Review (PDF) Sky Blue Stone: The Turquoise Trade In World History (California World History Library)
This book traces the journeys of a stone across the world. From its remote point of origin in the city of Nishapur in eastern Iran, turquoise was traded through India, Central Asia, and the Near East, becoming an object of imperial exchange between the Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires. Along this trail unfolds the story of turquoise--a phosphate of aluminum and copper formed in rocks below the surface of the earth--and its discovery and export as a global commodity. In the material culture and imperial regalia of early modern Islamic tributary empires moving from the steppe to the sown, turquoise was a sacred stone and a potent symbol of power projected in vivid color displays. From the empires of Islamic Eurasia, the turquoise trade reached Europe, where the stone was collected as an exotic object from the East. The Eurasian trade lasted into the nineteenth century, when the oldest mines in Iran collapsed and lost Aztec mines in the Americas reopened, unearthing more accessible sources of the stone to rival the Persian blue.Sky Blue Stone recounts the origins, trade, and circulation of a natural object in the context of the history of Islamic Eurasia and global encounters between empire and nature.
Series: California World History Library (Book 20)
Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: University of California Press (May 10, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0520282558
ISBN-13: 978-0520282551
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #480,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #213 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Commerce #219 in Books > History > Middle East > Turkey #17932 in Books > History > World
The title is a bit misleading, it's not in world history, just a part of it, although an interesting part. Khazeni looks at trade (and other aspects of turquoise) in four Muslim countries (at the time, not really "countries") including Iran and Mughal India.There is little on mining or environmental impact, important aspects, but the book is absorbing. I had not known that "Turquoise" is connected to the word "Turk." (This would be the source for the English word, that is). The topic could be fascinating, but so-so writing reduces it to the category of "interesting."
Absorbing book. Turquoise tended to travel East from the mines in Iran rather than West where it wasn't valued until Georgian times.
Good quality and quick shipping!
Sky Blue Stone: The Turquoise Trade in World History (California World History Library) BLUE BEETLE 1: THRILLS! MYSTERY! INTRIGUE!: 4 COMPLETE CLASSIC ISSUES OF THE BLUE BEETLE COMIC BOOKS FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE 1940s - OVER 270 PAGES (BLUE BEETLE COMICS) Max Planck Commentaries on World Trade Law: WTO - World Economic Order, World Trade Law Turquoise: A Chef's Travels in Turkey California Rules of Court - State, 2015 ed. (Vol. I, California Court Rules) (California Rules of Court. State and Federal) It Began with a Stone: A History of Geology from the Stone Age to the Age of Plate Tectonics Mystic Montana Sky (The Montana Sky Series Book 6) Glorious Montana Sky (The Montana Sky Series Book 4) 200 Beading Tips, Techniques & Trade Secrets: An Indispensable Compendium of Technical Know-How and Troubleshooting Tips (200 Tips, Techniques & Trade Secrets) The SLAVE TRADE: THE STORY OF THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE: 1440 - 1870 Designing From The Stone: Design Techniques for Bezel Setting in Metal Clay Using the Stone as Inspiration Building Fences of Wood, Stone, Metal, & Plants: Making Fence with Wood, Metal, Stone and Living Plants Stone Cold (The Alex Stone Thriller Series Book 2) Blood and Stone (The Alastair Stone Chronicles Book 6) F. G. A. Stone: Leaving No Stone Unturned: Pathways in Organometallic Chemistry (Profiles, Pathways, and Dreams) A Piece of Blue Sky: Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed Let's sell these people A Piece of Blue Sky: Hubbard, Dianetics and Scientology BLUE RIBBON WINNING Home Made Bread Recipes Volume 1 (Blue Ribbon Magazine Book 21) Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge: A Hiking Guide to the Cascades of the Blue Ridge Mountains Strauss: An Der Schonen Blauen Donau (On the Beautiful Blue Danube/The Blue Danube Waltz) for Voice and Piano (Lyrics in German) (Original Version) [Sheet Music] (ED, 07078)
