Publication Date
Around the year 424 / 1033
Publication Place
-
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Subject
Limestone is excavated, and plaster is formed and fixed on the stone.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 101 سم؛ القاعدة العليا: 148×148 سم؛ القاعدة السفلى: 96×96 سم.
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
ز/ م/42
Record ID
object;ISL;pa;Mus01;6;ar
Library Location
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Date
Around the year 424 / 1033
Notes
The piece is a column capital made of local limestone quarried from quarries in the Jerusalem area. It appears that the carving of this crown was not completely completed, or that it was carved in this way for the purpose of saving time and costs. The style of this capital is an imitation of the capitals of the Abbasid Corinthian columns that were used in the restoration of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the time of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mahdi (ruled in the period 158-169 / 775-785), after the earthquake that toppled large parts of the mosque. The Abbasid capitals in Al-Aqsa Mosque were characterized by their huge size, and in that they resemble the capitals of Greek columns. As for the capitals of the Umayyad columns that preceded them on the site, they were less massive and closely resembled the capitals of the Byzantine columns, if not of Byzantine origin. They were reused in the mosque. When the mosque was exposed to another earthquake during the Fatimid era in the year 424 / 1033, it was severely damaged, and it was restored during the time of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Zahir bi-Amr Allah (reigned in the period 411 - 427 / 1021 - 1036). The capitals of the damaged columns were replaced with capitals that imitated the Abbasid capitals, especially those capitals that top the columns of the middle portico of the mosque. Only some parts of the decoration of this crown were formed by engraving, and the other parts of the crown were prepared and refined to be covered with acanthus leaves that were cut out of the plaster and fixed to the crown. This explains the dimpling on the crown stone, as it is intended to make it easier for the plaster decorations to be fixed on the stone and not to slide off it. Many plaster acanthus leaves were discovered at the site, which were fixed to the stone using the same technique that was used in this crown. The Islamic Museum possesses many examples of this style, in addition to a huge and diverse collection of marble and limestone column capitals of various sizes dating back to the Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid eras, and another smaller group dating back to the Crusader period.
Sample Text
Nazmi Al-Ju'beh “Column Crown” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;pa;Mus01;6;ar
