This book offers a distinctive and compelling examination of artworks as vital historical documents, utilizing a multifaceted lens to delve into the cultural and artistic landscape of a particular era. By analyzing Papal commissions in Rome from the 15th to 17th centuries that notably incorporate Persian motifs, the book reveals the intentions of artists, the motivations of patrons, and the evolving styles and motifs across different cultures. Employs traditional art historical approaches but also extends beyond them, the book considers these artistic creations as significant contributions to the broader cultural heritage of the region. This book is a must read for scholars of Islamic studies and heritage studies.

Negar Sarah Rokhgar is an Art Historian with dual specialty in the Arts and Material Culture of Early Modern Europe and the Islamic world (7th century to contemporary). Currently, she serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art History at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and hosts MAP Forum (weekly webinar series) for the Medici Archive Project. Her research focuses on material exchanges between early modern Europe and the Islamicate empires of the eastern Mediterranean. Portions of her work have appeared in The Burlington Magazine (October 2022) and Material Culture Review (Summer 2024). Her forthcoming monograph, Crossroads of Mobility between Early Modern Tuscany and Persia, sponsored by The New Foundation for Art History, is slated for publication with Penn State University Press.