Publication Date
Emirate of Abd al-Rahman II (207 – 238 / 822 – 852)
Publication Place
-
National Archaeological Museum
Subject
Carved marble.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 28.5 سم؛ العرض: 35 سم؛ القطر: 30 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
51672
Record ID
object;ISL;es;Mus01;6;ar
Library Location
National Archaeological Museum
Date
Emirate of Abd al-Rahman II (207 – 238 / 822 – 852)
Notes
A column capital inspired by the Corinthian style, very close in size to the classical model. It presents a single row of acanthus leaves and spiral decorations with a floral motif in the centre. The front of the plat is decorated with a row of pearls and another of small leaves arranged in a zigzag pattern, which may constitute a Gothic remnant. On the face of the crown cup, an inscription appears inscribed in ancient Kufic letters arranged in four lines, within which we can read, despite the damage it has sustained, the following: “In the name of God, may God bless / In Emir Abd al-Rahman Ibn al-Hakam: May God honor him”; It is an inscription referring to Abd al-Rahman II. The placement of the inscription was unusual until that period in Andalusian capitals, while it was common in Levantine capitals. But with this crown begins the tradition of capitals with commemorative inscriptions, so characteristic of Andalusian architecture. The early Islamic buildings of the Iberian Peninsula, during the 2nd / 8th century, tended to reuse Spanish-Roman and Gothic capitals. In the ninth century AD, the manufacture of the first Andalusian crowns began, with strong classical and Gothic influences. Around the middle of the ninth century AD, when they absorbed the artistic legacy of the past, Andalusian artists began to give the crowns a more Islamic look. This piece, with its deep and precise engraving, announces the brilliance that controversial architectural sculpture will reach.
Sample Text
Margarita Sánchez Llorente “Column Capital” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;es;Mus01;6;ar
