Symbolism in Fatimid Pottery Decorative Arts | ||||
| حولية الاتحاد العام للآثاريين العرب "دراسات فى آثار الوطن العربى" | ||||
| Article 70, Volume 16, Issue 1, 2013, Page 278-292 PDF (995.62 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/cguaa.2013.32599 | ||||
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| Author | ||||
| ahmed hussein | ||||
| Lecturer of Islamic Archaeology- High Institute of Tourism, Hotels Management and Monuments Restoration-Alexandria | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| "Stare at them and listen, they are murmuring to you", this was my starting statement when I stood, as a tour-guide, in the Northeastern Ziyāda of Ahmad Ibn Tulūn mosque (879), back in April 2010, to show an American tourist group, of Abercrombie and Kent travel agency, those magnificent anthropoid-shape crenellations which surmount and decorate the inner and outer enclosure walls of the mosque. Those massive crenellations which are equal in magnitude and height are considered, from my point of view, a clear illustration of symbolism in Islamic art. Despite the fact that they do not display any calligraphic inscriptions, one could still detect few meanings from the silent bricks. For example, they show the idea of how the Muslim should be lined up behind the Imam while performing mass prayers, namely foot to foot and shoulders to shoulders. Moreover, the interlaced hands demonstrate a verse in the holy Qurʾ ān which calls for unity between Muslims, that is "and hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not become divided"1. In consequence, symbolism could be defined as a silent language and a letterless script used by patrons, architects or artisans to deliver a specific meaning indirectly via a materialistic object. In Egypt, symbolism had been used as early as the Pharaonic civilization period, for instance, when the ancient Egyptians used lily and papyrus plants in connection with symbolizing the kingdoms of upper and Lower Egypt. | ||||
| References | ||||
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Bibliography Anna Contandini, Fatimid art at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, 1998) Abbas Daneshvari، Animal Symbolism in Warqa wa Gulshāh, (Oxford, 1986) Oleg Grabar et.al, Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250 (New Haven, 2001) Oliver Watson, Ceramics from Islamic Lands (New York, 2004) Mirjam Jelfer-Jorgesen, Medieval Islamic Symbolism and the Paintings in the Cefalù Cathedral (Leiden, 1997) | ||||
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