Name of Object:

Fragment from a carved wooden piece

Location:

Damascus, Syria

Holding Museum:

National Museum of Damascus

About National Museum of Damascus, Damascus

Date of Object:

Around hegira 4th–5th century / AD 10th–11th century

Museum Inventory Number:

ع 14058

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Carved wood.

Dimensions:

Length 43 cm, width 13 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Abbasid

Provenance:

Raqqa region, Syria.

Description:

In the Raqqa region one can find fragments of wood that once decorated the formal halls of its Abbasid royal palaces. It is possible to classify these fragments into three types according to their techniques of decoration. The first group is adorned with relatively realistic coloured and gilded carved ornamentation that includes floral and calligraphic motifs. The second group is carved in a slanted manner so that the edges of the carved objects appear curved and not sharp. The examples of this group are influenced by the Abbasid Samarra motifs identified as "Samarra Style C". The third group, to which this piece belongs, has decorative motifs carved in a vertical manner so that the panel appears to have an upper surface and a lower background. The decorative carving is flat with sharp edges and the groove to the background is deep, as can be seen in the small deep holes indicating the circular part of the calligraphic letters. The piece is decorated with Arabic kufic script that reads “Commander of the Faithful.” It seems to have been partially burned in a fire.

This calligraphic wooden panel with its sharp vertically carved angles and deep circular grooves is one example of the many carving styles that were developed in the Abbasid period and spread throughout the region.

How date and origin were established:

The carving technique used on this wood fragment is distinctly Abbasid-Islamic and was developed during the Abbasid period in Iraq and Syria.

How Object was obtained:

The piece was accidentally discovered by a resident of the Raqqa region during the early 1950s. He presented it to the archaeological expedition working there at that time.

How provenance was established:

The wooden piece was discovered in the vicinity of the Abbasid palaces in the Raqqa region, and therefore it is assumed that it was made in situ.

Selected bibliography:

Abu al-Faraj al-Ush, M., A Concise Guide to the National Museum of Damascus, Damascus, 1969, p.158.
Andalucia, J., de- (ed), El esplendor de los Omeyas cordobeses, exhibition catalogue, Granada, 2001.
Daiber, V., and Becker A., Raqqa III, Mainz, 2004.

Citation of this web page:

Mona al-Moadin "Fragment from a carved wooden piece" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;sy;Mus01;14;en

Prepared by: Mona Al-Moadin
Translation by: Hilary Kalmbach (from the Arabic)
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: SY 20