الوصف
Published to commemorate the centenary of Leighton House as a public museum, this scholarly work presents the first comprehensive account of the design, construction, and historical context of London's legendary Arab Hall. Art historian Melanie Gibson meticulously investigates how the celebrated Victorian artist and Royal Academy President Frederic Leighton transformed his Kensington studio-home into an architectural masterpiece after extensive travels across North Africa and the Levant. Built between 1877 and 1881 alongside architect George Aitchison, the room combined Victorian construction with hundreds of rare, centuries-old ceramic tiles gathered from Damascus, Iznik, Cairo, and Iran. The volume explores the vital contributions of key figures including ceramicist William De Morgan, designer Walter Crane, interior artist Owen Jones, and textile icon Arthur Liberty, alongside accounts from prominent associates such as explorer Richard Burton and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Featuring architectural elevations, archival letters, and a full text translation of the intricate Arabic calligraphic inscriptions lining the walls, this monograph re-evaluates a stunning monument of cross-cultural artistic heritage. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
