Pub Date : 2021-12-06DOI: 10.1163/22118993-00381p02
Mikael Muehlbauer
Until 2010 (when it was broken by a tourist), a curious Kufic-inscribed sandstone block greeted those who entered the narthex of the eleventh-century church of Wuqro Cherqos in East Tigray, Ethiopia. My paper identifies the origin of this misunderstood fragment and presents it in the longue durée, from its architectural placement as part of an inscribed arch in the great mosque of a Fatimid trading colony to its medieval spoliation and use as a chancel arch in the church of Wuqro Cherqos, after northern Ethiopia emerged as a centralized power under the Zagwe dynasty. As the chancel in Wuqro Cherqos, the stone took on new meaning as a luxurious liturgical threshold, complementing the Egyptian and Indian silks that hung alongside it. After the arch came apart in the late 1990s, I show how modern Ethiopian scholars promoted the remaining Arabic-inscribed fragment as an ancient Ethiopian inscription. The life story of this stone fragment reveals a larger picture of Islam’s changing reception in Ethiopia from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century.
{"title":"From Stone to Dust: The Life of the Kufic-Inscribed Frieze of Wuqro Cherqos in Tigray, Ethiopia","authors":"Mikael Muehlbauer","doi":"10.1163/22118993-00381p02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993-00381p02","url":null,"abstract":"Until 2010 (when it was broken by a tourist), a curious Kufic-inscribed sandstone block greeted those who entered the narthex of the eleventh-century church of Wuqro Cherqos in East Tigray, Ethiopia. My paper identifies the origin of this misunderstood fragment and presents it in the longue durée, from its architectural placement as part of an inscribed arch in the great mosque of a Fatimid trading colony to its medieval spoliation and use as a chancel arch in the church of Wuqro Cherqos, after northern Ethiopia emerged as a centralized power under the Zagwe dynasty. As the chancel in Wuqro Cherqos, the stone took on new meaning as a luxurious liturgical threshold, complementing the Egyptian and Indian silks that hung alongside it. After the arch came apart in the late 1990s, I show how modern Ethiopian scholars promoted the remaining Arabic-inscribed fragment as an ancient Ethiopian inscription. The life story of this stone fragment reveals a larger picture of Islam’s changing reception in Ethiopia from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century.","PeriodicalId":39506,"journal":{"name":"Muqarnas","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45205299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-06DOI: 10.1163/22118993-00381p06
Youssef Ben Ismail
The history of the Ottoman fez is usually told with the nineteenth century as a point of departure. In the 1820s and 1830s, the reforms initiated by Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808–39) elevated the red felt cap to the rank of official headgear of the Ottoman empire. But little is known about its history prior to its adoption by the state: where did the fez come from and how did it become so prevalent in the Ottoman empire? This essay examines the global history of the fez in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Taking Mahmud II’s reforms as an endpoint, it examines the process by which the headgear first came to be both culturally visible and commercially available in the Ottoman realm. Three aspects of this history are considered: the trans-imperial history of the fez as a commercial commodity, its cultural reception in the Ottoman world, and the establishment of a community of Tunisian fez merchants in early modern Istanbul.
{"title":"A History of the Ottoman Fez before Mahmud II (ca. 1600–1800)","authors":"Youssef Ben Ismail","doi":"10.1163/22118993-00381p06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993-00381p06","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The history of the Ottoman fez is usually told with the nineteenth century as a point of departure. In the 1820s and 1830s, the reforms initiated by Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808–39) elevated the red felt cap to the rank of official headgear of the Ottoman empire. But little is known about its history prior to its adoption by the state: where did the fez come from and how did it become so prevalent in the Ottoman empire? This essay examines the global history of the fez in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Taking Mahmud II’s reforms as an endpoint, it examines the process by which the headgear first came to be both culturally visible and commercially available in the Ottoman realm. Three aspects of this history are considered: the trans-imperial history of the fez as a commercial commodity, its cultural reception in the Ottoman world, and the establishment of a community of Tunisian fez merchants in early modern Istanbul.","PeriodicalId":39506,"journal":{"name":"Muqarnas","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47983641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-03-31DOI: 10.1163/22118993-00371P02
G. Anderson
This essay explores the symbiotic relationship between visual culture and the exact sciences that is revealed by the career of ʿAbbas b. Firnas (d. circa 876), as recounted in the Cordoban court chronicle compiled by the historian Ibn Hayyan (d. 1076), and by early scientific instruments from al-Andalus. Ibn Firnas is today remembered as a polymath and early scientist, yet neither historians of art nor of science have fully explored the implications of his reputation among medieval intellectuals as the wellspring of an Andalusi tradition of fine scientific instrumentation. This essay considers the Arabic account of Ibn Firnas as a maker of such objects, alongside early scientific instruments, exploring what these reveal about connections between elite intellectual culture and craft, between science and art making. It argues that considering the objects and texts in tandem reveals that intellectuals, especially those working in the exact sciences, were also “makers” of medieval Islamic visual culture.
{"title":"Mind and Hand: Early Scientific Instruments from al-Andalus, and ʿAbbas ibn Firnas in the Cordoban Umayyad Court","authors":"G. Anderson","doi":"10.1163/22118993-00371P02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993-00371P02","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This essay explores the symbiotic relationship between visual culture and the exact sciences that is revealed by the career of ʿAbbas b. Firnas (d. circa 876), as recounted in the Cordoban court chronicle compiled by the historian Ibn Hayyan (d. 1076), and by early scientific instruments from al-Andalus. Ibn Firnas is today remembered as a polymath and early scientist, yet neither historians of art nor of science have fully explored the implications of his reputation among medieval intellectuals as the wellspring of an Andalusi tradition of fine scientific instrumentation. This essay considers the Arabic account of Ibn Firnas as a maker of such objects, alongside early scientific instruments, exploring what these reveal about connections between elite intellectual culture and craft, between science and art making. It argues that considering the objects and texts in tandem reveals that intellectuals, especially those working in the exact sciences, were also “makers” of medieval Islamic visual culture.","PeriodicalId":39506,"journal":{"name":"Muqarnas","volume":"59 1","pages":"1-28"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90563139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-10-03DOI: 10.1163/22118993-00361p08
Samet Budak
This article traces the history of an Ottoman legal custom related to the construction of sultanic (imperial) mosques. According to conventional narratives, the victory over non-Muslims was the essential requisite for constructing a sultanic mosque. Only after having emerged victorious should a sultan use the funds resulting from holy war to build his own mosque. This article argues that this custom emerged only after the late sixteenth century in tandem with rising complaints about the Ottoman decline and with the ḳānūn-consciousness of the Ottoman elite, although historical accounts present it as if it existed from the beginning of Ottoman rule. It rapidly gained importance, so much so that the Sultan Ahmed Mosque was dubbed “the unbeliever’s mosque” by contemporary ulema. After having examined details of the custom’s canonization, the article deals with how it left its imprint in construction activities (struggles and workarounds), historical sources, literature, and cultural memory, up to the nineteenth century.
{"title":"“The Temple of the Incredulous”: Ottoman Sultanic Mosques and the Principle of Legality","authors":"Samet Budak","doi":"10.1163/22118993-00361p08","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993-00361p08","url":null,"abstract":"This article traces the history of an Ottoman legal custom related to the construction of sultanic (imperial) mosques. According to conventional narratives, the victory over non-Muslims was the essential requisite for constructing a sultanic mosque. Only after having emerged victorious should a sultan use the funds resulting from holy war to build his own mosque. This article argues that this custom emerged only after the late sixteenth century in tandem with rising complaints about the Ottoman decline and with the ḳānūn-consciousness of the Ottoman elite, although historical accounts present it as if it existed from the beginning of Ottoman rule. It rapidly gained importance, so much so that the Sultan Ahmed Mosque was dubbed “the unbeliever’s mosque” by contemporary ulema. After having examined details of the custom’s canonization, the article deals with how it left its imprint in construction activities (struggles and workarounds), historical sources, literature, and cultural memory, up to the nineteenth century.","PeriodicalId":39506,"journal":{"name":"Muqarnas","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2019-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46583344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-10-03DOI: 10.1163/22118993-00361P04
Denise-Marie Teece
This article examines some of the more significant aspects of Turin Safīna manuscript Biblioteca Reale Ms. Or. 101. One of these is its unique and important six-page preface, which refers to the manuscript as a safīna (ship or vessel) and explains in poetic language why some Persian manuscripts are referred to using this term. In addition to this significant preface, which is translated and analyzed in the first half of the article, the manuscript also exhibits delicate illuminations and calligraphy work that may be connected to a network of artist-families active in western Persia (primarily in the region of Shiraz) around the time of its completion. The second half of this article revisits the careers of some of these artists, and discusses the broader artistic context for the creation of the Turin safīna manuscript. Special attention will be given to the careers of the illuminator known as Ruzbehan al-Modhahheb, and his calligrapher father Naʿim al-Din al-Kateb.
{"title":"“Compassionate Companion, Familiar Friend”: The Turin Safīna (Biblioteca Reale Ms. Or. 101) and Its Significance","authors":"Denise-Marie Teece","doi":"10.1163/22118993-00361P04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993-00361P04","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article examines some of the more significant aspects of Turin Safīna manuscript Biblioteca Reale Ms. Or. 101. One of these is its unique and important six-page preface, which refers to the manuscript as a safīna (ship or vessel) and explains in poetic language why some Persian manuscripts are referred to using this term. In addition to this significant preface, which is translated and analyzed in the first half of the article, the manuscript also exhibits delicate illuminations and calligraphy work that may be connected to a network of artist-families active in western Persia (primarily in the region of Shiraz) around the time of its completion. The second half of this article revisits the careers of some of these artists, and discusses the broader artistic context for the creation of the Turin safīna manuscript. Special attention will be given to the careers of the illuminator known as Ruzbehan al-Modhahheb, and his calligrapher father Naʿim al-Din al-Kateb.","PeriodicalId":39506,"journal":{"name":"Muqarnas","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2019-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43309569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-10-03DOI: 10.1163/22118993-00361p09
Bill Hickman
The Eşrefoğlu Mosque in Iznik was destroyed during the Turkish War of Independence, not long after Cornelius Gurlitt published a black and white photograph of its facade taken by G. Berggren. The photograph constitutes the only remaining visual evidence of a building whose initial construction likely dates to the lifetime of the shaykh whose memory it preserved. The flamboyant facade shown in the photograph reveals a unique mass of calligraphy, including inscriptions, published many years ago but revisited here. These inscriptions add to our understanding of the mosque’s history. My own telling of the phases of the building’s construction involves a reexamination of the identity of the mosque’s Ottoman dynastic patrons, principally Gülbahar Hatun, mother of Sultan Bayezid II. The inscriptions also raise questions about the shaykh’s spiritual legacy. Finally, the mosque’s spatial relationship to a nearby dervish lodge and to türbes associated with the shaykh and his family, buildings that also no longer survive, can be newly addressed.
{"title":"A Forgotten Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Mosque and Its Inscriptions","authors":"Bill Hickman","doi":"10.1163/22118993-00361p09","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993-00361p09","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The Eşrefoğlu Mosque in Iznik was destroyed during the Turkish War of Independence, not long after Cornelius Gurlitt published a black and white photograph of its facade taken by G. Berggren. The photograph constitutes the only remaining visual evidence of a building whose initial construction likely dates to the lifetime of the shaykh whose memory it preserved. The flamboyant facade shown in the photograph reveals a unique mass of calligraphy, including inscriptions, published many years ago but revisited here. These inscriptions add to our understanding of the mosque’s history. My own telling of the phases of the building’s construction involves a reexamination of the identity of the mosque’s Ottoman dynastic patrons, principally Gülbahar Hatun, mother of Sultan Bayezid II. The inscriptions also raise questions about the shaykh’s spiritual legacy. Finally, the mosque’s spatial relationship to a nearby dervish lodge and to türbes associated with the shaykh and his family, buildings that also no longer survive, can be newly addressed.","PeriodicalId":39506,"journal":{"name":"Muqarnas","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2019-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48445376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-10-03DOI: 10.1163/22118993-00361p10
B. Knight
The lid of a small wooden box, believed to have contained the heart of Abbot Roger de Norton (d. 1291), was discovered in 1872, during the restoration of St. Albans Abbey. The lid has an Arabic inscription that has not previously been translated. It is now suggested that the inscription reads al-ʿizz al-dāʾim wa ’l-iqbāl lahu, or “Everlasting glory and good fortune for him.”
{"title":"The Heart Case of Abbot Roger de Norton from St. Albans Abbey: An Islamic Object in a Medieval English Context","authors":"B. Knight","doi":"10.1163/22118993-00361p10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993-00361p10","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The lid of a small wooden box, believed to have contained the heart of Abbot Roger de Norton (d. 1291), was discovered in 1872, during the restoration of St. Albans Abbey. The lid has an Arabic inscription that has not previously been translated. It is now suggested that the inscription reads al-ʿizz al-dāʾim wa ’l-iqbāl lahu, or “Everlasting glory and good fortune for him.”","PeriodicalId":39506,"journal":{"name":"Muqarnas","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2019-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41638991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-10-03DOI: 10.1163/22118993-00361p11
F. Leoni, D. Norris, K. Domoney, Moujan Matin, A. Shortland
In 2014 the Ashmolean Museum conserved and examined one of the largest and most handsome ceramic vessels in its renowned Islamic art collection. An accomplished example of early thirteenth-century Persian lusterware from the bequest of Sir Alan Barlow, the salver had an unusually deformed profile and uneven wear that pointed at a number of past interventions. Some of these had already been uncovered in 2008 when the object was prepared for reinstallation in the revamped Ashmolean. However, it was only when analyzed by a team of inhouse specialists and scientists from Cranfield University and the Research Laboratory for Archaeology at the University of Oxford, that the extraordinary nature of its “restoration” could be assessed. This article presents the results of this collaborative effort and contributes important evidence to the thorny issue of the faking and forging of Islamic ceramics in the early twentiethc century, when collecting Islamic decorative arts was at its peak.
2014年，阿什莫林博物馆保存并检查了其著名伊斯兰艺术收藏中最大、最漂亮的陶瓷器皿之一。艾伦·巴洛爵士（Sir Alan Barlow）遗赠的13世纪早期波斯光泽器皿是一个成功的例子，这种托盘有着异常变形的轮廓和不均匀的磨损，这表明了过去的一些干预措施。其中一些已经在2008年被发现，当时该物体正准备在改造后的阿什莫林重新安装。然而，只有当克兰菲尔德大学和牛津大学考古研究实验室的内部专家和科学家团队进行分析时，才能评估其“修复”的非凡性质。本文介绍了这一合作成果，并为20世纪初伊斯兰陶瓷的伪造和锻造这一棘手问题提供了重要证据，当时伊斯兰装饰艺术收藏正处于鼎盛时期。
{"title":"“The Illusion of an Authentic Experience”: a Luster Bowl in the Ashmolean Museum","authors":"F. Leoni, D. Norris, K. Domoney, Moujan Matin, A. Shortland","doi":"10.1163/22118993-00361p11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993-00361p11","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In 2014 the Ashmolean Museum conserved and examined one of the largest and most handsome ceramic vessels in its renowned Islamic art collection. An accomplished example of early thirteenth-century Persian lusterware from the bequest of Sir Alan Barlow, the salver had an unusually deformed profile and uneven wear that pointed at a number of past interventions. Some of these had already been uncovered in 2008 when the object was prepared for reinstallation in the revamped Ashmolean. However, it was only when analyzed by a team of inhouse specialists and scientists from Cranfield University and the Research Laboratory for Archaeology at the University of Oxford, that the extraordinary nature of its “restoration” could be assessed. This article presents the results of this collaborative effort and contributes important evidence to the thorny issue of the faking and forging of Islamic ceramics in the early twentiethc century, when collecting Islamic decorative arts was at its peak.","PeriodicalId":39506,"journal":{"name":"Muqarnas","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2019-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41979612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-10-02DOI: 10.1163/22118993-00361p05
Nikolaos Vryzidis
In the collection of Vatopediou Monastery (Mount Athos) there is a Late Byzantine vestment called by the monks the “Arabic stole” (arabikon ōmophorion). This quite unique vestment probably owes its name to two bands of embroidered Arabic inscriptions on the lower part of each end. It is one of the very few known Byzantine religious objects to feature legible Arabic inscriptions, a visible symbol of Islamic otherness juxtaposed with the standard Christian iconography. Apart from bringing into the spotlight a medieval vestment that has been overlooked by scholars, this article traces possible sources of artistic transfer through a discussion of texts and extant objects. Finally, it aims at expanding our understanding of the reception of Islamic art in Late Byzantium, a time of both political decline and cultural renewal.
{"title":"The “Arabic” Stole of Vatopediou Monastery: Traces of Islamic Material Culture in Late Byzantium","authors":"Nikolaos Vryzidis","doi":"10.1163/22118993-00361p05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993-00361p05","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In the collection of Vatopediou Monastery (Mount Athos) there is a Late Byzantine vestment called by the monks the “Arabic stole” (arabikon ōmophorion). This quite unique vestment probably owes its name to two bands of embroidered Arabic inscriptions on the lower part of each end. It is one of the very few known Byzantine religious objects to feature legible Arabic inscriptions, a visible symbol of Islamic otherness juxtaposed with the standard Christian iconography. Apart from bringing into the spotlight a medieval vestment that has been overlooked by scholars, this article traces possible sources of artistic transfer through a discussion of texts and extant objects. Finally, it aims at expanding our understanding of the reception of Islamic art in Late Byzantium, a time of both political decline and cultural renewal.","PeriodicalId":39506,"journal":{"name":"Muqarnas","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2019-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43571663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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