The Islamic Worlds Initiative and the Departments of Art History and Archaeology invite you to a talk by Marcus Milwright titled From Mamluk Imaginings to the Iraq Revolt of 1920: Exploring the Impact of Modernity on the Crafts of the Middle East. 

Professor Marcus Milwright is the British Academy Global Professor in History of Art, and a member of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York.

He is also Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology in the Department of Art History and Visual Studies, University of Victoria, Canada (on leave: 2023–2027).

His research interests include the art and archaeology of the Islamic Middle East, labour and craft practices in the urban environment, cross-cultural contacts in the Medieval Mediterranean, the representation of Muslim rulers in early Modern books, the history of medicine, and the architecture and civil engineering of southern Greece in the Ottoman periods. He is involved in archaeological and architectural projects in Jordan, Syria and Greece. His books include: The Queen of Sheba’s Gift: A History of the True Balsam of Matarea (2021); Islamic Arts and Crafts: An Anthology (2017); The Dome of the Rock and its Umayyad Mosaic Inscriptions (2016); and An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology (2010).  

His current research examines phases of rapid technological and aesthetic change in Islamic art, looking at the role of external challenges – political, economic, and religious – in reshaping the ways in which objects were designed and manufactured. The case studies will address issues including the interaction between Late Antiquity and early Islam, the relocation of artisans to industrial zones connected with new Islamic cities, and impact of industrialization on manual craft sectors. The project builds on craft-based research conducted at the University of Victoria, Canada, including the Crafts of Syria and Crafts of Iraq websites (https://craftsofsyria.uvic.ca/ and https://craftsofiraq.uvic.ca/ ).