Local Persian artistic traditions were themselves transformed by Mongol preferences and by contracts with the arts of Europe and especially China, as wares and craftsmen from China and Iran traveled back forth across the empire." "More than two hundred outstanding objects exemplifying all these branches of the arts are illustrated in color and fully described in this catalogue. Eight distinguished scholars in the field present the historical and political background of the Ilkhanid era and address such subjects as manuscript illustration, religious art, and the transmission of design motifs across Asia. Also included are two technical studies, maps, a genealogical chart, and a complete bibliography."--Jacket.