Publication Date
9th century AH / 15th century AD
Publication Place
-
Museum of Islamic Art
Subject
White, yellow, red and black marble decorated with mother-of-pearl and placed within a plaster frame.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 29.5 سم ؛ الطول: 104 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
3075
Record ID
object;ISL;eg;Mus01;4;ar
Library Location
Museum of Islamic Art
Date
9th century AH / 15th century AD
Notes
This marble panel consists of four blind, pointed arches made of white, black, yellow, and red marble pieces. These arches are based on three central square supports and two rectangular end supports. The central pillars are framed from the top and sides by wide white frames, while the two end pillars are framed from the top and their inner side only. These frames contain red surfaces inside each of them, each centered in the central pillars by two circular ornaments of white and red. The surfaces confined within the arches were filled with geometric decorations consisting of crosses and eight stars made of multi-colored marble and framed with mother-of-pearl. As for the triangular surfaces located between the outer curves of the arches, they are filled with polygons and hexagonal stars, which in turn are divided into small triangular and star units. Seashells were used to decorate the edges of these flat surfaces and small triangular units. Marble panels inlaid with several types of stone and mother-of-pearl were among the essential decorative elements of early Mamluk architecture, and were mainly used to highlight the mihrab and the qibla. This style of decoration appeared distinctly in the Sultan Qalawun complex, built in 683-684 AH/1284-1285 AD. This tradition continued during the 15th century AD, as we find similar examples in the mausoleum of Khanqah Barsbay, a complex built in 835 AH / 1431 AD in the cemeteries of northern Cairo (see Catalog of Mamluk Art, pp. 102-103). The sanctuary of this complex contains paintings decorated with arches similar to the arches contained in this painting.
Sample Text
Al-Sayyed Muhammad Khalifa Hammad “Marble panel” within Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;eg;Mus01;4;ar
