Publication Date
988 AD
Publication Place
-
National Archaeological Museum
Subject
Carved marble.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 68 سم؛ العرض: 15 سم؛ العمق: 77 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
50428
Record ID
object;ISL;es;Mus01;5;ar
Library Location
National Archaeological Museum
Date
988 AD
Notes
This ablution fountain was discovered in the form of shards at the end of the 19th century in the center of Seville. After its restoration, it retained the inscription bands and decoration on three of its sides. The main face is decorated with three trefoil arches, framed by their own elvises, and supported by columns. Each arch contains a small branch from which emerge leaves, palm fronds, conifers, and braided stems. The field between the alphabet and the decade offers the same type of decoration; The whole is framed by an inscription band. The right side represents a field divided vertically into three parts. The middle part of the decoration was stripped off, probably to leave room for water to escape; The other two parts present similar scenes: eagles carrying on their outstretched wings two young lions in a state of confrontation, clamping their claws on deer; Below, two sunset phoenixes, also facing each other, complete the scene; It is an iconography of Sassanid origin that refers to power, prosperity, and immortality. On the third side, we have reached only the inscription band, and a frieze decorated with ducks and fish. Below are the remains of a lion attacking a deer. From the inscriptional decoration, we know that this fountain was commissioned for the Al-Zahira Palace Mosque by Al-Mansur, the first and favorite vizier of Hisham II, who ascended to the caliphate after the death of his father, Al-Hakam II, as a child in 366 / 976. Al-Mansur’s usurping rise to power began shortly after Hisham II’s accession to the caliphate. In order to establish a state parallel to the legitimate state of the Umayyads, Al-Mansur built the city of Balatia, which was called the City of Al-Zahira. This new city, a competitor to Madinat al-Zahra, was located in the eastern part of Cordoba; However, only rare material traces have reached us. The city was burned and destroyed in AH 399 / AD 1009.
Sample Text
Margarita Sánchez Llorente “Ablution basin” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;es;Mus01;5;ar
