Islamic pottery—the fine ceramics made in the lands of Islam, from the Arab world and Turkey through Iran and into Central Asia—is one of the hidden treasures of world ceramics. While some individual wares such as Iznik are deservedly renowned, its breadth and diversity have generally been overshadowed by the ceramic legacy of China and Europe. Yet Islamic pottery cedes nothing to these great traditions in technical inventiveness and beauty of design. In fact, through close trading links and cultural interchange, Islamic potters have played a crucial role in the development of these other ceramic cultures.
The al-Sabah Collection, one of the few truly great collections in private hands, illustrates the unfolding story of Islamic pottery over its fascinating thousand-year history. The collection contains both famous masterpieces and important dated and signed works, and much material is published here for the first time.
This richly illustrated catalogue, in which over four hundred pieces are described, provides both an examination of individual items and an overall history of the subject. Introductory essays cover the study and collecting of Islamic pottery over the last hundred years, and trace its technical and chronological history, from the first fine wares made in the eighth century to the destructive impact of European industrialization in the nineteenth century. The individual objects, illustrated with some 900 color pictures, are grouped in geographical and chronological sequence.
Not only does the book present a superb collection to the public, it also provides a new framework for the understanding and study of Islamic ceramics. It will appeal to the interested general reader, and is an essential and invaluable reference work for the student and specialist. Over 900 color illustrations.

"Now & Then - Bahrain," describes a country of growth. Its transformation has been dramatic. Where there were tracks in the sand, there are now six-lane highways and cloverleaf interchanges. Where there were simple houses built of palm fronds and coral blocks, there are glass and steel skyscrapers. Where there was a small population, there is now a cosmopolitan mix of nationalities living in a healthy and prosperous environment.

Poul Rovsing Olsen, a Western ethnomusicologist and composer of international renown, first went to Bahrain to record its music in 1958, and continued at intervals to do so over the next 20 years. He finished this manuscript shortly before his death in 1982 but it was not until recently that Moesgaard Museum discovered it and decided to publish it in co-operation with the Bahraini Ministry of Information. In 1958, oil had replaced pearls as the island's primary source of wealth, and traditional music had begun to decline. Rovsing Olsen searched out music where ever he could, at private village weddings and performances for dignitaries, in the houses of retired pearl divers and sessions at Radio Bahrain. A cross-section of these recordings is preserved on the three CDs that accompany this volume. Among other things, there are chapters devoted to religious singing, African influences, the music of pearl divers, women's songs and festive dances. It is the spirit of festive dance that seems, more than any other, to animate the many musical genres of Bahraini music, in which, as Rovsung Olsen once wrote, "the feast was the real essence".

The best book on Dilmun and Magan!
In this book, professor Crawford provides an excellent, up-to-date report on what is presently known about the ancient society of Dilmun and others in the Persian Gulf area. Three areas are reported upon: North-western Arabia, Bahrain (Dilmun), and Oman (Magan). The author exhaustively reports on archaeological findings (including architecture, burial items, pottery, and more), analyzing their significance, but avoiding any broad speculation.
I can't say enough about this book. If you want to know what is presently known about Dilmun and Magan, but wish to avoid the extreme speculation (if not outright guesswork) of many books, then this book is for you!

Doing Business with Bahrain will provide an up-to-date appraisal of the current economic and investment climate, a review of market potential in key sectors, and latest 'best practice' advice on all aspects of commercial engagement in Bahrain. It will also show that the Kingdom with its young, well-educated population and developed consumer markets makes an ideal regional base for foreign businesses. Following the recent invasion of Iraq, the international business community needs to be reassured and encouraged to invest in the Gulf region. This authoritative guide will emphasize that, as a founding member of the WTO, Bahrain has been consistently ranked as one of the freest economies in the world. Its globally competitive business environment, rigorous banking and financial framework, and sophisticated business support services have made it the premier financial hub of the region.

According to archeological and historical records, the Bahrain Islands of the Arabian Gulf were the home of a flourishing civilization four thousant years ago. Then, as now, these islands served as an important locus of maritime trade, but they were also characterized as a land of copious artesian springs and fertile fields. Modern Bahrain, in contrast, is beset by environmental and demographic problems: the depletion of the artesian water supply, abandonment of rural agricultural lands, and rapid population growth. In this exemplary interdisciplinary study, Curtis E. Larsen combines archeological, geological, historical, and anthropological methods to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental and socioeconomic context that links Bahrain's present to its past.

Worth every penny
For anybody who has visited or lived in Bahrain this book is the perfect reminder of those days... The photography is stunning, the text interesting, articulate and at time funny. Read Tom Nightingales piece on the Jebel Dukhan and you will see what I mean. The Jebel is for those who have never visited = Bahrain's highest point at a staggering 354 feet - according to Tom don't forget your Oxygen Mask. More than just a montage of spectacular Photographs by Dr. Mike Hill it is packed full with details both past and present about Bahrain as an Island, a country and a good place to Bird.

The papers in this volume, by leading experts in their fields, were presented at the major international conference "Bahrain Through the Ages", highlighting the historical record of Bahrain which has, from earliest times, been a cosmopolitan centre of high culture at the heart of an international tradihg network. This volume deals with aspects of Bahrain's history from the late pre-Islamic period through Prophetic times and the period of the Islamic empires to the present day.

Qala'at Al Bahrain: The Central Monumental Buildings: The Central Monumental Buildings Vol II (Jutland Archaeological Society - The Carlsberg Foundation's Gulf Project) Flemming Hojlund (Editor), H. Hellmuth Andersen (Editor) This is the second volume in The Carlsberg Foundation's Gulf Project about the Danish archaeological investigations in Bahrain from 1953-1978. The excavations focused on the area around the city wall and on the centre of the settlement. The oldest building remains can be dated to the late-third millennium BC, and around 2000 BC monumental architecture developed. Large-scale storage structures built of limestone ashlars form part of a palace complex. These have no exact parallels or prototypes in Bahrain or elsewhere. In this book, finds from the excavation are described in detail, with particular emphasis on the palace. Constructed in the early-Dilmun era (c2000 BC), re-occupied in the middle-Dilmun era (c1500 BC) and integrated into a late-Dilmun palace (c600 BC), this structure survived for well over 1000 years. The madbasa, a building for extracting date juice, is the oldest found anywhere in the Middle East. Pot shards, human skeletons and animal bones, evidence of metal working, inscriptions and other remains are detailed. The next volume discusses the remaining excavations along the western and southern city wall.