Publication Date
Circa 86-96/705-715
Publication Place
-
Museum of Islamic Art
Subject
Carved limestone.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 55 سم ؛ العرض: 28 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
I. 7577
Record ID
object;ISL;de;Mus01;49;ar
Library Location
Museum of Islamic Art
Date
Circa 86-96/705-715
Notes
A rectangular rock block with a carved decoration in relief on its front face. This decoration consists of a trunk from which two branches intersect and extend in a wavy manner, then branch out in double twists to end with stylized leaves or pomegranate seeds. This carved block dates back to a major architectural group, because it was designed to be a piece of architectural decoration in the gate of the Khirbet al-Minya Palace. Because the construction of the palace was not completed, the composition of this group remained unknown. Between 705 and 715, the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I ordered the construction of a small palace at Khirbet Al-Minya on the northwestern shore of Lake Tiberias. This palace, which was not completed, was to include a complete and decorated entrance wing. The palace contains a group of wonderful reception rooms with mosaic floors, in addition to a mosque with a mihrab in the shape of a semicircle. The decoration style of this stone building in Khirbet al-Minya belongs to the building traditions of late antiquity, but on the other hand it contains major changes that are evident in clear miniatures dating back to the early Islamic eras. Pomegranate drawings are widely used in stylized building decorations on stone and plaster, in addition to their presence on mosaics. German museums participated in the years 1936 to 1939 in archaeological excavations in Khirbet al-Minya, and the museum was able to obtain a significant portion of the finds. The other half of the finds are located in Jerusalem.
Sample Text
Jens Kröger “Monolith with bas-relief of stylized floral decoration of pomegranates and branches” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;de;Mus01;49;ar
