Name of Object:Fragment of a female statue from Mushatta Location:Berlin, Germany Holding Museum:Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum About Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin Date of Object:Around hegira 125–6 / AD 743–4 Museum Inventory Number:I. 6172 Material(s) / Technique(s):Limestone, carved and sculpted. Dimensions:Height 70 cm, width 50 cm Period / Dynasty:Umayyad Provenance:Mushatta, Jordan. Description:This fragment of the lower half of a female body is of a woman, whose robe has fallen, revealing her body from her hips to below her bottom. It is still possible to make out that the woman is holding the pleated robe with her right hand at her thigh, while remains of the robe are preserved at the left thigh. Her hips and buttocks remain uncovered. The thighs are intact up to a point just above the knee. The back part is covered in places by cloth, but the front of her legs is naked. The female figure, through its plump proportions and voluptuous forms, represents the aesthetic ideal of the Umayyad period for the representative arts. It belonged to the repertory of themes in the art of the court. Over the left thigh there is a deeply carved inscription in kufic script that runs vertically downwards, which would once have revealed the name of the woman. A satisfactory translation of the inscription has yet to be completed. View Short DescriptionIn the Umayyad period Islamic caliphs and princes chose to adorn their palaces with a rich figural repertoire. This damaged female lower body with a vertical kufic inscription on the left thigh belonged to a partially clad, life-sized figure. Original Owner:Probably Caliph al-Walid II (r. AH 125–6 / AD 743–4) How date and origin were established:The origin of this piece is affirmed through its discovery during the excavation of Qasr al-Mushatta in 1903, and it could thus be contemporary to the façade. How Object was obtained:As a gift from the Ottoman Sultan Abd al-Hamid (Abdülhamid) II along with the façade of Mushatta in 1903. How provenance was established:The provenance of the object has been affirmed through its discovery during the excavations in Qasr al-Mushatta in 1903. Selected bibliography:Baer, E., “Female Images in Early Islam”, Damaszener Mitteilungen 11, 1999, pp.13–24, plate 5a. Citation of this web page:Annette Hagedorn "Fragment of a female statue from Mushatta" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;de;Mus01;50;en Prepared by: Annette Hagedorn
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