Finding aid for the Oleg Grabar papers, 1898-2009
Ann Harrison
Descriptive Summary
Title: Oleg Grabar papers
Date (inclusive): 1898-2009
Number: 2012.M.7
Creator/Collector:
Grabar, Oleg
Physical Description:
55.6 Linear Feet
(126 boxes, 6 flatfile folders)
Physical Description:
4.5 GB
(1,743 files)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The Oleg Grabar papers document the
career of the scholar who transformed the field of Islamic art history in the United States.
Compiled over more than fifty years, the archive contains thousands of photographs, slides,
notes, specialized and hard-to-find research materials, unpublished works including lectures
and student theses, historical maps, and ephemera. A small amount of material, especially
photographs of Byzantine art and architecture, originally collected by his father, André
Grabar, is also included.
Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials
described in this inventory through the
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Language: Collection material is in English
and French with some German and other languages.
Biographical/Historical Note
Oleg Grabar, the distinguished scholar and professor of Islamic art and architecture, was
almost destined to be an academic. By the time he was born on November 3, 1929, his father
André Grabar, who had left Russia after the revolution, was teaching art history at the
University of Strasbourg in France and well on his way to becoming the pre-eminent
Byzantinist of his generation. In 1938, André Grabar accepted the chair of Christian
Archaeology at the École pratique des hautes études and the family moved to Paris. The young
Oleg Grabar, fluent in French and Russian, grew up in this intense, highly intellectual,
French academic environment, immersed in the ideas of his father's friends and colleagues,
including scholars such as Jean Sauvaget, Marc Bloch and Ernst Kantorowicz.
Oleg Grabar developed a philological and historical interest in Eastern cultures as a
teenager. After attempting to learn Chinese on his own, he was introduced to the
Arabic-speaking world by Sauvaget. Preparing for the École normale superieure, Grabar
attended the University of Paris from which he earned three certificats de licence in
Ancient (1948), Medieval (1950) and Modern (1950) History. When André Grabar accepted an
appointment at Dumbarton Oaks in 1948, Oleg accompanied the family to the United States. He
enrolled at Harvard University, staying in the United States when his family returned to
France, and received a BA in Medieval History in 1950. In January of 1951 Grabar enrolled at
Princeton University, planning to continue his study of history. Soon, however, Grabar's
dissatisfaction with Princeton's history program led him to move toward the department of
Art and Archaeology, and it was there that he developed his interest in Islamic art. Grabar
received an MA in 1953 and a PhD in 1955 in a special combined program of the departments of
Oriental Languages and Literature and the History of Art, with a dissertation on the art and
ceremony of the Umayyad court.
Grabar had a long academic career. He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in
1954 as an instructor in the History of Art and progressed through the academic ranks,
becoming a full professor in 1964. Grabar left Michigan in 1969 to return to Harvard, where
he was the first professor to teach Islamic art. In 1980 he was appointed to the newly
created Aga Khan Professorship of Islamic art, a position he would hold until his retirement
from Harvard in 1990. Grabar then joined the faculty of the School of Historical Studies at
the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, from which he retired for a
second time in 1998. A charismatic teacher and inspiring mentor, Grabar supervised over 60
doctoral dissertations, literally staffing the ranks of professors, curators, and scholars
of Islamic art and architecture, in the United States and abroad, in the later twentieth
century.
A prolific scholar, Oleg Grabar authored over 20 books and 120 articles. His early work was
notable for applying a more contextualist approach to the study of Islamic art than that of
his predecessors. Informed by his historical training, Grabar generally focused on what art
could say about Islamic culture as a whole, rather than on objects solely as works of art.
In a world of ever-increasing specialization, perhaps the most striking aspect of Grabar's
scholarly output is its range: from standard reference works, like his contribution to the
Pelican History of Art series, to detailed scholarly books and articles, to lavishly
illustrated books attractive to a more general readership. He worked on areas and topics
ranging from architecture to manuscript illumination to aesthetics, from Moorish Spain to
Mughal India to Jerusalem.
In addition to teaching and publishing, Grabar took on numerous other duties, serving as an
excavator, a curator, and an administrator at various times. In 1982, Grabar founded
Muqarnas, a journal devoted to Islamic visual culture, and he had
earlier served as an editor for
Ars Orientalis (1957-1970).
He served as an advocate for all aspects of Islamic art and architecture, contemporary as
well as historical, working to rid the art history canon of its Western bias. He had
longstanding relationships with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) and with the organizations under the aegis of the Aga Khan Development
Network. He also sought to popularize Islamic art with a general audience through public
lectures and films. In recognition of his service to the study of Islamic art, Grabar was
the recipient of many awards and honors, including the Charles Lang Freer medal (2001) and
the Chairman's Award of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2010), as well as two
Festschriften (1993 and 2008).
After his retirement in 1998, Grabar remained active in the field. He continued to publish,
lecture, and travel extensively throughout America, Europe, and the Middle East until
shortly before his death on January 8, 2011.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Oleg Grabar papers, 1898-2009, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no.
2012.M.7
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2012m7
Acquisition Information
Gifts of Prof. Oleg and Ms. Terri Grabar. Acquired as a series of gifts between 2001 and
2012.
Processing History
Much of the collection was rehoused by the Registrar as shipments were received. In
2012-2013 Ann Harrison processed and cataloged the collection. Digital materials processed
by Laura Schroffel in 2018. PCT, PSD, and tiff files were converted to jpg format for
access.
Digital Material
Born digital material from Series V was processed and is available online:
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/2012m7_ref879_5ib
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Born digital content will be made available through the digital preservation repository.
Two files on D4-Background information, 76.PCT and P71.PCT are not valid and access cannot
be provided. Files created in Macromedia Director or Macromedia Projector Skeleton are
preserved but for the most part access cannot be provided in the viewer. If necessary the
files can be accessed in the reading room. A single pdf file representing AKAA11.EXE is
available in the viewer and was created by taking screen snips of the program. Its content
duplicates material that was represented in the other Macromedia files being preserved. Part
of D5 duplicated D4. Duplicate material from D5 is preserved but is not available for
access.
Related Archival Materials
Further Oleg Grabar archival material is held by the Institute for Advanced Study in
Princeton, New Jersey and the University of Michigan.
Separated Materials
In 1995 the Getty Research Institute acquired Oleg Grabar's library, which also included
volumes originally owned by his father André Grabar. Consisting of several thousand titles,
this collection, the André and Oleg Grabar Library, was integrated into the GRI Library's
general collections and can be traced through a provenance search under the collection name.
With the subsequent gift of the Oleg Grabar papers, further publications were received and
also separated to the library with the same provenance designation.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Oleg Grabar papers document the career of the scholar who transformed the field of
Islamic art history in the United States. Amassed over more than fifty years, the archive
contains thousands of photographs, slides, notes, specialized and hard-to-find research
materials, unpublished works including lectures and student theses, historical maps, and
ephemera. A small amount of material, especially photographs of Byzantine art and
architecture, originally collected by André Grabar is also included.
Focusing on Grabar's fieldwork and site documentation, the first series contains the
majority of the original material in the archive. Notes, drawings, and photographs record
Grabar's excavation work, detailed on-site studies, site surveys, and study travels. Unique
photographs, in the form of prints, negatives and slides, display images ranging from sites
in obscure areas of the Middle East or Central Asia to well-known monuments, such as the
Alhambra or the Dome of the Rock, captured with Grabar's eye for special details. The
earlier photographs are particularly important for documenting the mid-twentieth-century
state of preservation before subsequent alterations or even destruction of monuments.
Research materials assembled by Grabar for his publications and projects comprise the bulk
of the archive. Offprints and photocopies of articles form the overwhelming majority of the
material, but occasionally notes, letters received, photographs, and drawings are included.
Since almost all of the material in this series is available through other sources, its
value lies in the aggregation for ease of research and in the snapshot it presents of Oleg
Grabar's intellectual landscape. The material testifies to the scope of Grabar's interests,
covering all areas of Islamic art and architecture, and related historical and cultural
issues and literary topics in the Islamic world, as well as both its antecedents and
contemporary developments in the Classical and post-Classical worlds, in the Byzantine
sphere and the Medieval West.
Three small series relating to Grabar's writings, correspondence, and faculty and
professional service complete the archive. Included in these series are a few drafts of
lectures and publication production material, as well as a scattering of correspondence and
materials relating to two courses Grabar taught at Harvard. Grabar's work with the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the various entities
funded by the Aga Khan Development Network is more fully documented.
In order to facilitate access, the names of sites and monuments used in this finding aid
conform to the preferred usage of ArchNet, the online architectural community sponsored by
the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Other
transliterations of Arabic generally follow Grabar's usage.
Arrangement
Arranged in five series:
Series I. Fieldwork and site documentation, 1927-2002,
undated;
Series II. Research materials, 1898-2009,
undated;
Series III. Lectures and writings, 1988-2000,
undated;
Series IV. Correspondence, 1935-1995, undated;
Series V.
Faculty and professional service, 1975-2006, undated.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Topics
Islamic art
Islamic architecture
Genres and Forms of Material
Color slides
Photographic prints
CD-ROMs
Negatives (Photographs)
Contributors
Grabar, Oleg
Grabar, André,
1896-1990
Series I.
Fieldwork and site documentation,
1927-2002,
undated
Physical Description:
10 Linear
Feet
(20 boxes, 1 flatfile
folder)
Scope and Content Note
Comprised of notes, photographs, and other documentation, Series I records Grabar's
on-site work from throughout his career. Included here are the records of his
excavations at Qasr al-Minya (Khirbet Minyeh) in Israel and Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi in
Syria, as well as his detailed studies at Khirbat al-Mafjar in Palestine and Qusayr
'Amra in Jordan. Also included in this series are notes and photographs from the dozens
of study trips Grabar took, from the beginning of his career into his retirement.
Early in his career, Grabar conducted excavations and detailed on-site studies related
to Umayyad art and architecture, especially Umayyad "palaces." In 1959 Grabar excavated
at Qasr al-Minya. Although not the first excavation at the site, Grabar's work
established the stratigraphy of the site and documented a later Mamluk occupation phase.
Subsequently, Grabar directed the University of Michigan campaign at Qasr al-Hayr
al-Sharqi for five seasons (1964, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971), excavating and publishing the
huge commercial center which served as a meeting point for the settled and the nomadic
peoples of the area. While a fellow at the American School of Oriental Research (ASOR)
in Jerusalem in 1954, Grabar conducted a detailed study of the paintings at Khirbat
al-Mafjar near Jericho and contributed the section on the paintings for the final site
publication. Grabar also conducted extensive studies of the paintings at Qusayr 'Amra,
producing an unpublished article-length typescript.
Grabar's study trip documentation is much broader, spanning the entire Islamic world,
both geographically and chronologically. This is especially true of the thousands of
photographs recording sites and objects taken by Grabar, which form the bulk of this
series. Amongst the notebooks preserved here, the documentation of the 1956 University
of Michigan reconnaissance mission to the Middle East led by George Forsyth is
especially valuable to scholars. The itinerary of the extended trip included Lebanon,
Syria, Iraq, and parts of Turkey, as well as Libya and the Sinai. Although the specific
purpose of the expedition was to scout for potential excavation sites for the University
and establish contacts with the local archaeological authorities, it also inadvertently
became a broad survey of the sites and architecture of the Jezireh in the mid-twentieth
century.
Arrangement
Arranged by topic.
Excavations and detailed on-site studies,
1927-2002
Qasr al-Minya (Khirbet Minyeh),
1959-1971
Scope and Content Note
Includes background research, budget, general notes, field notes, photographs,
drawings, object inventory, publication materials, correspondence, and
offprints.
flatfile 1**
Oversize prints of plans and elevations
Scope and Content Note
Includes list of plans and 1971 letter from Jean Perrot.
box 2, folder 3-5
Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi,
1927-1993,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes sections of typescript text drafts, a letter from Klaus Brisch regarding
the Umayyad remains at Djebel Seis, research and offprints, notes, photographs.
box 2, folder 1-2
Khirbat al-Mafjar,
1947-1974,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes notes, sketches, photographs, letters received from R.W. Hamilton,
offprints and guidebook.
box 3, folder 1-4
Papers
Scope and Content Note
Includes Grabar's field notes, photocopy of the typescript of Grabar's
unpublished text "The Paintings at Qusayr Amrah: The Private Art of an Umayyad
Prince," letters from Garth Fowden and drafts of sections of Fowden's work on the
site, letters from and concerning Claude Vibert-Guigue, offprints and
photocopies.
box 4
Black-and-white photographs
Documentation of site surveys and study travel,
1953-2001,
undated
box 5, folder 1
Michigan survey,
1956
Spring
box 6, folder 2
Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Iran,
1960-1961
box 6, folder 3-5
Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia,
1972-1973
Photographic documentation,
1953-2001,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Grabar's photographic documentation falls into three groups: sets of negatives,
usually with contact sheets; photographic prints mounted in albums; and loose
photographic prints. There is a certain amount of overlap among these groups. The
negatives are both medium format and 35mm and are arranged in several numbered sets.
The large numbered sequence of 35mm negatives, Set 1, appears to be a later
cumulative system, since many of the rolls also have an alternate numbering. Most of
the photographs were taken by Grabar, but some were taken by Fred Anderegg, who was
associated with the University of Michigan. The toponyms, identifications and dates
below are taken directly from notes on contact sheets or negative sleeves, but are
sometimes inconsistent.
Negatives,
1960-2001,
undated
Numbered sets of 35mm negatives,
1960-2001,
undated
Set 1: Negatives and contact sheets,
1960-2001,
undated
0-5. Jordan: Qusayr 'Amra,
undated
9. Lebanon: 'Anjar,
undated
10. Turkey: Istanbul, museum; Edirne,
1968
11. Turkey: Edirne; Iznik,
1968
14. Iran: Tehrān, museum,
1960-1961
box 7, folder 1
15. Iran: Tehrān, museum; Isfahan, Masjid-i Jami'-i Isfahan (Great
Mosque),
1960-1961
Scope and Content Note
Contact sheet only.
box 7, folder 1
16. Iran: Isfahan, Great Mosque, Seljuk section,
1960-1961
Scope and Content Note
Contact sheet only.
17. Iran: Isfahan, Seljuk mosque and bridges,
1960-1961
18. Iran: Isfahan, mostly Safavid monuments,
1960-1961
19. Iran: Isfahan, Safavid,
1960-1961
20. Iran: Isfahan, Safavid; Tehrān, museum,
1960-1961
21. Iran: Tehrān, museum; Persepolis,
1960-1961
22. Iran: Persepolis; Isfahan bridges; Naqsh-i-Rajab;
Naqsh-i-Rustam; Tehrān, museum,
1960-1961
23. Iran: Varamin; Zaware (Zavareh),
1960-1961
24. Iran: Zaware; Ardestan,
1960-1961
25. Iran: Ardestan; Isfahan,
1960-1961
26. Iran: Ardestan; Na'in; Isfahan,
1960-1961
Scope and Content Note
Contact sheet misnumbered 27.
27. Iran: Na'in. Jordan: Jerash, Nabatean sculpture,
1960-1961
28. Jordan: Moab; Jerash,
undated
29. Syria: Qasr Rabbah; Damascus; Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi,
sculpture,
1960-1961
30. Syria: Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi; Crac des Chevaliers; Damascus.
Lebanon: 'Anjar,
1960-1961
31. Lebanon: 'Anjar. Syria: Jabal Says,
undated
32. Syria: Jabal Says; Bosra,
undated
33. Syria: Bosra. Jerusalem,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Contact sheet misnumbered 35.
34. Palestine: Khirbat al-Mafjar, sculpture,
undated
36. Palestine: Khirbat al-Mafjar. Israel: Qasr al-Minya. Jordan:
Qusayr 'Amra,
undated
37. Jordan: Qasr al-Mshatta, Qasr al-Qastal,
undated
box 115, folder 3
38. Spain: Córdoba,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Negatives only.
box 115, folder 3
39. Spain: Toledo,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Negatives only.
box 115, folder 3
40. Spain: Córdoba,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Negatives only.
box 115, folder 3
41. Spain: Córdoba; Granada,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Negatives only.
box 115, folder 3
42. Spain: Seville; Zaragoza,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Negatives only.
43. Egypt: Cairo. Syria: Rusafa; Qal'a Sim'an,
undated
44. Jordan: Qusayr 'Amra, paintings,
undated
45. Jordan: Qusayr 'Amra; Qasr al-Mshatta; Qasr al
'Uwaynid,
undated
46. Jordan: Hammam al-Sarakh; Azraq; Qasr al-Kharana; Qasr
al-Tuba,
undated
47. Jordan: Qasr al-Tuba; Bayir; Qasr al-Mshatta,
undated
48. Jordan: Qasr al-Mshatta; Qasr al-Muwaqqar; Mshash; Khan
al-Zabib,
undated
49. Jordan: Khan al-Zabib; Humayma; Aqaba,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Contact sheet misnumbered 44.
50. Jordan: Petra; Udruh,
undated
51. Jordan: Shawbak. Syria: Christian,
undated
52. Syria: Halabiya; Jeradeh; Balis,
undated
53. Syria: Balis,
1960-1961
54. Syria: Balis; Jeradeh; Zelebiya,
1960-1961
55. Syria: Zelebiya; Rahba,
1960-1961
56. Syria: Palmyra; Aleppo, citadel,
1960-1961
57. Syria: Aleppo, citadel,
1960-1961
58. Jordan: Amman, museum,
undated
59. Jerusalem: Al-Aqsa, wood carvings,
undated
60. Egypt: Cairo,
undated
61. Egypt: Cairo, Jami' al-Azhar (Al-Azhar Mosque), Madrasat
wa-Qubbat wa-Bimaristan al-Sultan Qalawun (Sultan Qala'un Funerary
Complex),
undated
Scope and Content Note
Contact sheet mislabeled as 62.
62. Egypt: Cairo, Masjid al-Sultan Hasan (Sultan al-Nasir Hasan
Funerary Complex), Masjid al-Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qala'un (Sultan
al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qala'un Mosque at the Citadel), Masjid al-Juyushi
(al-Juyushi Mosque),
undated
63. Egypt: Cairo, Masjid al-Juyushi (al-Juyushi Mosque), Masjid
al-Sultan Qaytbay (Sultan Qaytbay Funerary Complex at the Northern
Cemetery),
undated
64. Egypt: Cairo, Khanqah al-Nasir Faraj ibn Barquq (Sultan Faraj
ibn Barquq Funerary Complex at the Northern Cemetery), Qubba wa-Khanqah
wa-Madrasa al-Sultan al-Ashraf Inal (Sultan al-Ashraf Inal Complex at the
Northern Cemetery), Bab al-Futuh, Madrasa wa-Qubbat al-Salih Najm al-Din
Ayyub,
undated
65. Egypt: Cairo, Jami' al-Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, Jami'
al-Aqmar,
undated
66. Egypt: Cairo, museum,
undated
67. Egypt: Cairo, museum; Fatamid mausolea,
undated
68. Egypt: Cairo, mausolea. Jerusalem: Haram,
undated
69. Jordan: Qusayr 'Amra,
undated
70. Jerusalem: Golden Gate,
undated
71. Unidentified,
undated
72. Syria: Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi,
undated
73. Morocco: Rabat,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Negatives mislabeled as Aleppo.
box 7, folder 4
74. Iran,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Contact sheet only.
75. Syria: Bosra. Lebanon: Tyre,
undated
80. Iran: Sarakhs; Ribat-i Mahi; Ribat-i Sharaf; Khusrawgird
(Sabzavar),
undated
81. Iran: Bastam; Damghan,
undated
82. Iran: Radkan, Tus,
undated
83. Iran: Taybad,
undated
84. Iran: Sultaniya,
undated
85. Iran: Forumad,
undated
86. Iran: [illegible],
undated
87. Iran: Torbat-i Jam, Mashhad,
undated
88. Iran: Zuzan, Torbat Heydariyeh, Mashhad,
undated
89. Iran: Ribat-i Sharaf,
undated
90. Iran: Mashhad, Sang Bast,
undated
91. Iran: Sang Bast, [illegible], Radkan,
undated
92. Uzbekistan: Khiva, [illegible],
undated
93. Afghanistan: Ghazni,
undated
94. Afghanistan: Herat, Gazargah,
undated
95. Afghanistan: Herat,
undated
96. Afghanistan: Balkh, Bamiyan,
undated
97. Uzbekistan: Samarkand,
undated
98. Uzbekistan: Samarkand,
undated
99. Uzbekistan: Bukhara,
undated
100. Uzbekistan: Samarkand,
undated
101. Uzbekistan: Samarkand, Tashkent. Iran: Semnan,
undated
102-106. Spain: Granada, Alhambra,
undated
107-108. China: Beijing,
undated
109-110. China: Xian,
undated
111. China: Turfan,
undated
112-113. China: Kashi,
undated
box 116, folder 4
114-120. India,
circa
2001
Set 2: Jerusalem and Palestine negatives and contact
sheets,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Photographs by Fred Anderegg; prints of many negatives in Box 11.
box 116, folder 5
1-9. Jerusalem: Aqsa Mosque
Scope and Content Note
Negatives only.
10-12. Palestine: Bethlehem
Scope and Content Note
Also includes "Color film no. 1 Bethlehem (from below)."
box 116, folder 5
13-16. Jerusalem: Golden Gate
Scope and Content Note
Negatives only.
Set 3: China and Central Asia color negatives,
circa
1998
box 116, folder 6
8. Tashkent and Samarkand
box 117-118
Numbered set of medium-format negatives, nos. 1- 668,
undated
Photograph albums,
1953-1955,
undated
box 114
Album with images of sites in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan
1953,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes Palmyra, Baalbeck, Halabiya, Damascus, Jerash, Dura, Genoa, Athens,
Alexandria, Byblos, Jerusalem, Cairo, Petra, Bethlehem area, Jericho,
Istanbul.
box 113
Album with images of sites in Spain, Egypt, Turkey, and
Syria,
1953-1955,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Black-and-white and color prints of 35mm and medium-format negatives. Many
prints are matched to negative by number. Included are views of Greece,
Jerusalem, Egypt, Qusayr 'Amra, Baghdad, Rusafa, Konya, Ankara, Bursa, Istanbul,
Córdoba, Seville, Madrid, Burgos, Tordesillas, San Juan Bautista, Granada.
box 112
Album with images of sites in Spain, Egypt, and Turkey,
1954-1955,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Black-and-white and color prints, most from medium-format negatives, many
matched to negative by number. Sites in Spain include Burgos, Santillana del
Mar, Valladolid and Toledo. Also includes a group of loose photographs found
inserted in the back cover of the album.
box 8
Album with images of sites in Palestine, Lebanon, Jerusalem, Lebanon,
Syria, Jordan, and Egypt,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Black-and-white prints, most from medium-format negatives, most prints matched
to negative by number. Included are images of Khirbat al-Mafjar, Baalbeck,
Damascus, Raqqah, Aleppo, Jerusalem, Amman and Cairo.
Loose photographic prints,
undated
box 9
Iran
Scope and Content Note
Includes Ardestan, Isfahan, Jolfa, Natanz, Na'in, Persepolis and Naqsh-i Rajab,
Pir-i Bakran, Tehrān, Varamin and Zaware.
box 10
Jordan
Scope and Content Note
Includes Amman, Qasr Umawi, Antioch/Daphne, Aqaba, Azraq, Bayir, Hammam
al-Sarakh, Humayma, Iraq al-Amir, Jerash, Khan al-Zabib, Khirbat al-Mafjar,
Mshash, Petra, Qal'at ar-Rabad (Ajloun), Qasr al-Kharana, Qasr al-Muwaqqar, Qasr
al-Tuba, Qasr al 'Uwaynid, Qusayr 'Amra, Shawbak, Udruh.
box 10
Syria and Lebanon
Scope and Content Note
Includes Aleppo, 'Anjar, Baalbeck, Balis, Bosra, Crac des chevaliers, Damascus,
Halabiya, Jabal Says (Djebel Seis), Jeradeh, Palmyra, Qalaat al-Rahba, Qasr
al-Hayr al-Gharbi, Ruwaiha, Zelebiya.
box 9
Cairo
Scope and Content Note
Includes Bab al-Futuh, Bab al-Nasr, Bab Zuwayla, Jami' al-Azhar, Jami'
al-Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, Jami' ibn Tulun, Khanqah al-Nasir Faraj ibn
Barquq, Madrasat al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, Madrasat wa-Qubbat wa-Bimaristan
al-Sultan Qalawun, Masjid al-Juyushi, Masjid al-Salih Tala'i', Masjid al-Sultan
Hasan, Masjid al-Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, Masjid al-Sultan Qaytbay,
Qubba wa-Khanqah wa-Madrasa al-Sultan al-Ashraf Inal, Fatimid mausolea, Museum
of Islamic Art.
box 11
Jerusalem and Palestine
Scope and Content Note
Includes the Haram al-Sharif, Golden Gate, and al-Aqsa Mosque wood carvings, as
well as Bethlehem. Also includes various Umayyad sites such as Khirbat al-Mafjar
and Qasr Umawi in Amman. See Box 116 for negatives.
Miscellaneous photographic material,
undated
box 115, folder 5
35 mm. negatives
Scope and Content Note
Includes Qusayr 'Amra, Qasr al-Minya copy photographs, Ribat-i Sharaf, Shiraz,
Granada, and Bethlehem mosaics.
box 7, folder 8
Contact sheets
Scope and Content Note
Includes China contact sheets for images from Set 1: Films 107-113 with strips
of film laid out differently.
box 12
Original photograph housings
Series II.
Research materials,
1898-2009,
undated
Physical Description:
42 Linear
Feet
(96 boxes, 4 flat file
folders)
Scope and Content Note
Research materials accumulated by Grabar comprise this series. Primarily offprints,
photocopies, and drafts of subsequently published works sent by students and colleagues,
the materials in this series demonstrate the breadth of Oleg Grabar's intellectual
interests. The material is sorted by topic and includes a variety of material. The small
amount of unique material found in this series is called out in the scope and content
notes for the various topics. Offprints frequently bear a dedication from the author,
and there are occasional annotations by Grabar on offprints and photocopies. Although
the bulk of the material in this series is available through other sources, the series
serves as a compilation of published sources on a given topic for the researcher. In
combination with his books, it also reflects Grabar's dedication to the idea of a
personal library and the importance of the intellectual resource material surrounding a
scholar, serving as a snapshot of Grabar's diverse interests.
This series also includes a small amount of research material passed down from André
Grabar, identifiable by its content. Although Oleg Grabar gave his father's collection
of offprints to Harvard University, the occasional piece with a dedication to André
turns up here. Several groups of photographs on Christian and Byzantine topics,
especially mosaics and wall-painting from locations such as Bulgaria, Yugoslavia or
Greece, were inherited by Oleg Grabar from his father.
Arrangement
The series is organized by topic. Although most articles could have multiple access
points, the material is separated into eight broad categories: geography, artistic
medium, general art topics, history, text and language-based research, various
humanities and social science fields, conference materials, and miscellaneous and
unidentified materials.
Series II.A.
Geography,
1922-2007,
undated
Physical Description:
21.6 Linear
Feet
(41 boxes, 4 flat
files)
Scope and Content Note
Material with region- or site-specific content is included in this subseries: site
excavation and survey reports, works on specific architectural monuments, and in situ
sculpture and inscriptions. The sites listed for each country/region represent the
bulk of the material, but are not comprehensive.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by country or region, with Jerusalem at the end of the
subseries.
box 13, folder 1-3
Afghanistan,
1949-1988,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes partial draft of Terry Allen dissertation on Timurid Herat with cover
letter bound in, offprints (one with supplemental photographs of site in Seistan),
photocopies; includes material on sites of Bamiyan, Herat and Balkh.
box 13, folder 4
Algeria,
1958-1966
Scope and Content Note
Offprints; includes material on Tlemcen.
box 13, folder 5
Bahrain,
1978
Scope and Content Note
Offprint.
Bulgaria,
1959-circa 1995,
undated
box 13, folder 6
Papers and postcards,
1959-circa 1995,
undated
box 34, folder 1
Black-and-white photographs of Christian mural painting,
undated
Central Asian republics,
1957-1994,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, drafts, grant application, and Samarkand design competition
document (with cover letter), as well as a pamphlet, postcard set, and map set.
Sites documented include Teschebaini, Irepuni, Sarazm, Bukhara, Panjikent, Samarkand
and Khiva, with an emphasis on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan; also includes general
treatments of the Silk Road and Skythian art.
box 14, folder 1-7
General,
1957-1994,
undated
box 109, folder 1
Merv Oasis (Turkmenistan) project portfolio,
1989
box 33, folder 6
China,
1995,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprint and map; pamphlet set relating to Xinjiang, including Urumqi and monuments
in the Turfan Basin; postcards and photographs of objects. See also Series V for
further materials relating to Grabar's travel to China for projects of the Aga Khan
Development Network.
box 33, folder 1
Cyprus,
1989-1995
Scope and Content Note
Offprint and photocopies about Paphos.
Egypt,
1922-1994,
undated
Sites and architecture,
1922-1994,
undated
box 15-16
Papers,
1922-1994,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes offprints, photocopies, drafts, newsletters, and booklets. The
majority of the material deals with Cairo, but there is also material on the
sites of Alexandria, Mount Sinai, Abu Mena and Quseir al-Qadim.
box 41, folder 2
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Maps of Cairo,
1951,
undated
Map of Cairo showing Muhammadan monuments on scale 1:5000, supplement
to
The Mosques of Egypt from 21 H. (641) to 1365 H.
(1946)
,
1951
box 17, folder 1-2
Other art forms in Egypt,
1951-1990
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and photocopies relating to a broad range of topics, from ceramics to
textiles to Mamluk heraldry; list of loan objects for Islamic Art in Egypt 969-1517 exhibition (1969).
Greece,
1956-1981,
undated
box 33, folder 2
Offprints,
1956-1981
Scope and Content Note
Offprints relating to Athens, Acrocorinth and Crete.
box 34, folder 2
Black-and-white photographs of Christian mural painting at
Mistra,
undated
box 18, 48
Indian subcontinent,
1964-1994,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Materials relating to present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka;
includes offprints, photocopies, drafts and UNESCO reports, as well as maps,
guidebooks and postcards. Also included is a letter from Anita Pearlroth with
accompanying photograph.
Iran,
1930-1992,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Material relating to sites of Susa, Persepolis, Kharg, Atesh-Kouh, Ghubayra, Rey,
Isfahan, Bastam, Robat Zayn-al-Din, Na'in, Nushabad, Zuzan, Torbat-i Jam, Sistan,
Horasan, Shahr-i Qumis, Siraf, Tepe Yahya, Istakhr, Hamadhan, Gunbad-i Kharraqan,
Zaware, Hasanlu.
box 19-20
General,
1930-1992,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes offprints, photocopies, UNESCO report, one brief letter received (sent
with offprint), typescript project reports and a student paper.
box 36
Black-and-white photographs of Isfahan,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes prints from Grabar negatives in Series I.
box 109, folder 2
Plates from
Flights over Ancient Cities of
Iran
,
1940
box 21, folder 1-3
Iraq,
1955-1991,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes offprints, photocopies, text of conference paper, and project grant
application with map; includes sites of Baghdad, Hillah, Samarra, Isin, Tell 'Umar,
Mosul, Hatra (one article on Hatra includes additional photographic
documentation).
Israel and Palestine,
1936-2007,
undated
box 32, folder 5-6
Papers,
1936-2007
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies and guidebooks, relating to Bethlehem, Hebron, Beth Shan,
Lachish, Khirbet Abu Suwwana, Ashkelon, Capernaum, Sepphoris, Caesarea
Maritima.
box 41, folder 1
Black-and-white photographs of the mosaics in the Church of the Nativity,
Bethlehem,
undated
Scope and Content Note
See photographs and contact sheets in Series I.
Italy and Sicily,
1983,
undated
box 33, folder 3
Offprint and postcard,
1983,
undated
box 35, folder 1
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Study photographs of architecture and decoration at sites including Palermo,
Monreale, and Torre Pisana.
Jordan,
1960-1994,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes material relating to Amman, Aqaba, Petra, Umm er-Rasas, Mount Nebo, Hammam
al-Sarah, Qasr al-Qastal, Qasr al-Hallabat.
box 22, folder 1-5
Papers,
1960-1994,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes offprints, photocopies, drafts, letter from Robert Schick and
correspondence with Alastair Northedge, and project proposals.
box 22, folder 6
Guidebooks, photographs, maps, postcards,
1988-1989,
undated
box 32, folder 3
Kuwait,
1984-1991,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints relating to Failaka and newsletter and guidebooks for the Kuwait National
Museum.
box 32, folder 4
Lebanon,
1949-1972
Scope and Content Note
Offprints relating to Beirut.
Morocco,
1980-1995,
undated
box 32, folder 1-2
Papers,
1980-1995,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, newsletters, typescripts and drafts relating to Marrakesh, Sijilmasa,
Fez and Rabat.
box 35, folder 4
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
box 31, folder 6
Oman,
1975-1987
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, photographs of Muttrah Fort.
Saudi Arabia,
1950-1991,
undated
box 23, folder 1-4
Papers,
1950-1991,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, drafts, student paper and site guides, includes material
relating to Mecca, Medina, al-Rabadha, Jiddah, Asir-Nejran, Hejaz, Hail-Wadi
Sirhan, Hasa-Qatif oases and Dariyyah, al-Jawf oasis.
box 35, folder 3
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Study photographs of Mecca and Medina.
box 33, folder 4
Senegal,
1971,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Newsletter and other material relating to Saint-Louis and Zuguinchor.
Spain and Portugal,
1956-1995,
undated
box 24, folder 1-5
Papers,
1956-1995,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, newsletters, drafts, photocopies, notes, postcards, guidebook and map
relating to the Alhambra at Granada, Córdoba, Toledo, Castulo, Recopolis,
Calatrava la Vieja, Sintra, Madinat al-Zahra.
box 37
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Study photographs of Seville, Córdoba, Toledo and the Alhambra.
box 121, folder 2
Color photographs,
undated
box 33, folder 5
Sudan,
1981
Scope and Content Note
Report on 'Aydhâb.
Syria,
1923-1993,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Material relating to Palmyra, Damascus, Aleppo, Djebel Seis, Qal'a Sim'an (with
notes), Bosra (with notes), Ruhin, Rusafa, Balis, Taibe Oasis, Salkhad, Raqqah,
Bilad al-Sham, Khan Tuman, Madinat al-Far, Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi, and Dura
Europas.
Papers,
1923-1993,
undated
box 25-26A
Offprints, photocopies, newsletters,
1923-1993,
undated
box 27, folder 1-2
Typescripts, drafts, papers,
1988-1993,
undated
box 27, folder 3-4
Maps, postcards, guidebooks,
1985-1989,
undated
box 38-39
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes images from University of Michigan survey expedition; also includes a
significant quantity of pre-Islamic material.
box 121, folder 1
Black-and-white negatives and transparencies,
undated
Tunisia,
1952-1983,
undated
box 31, folder 1-2
Papers,
1952-1983, undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies and maps, relating to Tunis, Kairouan, Sousse and
Carthage.
box 35, folder 2
Black-and-white photographs of Kairouan,
undated
Turkey,
1934-2005,
undated
box 28-29
Site reports and architecture,
1934-2005,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies and drafts relating to Diyarbakir, Iznik, Kayseri,
Divrigi, Istanbul, Konya, Kobadabad, Bayburt, Erzurum, Bozuyuk, Sardis, Ankara,
Harran, Antioch on the Orontes, Gritille, Izmit, Adana and Bursa.
box 30, folder 3
Tourist guidebooks, maps,
1949-1967,
undated
box 30, folder 1-2
Other arts in Turkey,
1947-1985
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and photocopies.
box 40
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes images from University of Michigan survey expedition; also includes a
significant quantity of Byzantine material.
Yemen,
1955-1994,
undated
box 31, folder 3-5
Papers,
1955-1994,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints (one with letter from Berta Segall), photocopies and papers, relating
to Sana'a, Zabib and Hadramawt; manuscript by Ory relating to the al-Abbas Mosque
in Asnaf (with images, correspondence, and notes by Grabar).
box 110, folder 1
Prints of drawings of structures in Mokha,
1980
Scope and Content Note
Possibly part of a UNESCO report.
box 34, folder 3
Yugoslavia,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Black-and-white study photographs of Christian architecture and mural painting.
Jerusalem,
1928-2007,
undated
box 42-45
Offprints, photocopies, drafts,
1928-2007,
undated
box 123*, folder 1
Newspaper clippings,
1991-2006
box 46
Notes and correspondence,
1987-2004, undated
box 45, folder 5
Guidebooks,
1951-1954,
undated
box 45, folder 6-7
Postcard sets and panorama pamphlet,
undated
box 47
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
box 120
Color slides by M. Cross, color print and transparency,
negatives,
1992,
undated
Series II. B.
Artistic medium,
1899-2006,
undated
Physical Description:
10.2 Linear
Feet
(29 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Research materials focusing on a specific medium or form of art comprise this
subseries.
Arrangement
Arranged by medium.
Architecture,
1922-1994,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes general treatments of building types, elements and surveys by dynasty,
including Umayyad and Seljuq, as well as materials relating to urbanism and city
planning, proportions and landscape architecture.
box 49-50
Offprints and photocopies,
1932-1994,
undated
box 51, folder 4-5
Unpublished material,
1980-1994,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Various unpublished materials created by colleagues and students, includes
partial draft of
Ayyubid Architecture by Terry
Allen, conference papers and drafts of articles, course syllabus,
announcements.
box 122, folder 1
Negatives and transparencies,
undated
Miniatures and illuminated manuscripts,
1933-2000,
undated
Individual texts,
1939-1996,
undated
box 55, folder 1-2
Codex-Calendar of 354,
1952,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Notes and unbound copy of Stern publication.
box 52-53
Andarz-nāmeh,
1954-1974,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Notes, correspondence, offprints, student papers, black-and-white photographs
and drafts of remarks on the manuscript.
Maqāmāt,
1960-1996,
undated
box 54, folder 1-5
Notes, correspondence, offprint and photocopies,
1960-1996,
undated
box 58
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
box 57, folder 5-7
Kalila wa Dimna,
1980-1990,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Notes, offprints.
box 54, folder 6-8
Shah-nameh,
1939-1986,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Print-out of draft of
Shah-nameh illustration
index, offprints and ephemera.
box 56-57
Islamic manuscripts,
1933-2000,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, drafts, postcards, letters and grant proposal; also
includes material relating to individual painters and calligraphy.
box 55, folder 3-5
Judeo-Christian manuscripts,
1956-1993,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and drafts; also includes Western secular works.
box 55, folder 6-7
Manuscript production and bookbinding,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Photocopies of typescript and printouts.
box 59
Research on manuscripts in the Harvard University Art Museum,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes notes, photocopies, correspondence.
Photographic documentation of various manuscripts, including
De Materia Medica,
undated
box 72, folder 1-2
Black-and-white photographs
box 122, folder 2
Color photographs, negatives, transparencies
Metalwork,
1899-2003,
undated
Scope and Content Note
With an strong emphasis on Sasanian vessels.
box 60-61
Offprints, photocopies, drafts, ephemera,
1931-2000,
undated
box 61, folder 4
Conference papers,
1970-1971
Scope and Content Note
Includes materials from the 1971 Sasanian Silver conference at the Fogg Art
Museum and the symposium on Application of Scientific Methods in the Analysis of
Works of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1970.
box 61, folder 5
Notes,
1968,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Also includes letters from Dorothy G. Shepherd, Prudence Harper and Cyril Stanley
Smith.
Photographic documentation,
2003,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes occasional notes and images of objects in other media.
box 62-65
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
box 122, folder 3
Color photographs, transparencies, negatives,
2003,
undated
Ceramic vessels and lamps,
1929-1990,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Also includes faience vessels.
box 66, folder 1-5
Offprints, photocopies and drafts,
1929-1990,
undated
box 69
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Glass vessels and lamps,
1937-1988,
undated
box 67, folder 1-3
Papers,
1937-1988,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, ephemera, drafts and student work; includes extensive
coverage of the glass from the Serçe Limani shipwreck.
box 70
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Tilework, stucco and mosaic,
1958-1990,
undated
box 67, folder 4-5
Offprints, photocopies, draft,
1958-1990,
undated
box 75, folder 1
Black-and-white photographs of Christian mosaics,
undated
Sculpture,
1924-2006,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Sculpture in the round and in relief; includes carved stone, wood, ivory and
jade.
box 68, folder 1-2
Offprints and photocopies,
1924-2006,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Overwhelmingly pre-Islamic or Medieval West; one photocopy includes letter from
Yaron Eliav.
box 72, folder 3-4
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes notes on Fatimid wood carving.
box 68, folder 3
Mirrors,
1961-1985
Scope and Content Note
Offprint, student paper.
Textiles,
1937-1975,
undated
box 68, folder 4
Offprints, photocopies, postcard,
1937-1975,
undated
box 71
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Coins and medallions,
1950-1995,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes general treatments of Islamic numismatics, see also economic history
materials in Series II.D.
box 73, folder 1-4
Offprints and photocopy,
1950-1995, undated
box 74
Black-and white photographs,
undated
box 67, folder 6
Seals, amulets, bullae, jewelry,
1967-1994
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, conference paper.
box 67, folder 7
Panel painting and icons,
1966-1974,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints.
box 68, folder 5
Weights and measures,
1956-1977
Scope and Content Note
Offprints.
box 75, folder 2
Wall-painting,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Black-and-white photographs of Christian and Roman mural painting, most with
location not identified.
Various minor arts,
1925-2003,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints on topics including Mamluk playing cards, keys, crystal and cut stone
vessels.
box 122, folder 4
Color photographs,
2003,
undated
Series II.C.
General art topics,
1898-2009,
undated
Physical Description:
2.3 Linear
Feet
(7 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Research materials relating to several broad topics in art and the history of art
form this subseries. Included here are works on iconography, contemporary Islamic art
and architecture, and exhibition materials, as well as surveys compiled on the basis
of culture and chronology.
Arrangement
Arranged by topic.
box 78-79
Iconography,
1932-2007,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and photocopies; includes aesthetics and iconoclasm.
Art surveys,
1898-2004, undated
box 76, folder 1
African art,
1965-1996
Scope and Content Note
Offprint, book draft.
box 77
Asian art,
1964-2004
Scope and Content Note
Materials relate to Chinese and Japanese art, especially Chinese calligraphy;
photocopies, student papers, text of lecture, notes, letter.
box 76, folder 8
Byzantine art,
1963-1994
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, draft.
box 80, folder 2-3
Black-and-white photographs
box 76, folder 2-3
Islamic art,
1898-1984,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, drafts, ephemera.
box 76, folder 4
Seljuq art,
1970-1973
Scope and Content Note
Offprints.
box 76, folder 5
Abbasid art,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprint.
box 76, folder 9
Jewish art,
circa
1991
Scope and Content Note
Folder with newsletters, pamphlets and ephemera from the Center for Jewish Art at
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
box 76, folder 6
Sasanian art,
1938-1989
Scope and Content Note
Offprints.
box 76, folder 10
Russian art,
1999
Scope and Content Note
Photographs and text for article published in
Muqarnas.
box 80, folder 1
Scandinavian art and architecture,
undated
box 76, folder 7-8
Exhibitions,
1932-1988
Scope and Content Note
Catalogs, offprints, ephemera, notes.
Contemporary Islamic art and architecture,
1983-2009
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, website printouts, brochures, letters received; includes
works on Joyce Dalla, Lalla Essaydi, Nilima Sheikh, Shahzia Sikander, Amin Gulgee,
and Doris Bittar.
box 121, folder 3-4
Color photographs and slides of the work of Gulgee and
Bittar,
1992-1998,
undated
Series II.D.
History,
1922-2007,
undated
Physical Description:
2.9 Linear
Feet
(7 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Materials relating to various aspects of history and historical issues comprise this
subseries.
Arrangement
Arranged by topic.
box 81-82
General,
1922-1996,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints (one offprint with brief letter from Philip Lozinski) and photocopies;
primarily Islamic history and society with a limited amount of material relating to
pre-Islamic societies, including Parthian, Sasanian, and Roman.
box 87, folder 1-3
Egyptian history,
1923-1992,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and conference program.
box 87, folder 4
Ottoman/Turkish history,
1948-1989,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies and drafts.
box 83, folder 5
Byzantine history and culture,
1968-1995,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, texts of conference papers, drafts.
box 84, folder 1-3
Economic history,
1951-1994,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and photocopies; print-outs and photocopies of typescripts of unpublished
material and lecture text. For further material on coinage see also Series II.B.
box 83, folder 2
Cairo Genizah documents,
1961-1982
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and photocopy.
box 84, folder 4-5
Military history,
1955-1995
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, NEH grant application; includes weaponry.
box 83, folder 1
Legal history/Islamic law,
1959-1999,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and photocopies.
box 83, folder 3
History of education,
1961-1976
Scope and Content Note
Offprints.
box 83, folder 4
History of science,
1936-1984
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and photocopy.
box 85, folder 1-4
Intellectual history,
1955-1992
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, book draft, student paper.
box 86, folder 1-2
Colonialism and nationalism,
1990-1995,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Photocopies, offprints; drafts of book and papers.
Arab/Israeli conflict,
1967-2007,
undated
box 86, folder 3-4
Offprints, pamphlets, newsletters,
1967-1974,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Also includes letters received.
box 123*, folder 2
Newspaper clippings,
1967-2007
Series II.E.
Text and language-based research,
1924-2002,
undated
Physical Description:
1.7 Linear
Feet
(4 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Literary and historical texts, poetry and various written accounts, as well as
associated scholarship form this subseries. Also included here is research material
related to epigraphy, philology and linguistics.
Arrangement
Arranged by topic.
box 88-89
Literary and historical texts,
1927-2002,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and photocopies; also includes paleography, linguistics and
philology.
box 90-91
Inscriptions/epigraphy,
1924-1991,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopy, draft; also printout of Siddiq manuscript with letter.
Series II.F.
Various humanities and social science fields,
1906-2005,
undated
Physical Description:
1.7 Linear
Feet
(4 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Research material relating to religion, philosophy and anthropology form this
subseries. Also included here is a large selection of materials related to
historiography of the fields of history and art history, including many scholar
necrologies.
Arrangement
Arranged by topic.
Religion,
1906-2005,
undated
box 92, folder 1-4
Islam,
1906-2005,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, drafts, student papers.
box 92, folder 5-6
Christianity,
1953-2003,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints and photocopies.
box 92, folder 7
Judaism,
1957-1995
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, draft of paper.
box 93, folder 1
Other religions,
1968-1997,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, draft.
box 93, folder 2-3
Magic and mysticism,
1962-1998,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, draft.
box 93, folder 4
Philosophy,
1948-1993,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopy, draft.
box 94, folder 1-2
Anthropology/ethnography,
1929-1998,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, drafts.
box 95, folder 1-6
Historiography,
1910-1996
Scope and Content Note
Offprints, photocopies, translations; includes scholar necrologies.
Series II.G.
Conference materials,
1972-1994
Physical Description:
0.8 Linear
Feet
(2 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Conference materials, ranging from announcements and schedules to drafts of
participants' papers, form this subseries.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically by conference.
box 96, folder 1
Sixth International Congress of Iranian Art and Archaeology,
Oxford,
1972 September
10-16
Scope and Content Note
Summaries of papers.
box 96, folder 2
"Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks," Washington, D.C.,
1981 May
13-16
Scope and Content Note
Conference packet with abstracts and ephemera, notes, photograph of relief
carving.
box 96, folder 3
Conference on Islamic Intellectual history, Harvard University,
1988, May
12-14
Scope and Content Note
Papers.
box 97, folder 1-3
"Making Space for Islam: Spatial Expressions of Muslims in the West,"
Harvard University,
1990 November
1-4
Scope and Content Note
Ephemera, drafts of papers, letters received, notes.
box 96, folder 4
"Islam and Ethnicity in Africa and the Middle East," SUNY Binghamton,
1991, April
25-27
Scope and Content Note
Drafts of papers.
box 96, folder 5
"Museums and Collecting: Colonial & Postcolonial," Princeton
University,
1992 April
3-4
Scope and Content Note
Drafts of papers.
box 96, folder 7
"Development vs Tradition: The Cultural Ecology of Dwellings and
Settlements," Paris,
1992 October
8-11
Scope and Content Note
Conference schedule and letter from International Association for the Study of
Tradition Environments (IASTE), the organizing body.
box 97, folder 4
Construction et représentations de l'Islam méditerranéen seminar, EHESS,
Paris,
1993-1994
Scope and Content Note
Schedule and readings.
box 96, folder 6
"The Business of Change: Merchants and the Fall of Constantinople,"
Princeton University,
1994 November
11
Scope and Content Note
Conference packet with drafts of papers, ephemera, notes.
Series II. H.
Miscellaneous and unidentified research material,
1927-1994,
undated
Physical Description:
0.8 Linear
Feet
(2 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Oleg Grabar's offprints of his father's articles form the core of this subseries.
Also included are various stray materials and a group of unidentified offprints.
Arrangement
Arranged by topic.
box 98, folder 1-3
Offprints of articles by André Grabar,
1927-1991
Scope and Content Note
Also includes offprints of necrology and letter regarding 1989 CAA session
commemorating
Martyrium, as well as a few pieces of
material removed from André Grabar's books.
box 98, folder 5-7
Miscellaneous offprints, notes and ephemera,
1979-1994,
undated
box 98A
Unidentified material,
undated
Series III.
Lectures and writings,
1988-2000,
undated
Physical Description:
0.2 Linear
Feet
(1 box)
Scope and Content Note
A small assortment of material relating to Grabar's presentations and publications
forms Series III. These are almost exclusively drafts of lectures, on topics such as the
Alhambra and Jerusalem. A few further examples of Grabar's writing are scattered
throughout the archive in other series, such as a draft of an unpublished article on
Qusayr 'Amra in Box 3 and an introduction to a work on Amin Gulgee in Box 107. Also
included here is a small amount of material relating to the selection/production of
images for two of Grabar's books.
Arrangement
Arranged by topic.
Lectures,
1995-2000,
undated
box 99, folder 1
Jerusalem,
1995-2000,
undated
Publication production material,
1988-1996
box 121, folder 6
The Mediation of Ornament, negatives and
contact sheets for images,
circa
1988-1989
box 99, folder 4
The Shape of the Holy, printouts of CAD
drawings,
circa
1995-1996
Series IV.
Correspondence,
1935-1995,
undated
Physical Description:
0.2 Linear
Feet
(1 box)
Scope and Content Note
A scattering of correspondence, primarily letters received, but also a few copies of
letters written by Grabar, forms this series. This group of correspondence does not
represent an intentional assembling or saving of material by Grabar, but rather a series
of chance finds. In general, Grabar kept his correspondence with the material to which
it referred instead of filing it separately. The bulk of the letters in the series were
removed from Grabar's books when they were cataloged for the library's general
collections, and as such they are for the most part the expected brief letter or note
sent along with a publication by its author. There are, however, a few letters with
substantive content. Further pieces of Grabar's correspondence can be found in the
research files or professional service files as noted. The series also includes a few
letters received by André Grabar, due again to material being pulled from books.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
box 108, folder 1-4
Oleg Grabar correspondence,
1959-1995,
undated
box 108, folder 5
André Grabar letters received,
1935-1983,
undated
Series V.
Faculty and professional service,
1975-2006,
undated
Physical Description:
3.2 Linear
Feet
(8 boxes, 1 flat file
folder)
Scope and Content Note
This series is comprised of materials relating to Grabar's roles as a professor and a
leading authority in the field of Islamic art and architecture. Included is
documentation from two of the classes Grabar taught at Harvard, as well as hiring and
promotion dossiers for scholars at various institutions, which had been sent to Grabar.
Records of Grabar's extensive professional service, especially his long-standing work
with UNESCO and the various entities related to the Aga Khan, are also found in this
series. Of particular interest is the documentation of Grabar's involvement with the
politically charged 2000 UNESCO mission investigating conditions on the Haram
al-Sharif/Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Arrangement
Arranged by topic. Original order of digital material was retained.
Harvard course materials,
1975-1985
box 100, folder 1-3
Sources on Iconoclasm, 93r, Fall,
1975
Scope and Content Note
Originals of handouts.
box 100, folder 4-6
Great Mosque of Isfahan Seminar, FA 228a,
1985
Scope and Content Note
Bibliography, lecture notes and research materials, as well as early notes from the
site.
box 105-106
Tenure, appointment, examination and evaluation documents,
1984-2003
Scope and Content Note
Also includes other dossiers, portfolios and compilations of work sent to Grabar.
box 101-102
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO),
1993-2006,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Documentation of Grabar's work with various UNESCO commissions dealing with the
preservation of the old city of Jerusalem, especially the Islamic monuments, and the
Umayyad mosque in Damascus; includes numerous reports, as well as correspondence and
Grabar's notes.
Aga Khan Development Network,
1977-2004,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Documentation of Grabar's involvement with various agencies of the Aga Khan
Development Network, especially the Aga Khan Foundation and the Aga Khan Trust for
Culture, through its Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Of particular interest are the
materials relating to trips to Shanxi and Xinjiang provinces (see also Box 33) and the
restoration of the Old City of Jerusalem.
flatfile 6**
Oversize material,
undated
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture digital materials,
1977-1999
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture digital materials
Seminar proceedings,
1978-1999
box 124, item D3
Cyclical monographs,
1980-1998
Scope and Content Note
Contains digital versions of eight publications:
Innovation and Authenticity,
Architecture for
Islamic Societies Today
,
Architecture for a
Changing World
,
Architecture and
Community
,
Architecture in Continuity,
Space for Freedom,
Architecture beyond Architecture, and
Legacies
for the Future
.
box 124, item D4
Background information,
1977-1998
box 102, folder 8
City Square of Nazareth Ministerial Committee,
2000
Scope and Content Note
Letters received and copy of proposal regarding the design and construction of a new
mosque in Nazareth.