Name of Monument:

Dar Husayn

Location:

In the Medina, Tunis, Tunisia

Date of Monument:

Hegira 1171–99 / AD 1758–81

Period / Dynasty:

Husaynid (Ottoman)

Patron(s):

Isma‘il Kahiya, minister and son-in-law of ‘Ali Bey.

History:

‘Abd al Mumin ibn ‘Ali, founder of the Almohad state, lived in this great house in 555 / 1159. Abu Zakariya I lived there himself and carried out some modifications. After his departure Dar Husayn became the 'guest's palace'. At the beginning of the Ottoman period, Othman dey resided there (1003–19 / 1594–1611). From 1169 to 1190 (1755–77) the house was the property of the minister Isma'il Kahiya, son-in-law of ‘Ali Bey II. After this the minister Yusuf Sahib al-Taba'a bought the palace and his great wealth allowed him to enlarge and embellish it; then, in 1275 (1858), the palace became the headquarters of the municipality of Tunis. General Husayn, the great reformer and president of the municipal council, then occupied the palace, which ever since has borne his name. It served as high command headquarters for the occupying army during the Colonial era (1882). Since 1957, the palace has been the headquarters of the National Institute of Archaeology and Art, which became the National Institute of the Patrimony in 1992.

Description:

The main entrance of the palace overlooks the square, alongside which also stands the Qasar Mosque. One gains access to the centre of the house through the driba or hallway. This area is roofed with a series of groined vaults in which the bricks are set on edge.
Through two coach doors, one on either side of the driba, one comes into a sqifa or antechamber, which leads in turn to the internal courtyard. This space is surrounded by a magnificent portico. Italian marble has been used abundantly to pave the floors and to face the doorways and colonnades. The rich, multicoloured Quallaline ceramic panels with their mihrab-style features make a stunning contrast to the marble slabs with their Italianate floral decoration and to the stucco frieze above them. This last has a succession of arches reminiscent of the Andalusian tradition. Within a niche in the east wall stands a superb cistern.
One enters the apartments and the robing room from the courtyard. Similar in their ornamentation, the three apartments are arranged in a T-shape. Opening towards the south side is a bayt al-diwan, an amazing reception room, built by Yussef Sahib el-Taba'a also on a T-shaped plan. There are three alcoves. The building carries a dome which shows both Andalusian and Turkish influences.
The upper floor of the house was added in the AH 13th / AD 19th century. The well-proportioned room on the east side was the meeting place for the municipal council. Though Italianate in style, its decoration differs from that of the rest of the house.
The courtyard on the first floor is smaller but more unusual than that of the ground floor. Originally it was open to the skies, but now it has a typically 19th-century Italianate peristyle. On the four galleries of this peristyle are four apartments. They have fired-clay frescoes in which some of the tiles are of foreign provenance. Over these appear carved plaster friezes with traditional floral motifs.
Dar Husayn also has offices and servants' quarters, a Turkish bath, storehouses and stables. The final touch of refinement added to this fabulous palace was the beautiful garden.

This monument, one of the most beautiful palaces in the medina, was inhabited by successive dey and bey princes. In 1858, it hosted the first council for the city of Tunis. General Husayn, chairman of the city council, lived in the palace, which has since borne his name. The palace was used as the command headquarters for occupying French troops (1882) before being given over to the National Institute of Art and Archaeology, now the National Heritage Institute, following independence in 1957.

How Monument was dated:

An account of the house's history was written by J. Revault, based on information obtained from Shayk Fadhel Ben Achur and Hassan Hosni ‘Abd al-Wahab. This material was used by General Duval in his brochure on Dar Husayn.

Selected bibliography:

Binous J., Maisons de la Medina de Tunis, Tunis, 2002, pp.102–7.
Marcais G., L'architecture musulmane d'Occident, Paris, 1954, pp.474–8.
Revault J., Palais et demeures de Tunis, t.II, Paris, 1971, pp.229–61.
Revault J., L'habitation tunisoise, pierre, marbre et fer dans la construction et le décor, Paris, 1978, pp.229–61.
Ifriqiya: Thirteen centuries of Art and Architecture in Tunisia, pp.78-9.

Citation of this web page:

Mohamed Béji Ben Mami "Dar Husayn" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;tn;Mon01;17;en

Prepared by: Mohamed Béji Ben MamiMohamed Béji Ben Mami

Né le 27 janvier 1950 à Tunis, docteur en archéologie islamique, Mohamed Béji Ben Mami est directeur général de l'Institut national du patrimoine et vice-président de la Municipalité de Tunis. Il a restauré, sauvegardé et mis en valeur plus d'une cinquantaine de monuments de la médina de Tunis, dirigé les fouilles de grands sites islamiques et organisé diverses expositions relatives à la civilisation arabo-islamique.
Depuis 1996, il est vice-président de l'Union des historiens arabes et représentant de l'Union des archéologues arabes de Tunisie.
Mohamed Béji Ben Mami a pris part à divers congrès internationaux et publié plusieurs articles et ouvrages, parmi lesquels Tourbet el-Bey (Tunis, 2004) et Les médersas de la médina de Tunis (Tunis, 2005).
Copyedited by: Margot Cortez
Translation by: David Ash
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: TN 17