Edward Shawe-Taylor

edwardshawetaylor
DPhil Student

AHRC doctoral studentship, 2023-2026 
IM Pei Scholarship in Islamic Art and Architecture, 2021-2023
Supervisor: Alain George 
College affiliation: St. Cross College 
Email: edward.shawe-taylor@ames.ox.ac.uk 

 

Education: 

  • 2023 - present: DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies; Thesis: From Decree to Ubiquity, The Dissemination of Cursive Scripts During the Fatimid Period.  
  • 2021–2023: MPhil in Islamic Art and Archaeology, KRC, University of Oxford (Distinction); Dissertation: The Kitāb al-Ḥayawān in the Ambrosiana Library: Traces of a Lost Mamluk Atelier. 
  • 2015–2020: BA Arabic, SOAS, University of London (First Class); Dissertation: “He followed the Path of Muslim Kings”, How Roger II imitated Islamic practice to convey Norman sovereignty to the Muslims of Sicily and North Africa. 

 
Research Interests:  

  • The manuscript culture of Fatimid Egypt. 
  • The Evolution of scripts in Egyptian Qur’anic manuscripts in 10th-13th centuries. 
  • The appearance of cursive scripts in textiles, woodwork, coinage and ivory ornaments in the Fatimid Period.  
  • Ṭirāz textiles and their relationship to the chancery.  
  • The arts of the book in the Mamluk Period.  
  • The production of illustrated manuscripts in the Bahri Mamluk period.  

Awards: 

  • The Margaret B. Ševčenko Prize in Islamic Art and Culture, 2024; Title: The Ambrosiana Kitāb al-Ḥayawān and the Baptistère de Saint Louis: Manuscripts, Metalwork and the Mamluk Court. 
  • Clarendon Scholarship, 2023-2026 
  • I M Pei Scholarship in Islamic Art and Architecture, 2021-2024 
  • Undergraduate Essay Competition, Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilisation (HBKU, Qatar): 1st Prize, 2020; Title: “Books are Superior in their Ability to Preserve the Grand Achievements of Civilizations”, Reading Kitāb al-Ḥayawān as a catalogue of scholarship in second and third century Baghdad.” 

Other Experience: 

  • Assistant Database Manager, Invisible East Project, University of Oxford (2022-present) 
  • Art History Tutor, Art History Abroad (2020-present).