Publication Date
5th century AH / 11th century AD
Publication Place
-
Museum of Islamic Art
Subject
Plaster painted with red and black watercolors in the fresco style.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 24.5 سم ؛ العرض: 60 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
12880
Record ID
object;ISL;eg;Mus01;26;ar
Library Location
Museum of Islamic Art
Date
5th century AH / 11th century AD
Notes
The piece is an architectural element in stucco representing part of a bathhouse, consisting of a niche with a pointed arch bearing a pictorial subject painted in black and red watercolors on a white ground and executed in the style known as “fresco.” The drawing represents a young man - who may be a prince - sitting, holding a cup in his hand, wearing a robe adorned with red floral ornaments, two bands around his upper arms, and a folded turban on his head. A completely round halo appears around this young man's head, perhaps intended to indicate his importance. The young man puts a scarf around his back, the ends of which come out from under his armpits and fold down, hanging in the air. Two strands of hair hang from the young man's head, one in the back and the other in the front. The niche is framed by a necklace-shaped frame of round beads. This wall drawing resembles the drawings found in Samarra, Iraq, in terms of the repeated shapes and decorations, the shapes of the heads, the round halo, and the frame in the form of a knot, and also in terms of a style that is far from realism, a tendency toward the decorative character, and is influenced by Persian traditions. The Fatimid watercolor images painted on plaster do not differ in form, style, and subject matter from the images executed on ceramics with metallic lustre, which are attributed to that era. The pictorial theme in this architectural element can be studied in comparison with similar examples from the Fatimid era executed on ceramics, some wooden pieces, and many textiles. The use of images as a decorative element can also be considered a feature of applied artistic masterpieces in the Fatimid era (see ET 70).
Sample Text
Al-Sayyed Muhammad Khalifa Hammad “Architectural element taken from a bath” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;eg;Mus01;26;ar
