) Preparation for the digitalization of ancient damaged manuscripts. First stage: Survey of manuscripts. Laura Valerie Esterhuizen, 67 (South Africa) Indentifying Chinese porcelains from Portuguese wrecks off the South African coast, and from this material tracing the early development of Kraak ware. Ann Hecht, 80 (England) Visit to Japanese islands for research of textiles made from unusual fibres. Sara Mao, 25 (England) Travel and study in UK, Europe, Taiwan to research Chinese Ru and Guan wares Lynn Ann Meisch, 64 (US) Researching Andean maize textiles. Philip O’Reilly, 64 (England) Fundraising for further study of Turkish textiles, especially felt. Thomas Reimer, 66 (Germany) Establishing a family tree for çatma yastiks (cushion covers) Sarah-Neel Smith, 23 (US) Visit to study architecture and function of the Istanbul Modern Art Museum | |||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||
In my PhD-project on Illustrated Manuscripts of the Mantiq al-Tayr (Conference of the Birds) at the Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg (Germany) I hope to bring together the illustrated manuscripts of this poetic epic for the first time. The Persian text, written in the 12th century by Attar-i Nishapuri, is preserved in copies accompanied by miniatures dating from the 14th until the 19th century. This work tells the story of birds finding their way to God and being an allegory of the mystical path of man, it represents a seemingly hard theme to be depicted in a figurative way. However, the nearly 30 illustrated manuscripts of the Mantiq al-Tayr found until now, as also parts of this epic in the work Majalis al-Ushshaq (Assembly of Lovers) and an Eastern Turkish version of the poem called Lisan al-Tayr show pictorial interpretations of the text.
In my PhD-thesis I aim to collect manuscripts spread all over the world and arrange them in groups according to their date and place of production. Besides characteristics such as the size of the manuscripts, their binding, illumination, ruling and calligraphy, the parts chosen to be illustrated in the manuscripts and also the styles and compositions of the painting will be dealt with for each group. In close comparison with the Persian text and the way the text was copied,
I hope to find an answer as to how the Mantiq al-Tayr was interpreted in different times and places, which parts
of the epic were favored and which pictorial or textual sources were addressed to come to a figurative representation
of the epic.
The Ancient & Modern Research Prize will be used for part of my travel expenses, especially those for analyzing manuscripts in the United States.
This project, which is a result of my Masters thesis from Indiana University, will examine the ways in which practices of storytelling are manifest in Persian visual art, and Safavid figural silks in particular.
During the Safavid period, court textiles depicting scenes from popular Persian tales served to decorate not only the architectural backdrop of the court, but also the shahs themselves.
From primordial kings and mythical battles to ancient love stories, such literary images stem from a long history of Persian oral and textual sources. In their narrative complexity, these images serve as visual representations of the shah’s power and influence in both public and courtly spheres.
Through the display of woven narratives, the shah is able to profess his political authority, cultural preeminence, and hegemonic legitimacy through visual and literary means. Moreover, via this medium, traditional stories of Persian legend gain dynastic and cultural accretions in the Safavid period through alterations in character, setting, and bodily narration.
As a result, these silks can be approached through the methodological models and theoretical tools afforded by visual analysis and literary studies. Due to the fact that stories, tales, poetry, and orality take pride of place in Persian culture, it is fruitful to analyze Safavid figural silks through a narratological lens in order to uncover the nuances of the stories they tell.
Therefore, this article will contextualize Safavid figural garments within the broader milieu of robing and proclamations of authority through the textile arts in early modern Islamic cultural spheres.