In Praise of the Artisan

Despite the devastating effect of mass production, industrialization and the related decline in quality and aesthetics, as well as a low status of crafts compared to the fine arts, the last decade has shown encouraging signs of a new revival and interest in contemporary practice of traditional Islamic arts and crafts around the world. Museums are beginning to treat Islamic art as a living tradition by connecting Islamic art with craftspeople and their workshops in order to help make more sense of their historic collections. Moreover, researchers are increasingly taking interest in traditional craft as living practices and basing their research on the experiences of professionals in these are