Terms, sources, and image rights.
Glossary, references, and credits for the entire site.
This page collects key technical and historical terms with plain-language definitions, the main academic and museum sources used across the site, and image rights information. All museum images used on the site link to their official source records.
Reference hub for terms, sources, and image rights across the entire site.
How to Use the Glossary
Terms are defined for general readers, not specialists. Where a technical term has a standard Arabic, Persian, Turkish, or Urdu equivalent, that is given. Where a term is used inconsistently in museum records or academic literature, the entry notes that variation. Caution notes appear where a term is commonly misused or where modern usage differs from historical practice.
Key Technical Terms
Alloy, annealing, bidriware, brass, bronze, chasing, damascening, engraving, gilding, high-tin bronze, inlay, koftgari, niello, patina, planishing, raising, repoussé, tinning, tombak. Full definitions appear in the glossary section below. Cross-references connect terms to technique pages, material pages, and museum object cards.
Principal Academic References
Allan, J.W., Islamic Metalwork: The Nuhad Es-Said Collection. Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1982. Baer, Eva, Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art. SUNY Press, 1983. Komaroff, Linda (ed.), The Legacy of Genghis Khan. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. Melikian-Chirvani, A.S., Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World. Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982. Ward, Rachel, Islamic Metalwork. British Museum Press, 1993. Zebrowski, Mark, Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India. Laurence King, 1997.
Museum Sources and Open Access
The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides open-access images and full catalog records for its Islamic collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art provides open-access records. The British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum provide online catalog records. All object images linked from this site are used under the rights statements specified in each museum record. This site does not host museum images directly.
Image Credits and Rights Policy
Every live museum image used on this site includes title, date, medium, museum, accession number, rights statement, and a link to the official museum record. Diagrams on this site are original works created for Islamicmetal.com and require no third-party permissions. Placeholder image slots note the title of the object they represent and are replaced when rights-cleared images are available.