Publication Date
12th/18th century
Publication Place
-
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Subject
Wood, plaster and stained glass made using casting, engraving and gluing techniques.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 288 سم؛ العرض: 166 سم؛ العمق: 9.5 سم.
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
ش/15
Record ID
object;ISL;pa;Mus01;5;ar
Library Location
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Date
12th/18th century
Notes
The piece is a large rectangular plaster window with a wooden frame 7.5 cm wide and two internal plaster frames each 5 cm wide. The two plaster frames rotate with the wooden frame, and a 10 cm wide decorative strip is sandwiched between them. There are ten decorative units in this strip, each unit containing square shapes and single, double, triple and four-leafed flowers. The units are separated by circles with a fan circumference. The main decoration of the window consists of an upper section and a lower section connected by a circle. In each section there are fourteen circles, each with a diameter of 20 cm. The circles include floral drawings in the form of two branches that branch out and rotate around the inner perimeter of each section and meet at the top. This decoration includes in the upper section the text of the basmalah, “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,” and in the lower section, a Qur’anic text from verse 125 of Surat An-Nisa (Surat No. 4) that reads, “And God took Abraham as a friend.” The inscriptions were colored in glazed white to make them stand out and distinguish them from the rest of the decorations. Plaster windows with stained glass are prepared in several stages, which include first preparing a frame made of solid wood that is completely adapted to the shape and dimensions of the window to be made. After that, the liquid plaster is poured into the wooden frame and left in the shade until it dries completely, then it is lifted and fixed on an iron fixture. The decorative drawings to be executed are printed with all their details on the plaster surface, by transferring them from transparent paper using a needle and lead filings. Then the process of engraving the plaster begins manually using sharp tools and with extreme precision so that the window is not damaged because the plaster is very fragile. The holes have a slope of 45%, allowing the light falling on the window to reach its center, especially since these windows are often installed at high heights. After the successful completion of the engraving process, pieces of colored glass are glued to the openings from the back, and distinct colors of glass are used that match the shape to be produced. Finally, the net is transported from the operator to the place where it is to be installed. The work to produce such nets takes from six to twelve months.
Sample Text
Khader Salameh “Stained glass plaster window” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;pa;Mus01;5;ar
