Emile Prisse d'Avennes, a French Orientalist, author, and artist, was one of the greatest pre-20th century Egyptologists. An ardent admirer of the superh skills of Egyptian and Oriental artisans, he was enamored of Arabic art. As a youth he dreamed of exploring the Orient, and at 19 began traveling to Greece, India, and Palestine. Over the next 40 years he explored Syria, Arabia, Persia, and resided in Egypt and Algeria. Converting to Islam, he traveled to Egypt disguised as an Arab, using the name Idris Effendi. Fascinated by the symmetry, complexity, and opulence of Egyptian and Arabic art, he drew from this vast collection to create compilations of the finest examples of art and architecture, which also took into account historical, social, and religious contexts. In 1877, he published his outstanding survey on Islamic art and architecture, Arab Art (LArt arabe d'apres les monuments du Kaire, 1869-1877), in Paris. This Taschen edition also includes his brilliant collection of...