Publication Date
Century 1/8
Publication Place
-
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Subject
Cedar wood decorated with carvings.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الطول: 193 سم؛ العرض: 55 سم؛ السمك: 8-10 سم.
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
Wooden Pieces 123
Record ID
object;ISL;pa;Mus01;1;ar
Library Location
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Date
Century 1/8
Notes
The piece is a wooden plank made of cedar wood, mostly imported from Lebanon, as part of a large-scale import operation that took place during the implementation of the huge Umayyad project for the construction of the Holy Mosque, which included the construction of the Dome of the Rock, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and other buildings. This tablet forms one of a group of pieces similar in size and engraving technique, but different in terms of decorative program, of which the Islamic Museum acquires sixteen pieces, while the Palestinian Museum (Rockefeller Museum) acquires the rest of the collection. In addition, the Islamic Museum in Jerusalem possesses a large collection of wooden supports, some of which reach a length of more than ten meters, and which date back to the Umayyad era, but they lack decoration. These supports were brought from the restoration work of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and they constitute a basic source for studying the techniques of using wood in Umayyad buildings for structural purposes. The museum also acquires other wooden collections dating back to the Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman eras, and is considered a unique source for studying Islamic wood throughout the ages. These pieces were deeply engraved, making their decorations clearly visible. These decorations consist of modified floral shapes and multiple geometric shapes. Some of the decorations also took the form of a mihrab, consisting of two columns, each with a capital on top, and a necklace resting on the two capitals. These decorations do not differ from the Umayyad decorations, with their various local Byzantine, Sasanian, Coptic and Syrian sources brought together harmoniously. The piece in our hands is decorated with an ornament that begins with a cup-shaped vase from which emerges a modified plant that forms three pairs of intertwined pivotal leaflets that branch longitudinally along the length of the piece of wood. This decoration is located within a rectangular frame bordered on the outside by floral decorations that serve to connect this piece to the neighboring pieces, and help to move from one decorative theme to another.
Sample Text
Nazmi Al-Ju'beh "Decorated wooden panel" in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;pa;Mus01;1;ar
