Name of Object:

Capital

Location:

Silves, Faro, Portugal

Holding Museum:

Silves Municipal Archaeology Museum

Date of Object:

Hegira 4th century / AD 10th century

Museum Inventory Number:

MMAS 00590 [سجل الإيداع]؛ MNA E6566 [السجل المبدئي

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Sculpted white marble.

Dimensions:

Height 23 cm, width 22 x 21 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Umayyad of al-Andalus, Caliphate period

Provenance:

Urban area of Silves.

Description:

Capital made of white marble profusely decorated with acanthus leaves. The basket and abacus of the capital are entirely decorated with interlaced plant motifs. Its decoration is similar to others from the same period. Its artistic quality suggests that it was probably part of the architectural structure of an important palace or religious building.

View Short Description

White marble capital profusely decorated with acanthus leaves, dating back to the AH 4th / AD 10th century. Its artistic quality suggests that it came from a palace or religious building of great importance. It was found in urban Silves in the late 19th or early 20th century.

How date and origin were established:

By comparison with identical pieces from the same period.

How Object was obtained:

Donation from the National Archaeology Museum in Lisbon.

How provenance was established:

The date of the find is unknown. It was found in the urban area of Silves and passed on to the National Archaeology Museum in the late 19th or early 20th century.

Selected bibliography:

Portugal Islâmico: Os últimos Sinais do Mediterrâneo, exhibition catalogue, Lisbon, 1998,
Gomes, R. V., Palácio Almóada da Alcáçova de Silves, Lisbon, 2001, p.61.

Citation of this web page:

Maria da Conceição Amaral "Capital" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;pt;Mus01_B;22;en

Prepared by: Maria da Conceição AmaralMaria da Conceição Amaral

Licenciada em História de Arte (Univ. Coimbra) e pós-graduada em Gestão Cultural nas Cidades (INDEG/ISCTE).
Entre 1993-2002, na Comissão Nacional dos Descobrimentos Portugueses, foi responsável pelo comissariado executivo, produção e gestão de grandes exposições e catálogos, e coordenadora de itinerâncias internacionais, realizadas em Portugal e no Estrangeiro. Destacam-se “Memórias Árabo-Islâmicas em Portugal”, “Culturas do Índico”, “Marrocos – Portugal: Portas do Mediterrâneo”. É sócia-gerente da empresa TerraCulta, Lda, onde desenvolve projectos de conceptualização, gestão e produção cultural. É Directora do Museu de Arqueologia de Silves e do Centro de Interpretação do Património Islâmico. É vice-presidente da Associação Multiculti – culturas do Mediterrâneo e integra a equipa portuguesa da Fundação Euromediterrânica Ann Lindh para o diálogo das civilizações.

Translation by: Gilla Evans
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen

MWNF Working Number: PT 31

RELATED CONTENT

 Artistic Introduction

 Timeline for this item

Islamic Dynasties / Period

Umayyads of al-Andalus


On display in

Discover Islamic Art Exhibition(s)

The Muslim West | Seats of Power: Palaces

MWNF Galleries

Architectural Elements

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