The broad purpose of this book is twofold. One, to provide a systematic study of the forms, techniques, decorative vocabulary, and epigraphy of a body of metalwork that will be shown to have been produced in Iran under the reign of the Timurid dynasty and within the milieu of Timurid court-sponsored art. And two, to relate this material to the overall development of Iranian metalwork from the middle of the 12th through the early 16th century. The contention of this study is that a distinctive style of metalwork was formulated in the eastern Iranian world during the rule of the Timurid dynasty. As the innovative features that characterize this style have not been previously identified and defined, pre-existing metalwork traditions in Iran and adjacent lands must first of all be reviewed in order to ascertain the extent to which the Timurid material is a phenomenon of a specific time and place.