Edwin Binney

An impressive work, this is first on the list for anyone wanting to learn the differences between the various types of middle Eastern miniatures/paintings in late and post-period Islamic cultures. This book on the Binney collection took especial pains to separate distinctly Turkish works from the similar Persian and Chinese works. Since Chinese iconography was a strong influence on Persian works, and many Persian illuminators were enslaved and brought into the Ottoman Empire, it's difficult to see where one type being and the other ends, and the Binney collection worked hard to denote by location of artist above all. Amongst the interesting images in this work are the first sightings of a bare goomluk (Ottoman undershirt) and the long-rumored, but rarely seen, Ottoman men's underpants, which looked like a wrapped, loin-cloth-style garment.… (altro)