Name of Object:

Ornamental panel

Location:

Lisbon, Portugal

Holding Museum:

Lisbon Cathedral

About Lisbon Cathedral, Lisbon.

Current Owner:

Metropolitan Chapter of the Patriarchal See of Lisbon

Date of Object:

Hegira 339–90 / AD second half of 10th century

Museum Inventory Number:

s/n

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Limestone; bas-relief sculpture.

Dimensions:

Height 61 cm, width 122cm, depth 32.5cm

Period / Dynasty:

Umayyad of Córdoba, Caliphate period

Provenance:

Lisbon.

Description:

Decorative plate made from white limestone, the surface of which is currently in an advanced state of decay. Unlike other early medieval sculptures in Lisbon, this panel presents a deeper surface carving, enhancing the chiaroscuro effect and the liveliness of the design with small complementary touches made with a fine scalpel.The panel is decorated with three loops with garlands, standing on small twisted columns. The fourth column has disappeared owing to the chiselling the stone suffered on its left-hand side. The ornamental garlands are decorated with palmettes, with three and five points, arranged alternately. The internal border of the loops exhibits a decoration of spines, while the outer border takes the form of a corded pattern. A subtle plant motif fills the upper right-hand corner, in a manifestation of the horror vacui or fear of emptiness, which indeed characterises the whole design of the panel. The ornamentation on the left corner has now been largely lost because of the poor state of conservation of the piece. This also accounts for the difficulty in making out the fine cord that links the base of the loops horizontally and on which stand the three scallop shells that fill their interior. In each space between the columns and under the three scallop shells are figures of animals face to face, with two birds in the centre and a quadruped at either end. On the reverse of the piece a small plant cluster is sculpted, typical of certain Islamic compositions or of a certain bestiary inspired by the same tradition.From an iconographic point of view, this group represents a clear Christian meaning, similar, for example, to the meaning of some Coptic steles, with identical motifs, as a representation of Paradise. Examples of this are the stone dedicated to the memory of Marta, from Esna in the Cairo Museum (Egypt) and the so-called 'Paradise stele' of Brooklyn Museum (New York, USA).

View Short Description

Decorative white limestone panel decorated with three festooned arches on small columns. From an iconographic point of view, the whole presents similarities with Coptic steles, suggesting that this bas-relief originally belonged to a Christian building erected during Islamic rule.

How date and origin were established:

This bas-relief originally belonged to a Christian building built in the middle of the Islamic period. In the 12th century, the piece of stone was reused in one of the buttresses of the north façade of the Romanesque basilica. A few years ago, to protect it, the piece was removed from the outside and placed in the cloister, with a view to the monument being turned into a museum in the future.

How Object was obtained:

This bas-relief originally belonged to a Christian building built in the middle of the Islamic period. In the 12th century, the piece of stone was reused in one of the buttresses of the north façade of the Romanesque basilica. A few years ago, to protect it, the piece was removed from the outside and placed in the cloister, with a view to the monument being turned into a museum in the future.

How provenance was established:

Until a few years ago the piece was incorporated into one of the buttresses of the north façade of the Cathedral. It may have belonged to a church older than the mosque which probably existed in the area, as is indicated by other ornamental stones found within the perimeter of the Cathedral. Archaeological excavations in the area of the cloister, directed by Alexandra Gaspar, revealed signs of major architectural and urban transformations during the 11th century, which indicates the presumed date of construction of the mosque to be just in the Taifas period.

Selected bibliography:

Almeida, C. A. F. de, “Arte Islâmica em Portugal”, in História da Arte em Portugal, Vol. 2: Arte da Alta Idade Média, Lisbon, 1986.
Caballero Zoreda, L., “¿Visigodo o Asturiano? Nuevos Hallazgos en Mérida y Otros Datos para un Nuevo 'Marco de Referencia' de la Arquitectura y la Escultura Altomedieval en el Norte y Oeste de la Península Ibérica”, in XXXIX Corso de Cultura sull´Arte Ravennate e Bizantina, Ravenna, 1992, pp.139–90.
Fernandes, P. A., “O Sítio da Sé de Lisboa Antes da Reconquista”, Artis. Revista do Instituto de Arte da Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, 1, 2002, pp.57–87.
Real, M. L., “Inovação e Resistência: Dados Recentes Sobre a Antiguidade Cristã no Ocidente Peninsular”, in IV Reunió d'Arqueologia Cristiana Hispànica, Barcelona, 1995, pp.17–68.
Real, M. L., “Portugal: Cultura Visigoda e Cultura Moçárabe”, in Visigodos y Omeyas: un Debate Entre la Antigüedad Tardía y la Alta Edad Media (Mérida, 1999), eds. L. Caballero and P. Mateos, Madrid, 2000, pp.21–75.

Citation of this web page:

Manuel Luís Real "Ornamental panel" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;pt;Mus01_C;24;en

Prepared by: Manuel Luís RealManuel Luís Real

Manuel Luís Real é um estudioso da arte e arqueologia hispânicas da alta Idade Média. Licenciou-se em História em 1974, pela Universidade do Porto. É pós-graduado em Biblioteconomia e Arquivística, exercendo funções de director do Departamento de Arquivos da CMP. Apresentou tese sobre A Arte Românica de Coimbra e, desde então, tem-se dedicado a investigações sobre arquitectura e escultura medievais. Participou em várias campanhas arqueológicas em estações de origem pré-românica: Falperra, Costa, Lagares, Sabariz, etc. Ultimamente, tem-se dedicado ao estudo das comunidades moçárabes, nomeadamente às formas e ao contexto da sua produção artística. Coordena ainda o projecto de pesquisas sobre a Casa do Infante, sede do Arquivo Municipal do Porto, onde, na Idade Média, funcionaram a alfândega, a casa da moeda e a contadoria do Rei.

Translation by: Gilla Evans
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen

MWNF Working Number: PT 33

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