Name of Object:

Panel

Location:

Stockholm, Sweden

Holding Museum:

Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities (Medelhavsmuseet)

 About Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities (Medelhavsmuseet), Stockholm

Date of Object:

Hegira late 3rd century / AD late 9th century

Museum Inventory Number:

NM 0090/1935

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Wood, carved.

Dimensions:

Height 29 cm, width 68 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Tulunid

Provenance:

Probably al-Qata’i, Egypt.

Description:

The rectangular panel consists of an arch with small plain sections on each side. Its carved decoration shows a symmetrical floral composition. The centre forms a vase-like motif with a flower. Leaves of different sizes and shapes fill the space inside and outside the arch. The decoration consists of a variety of small elements, but the overall composition appears integrated since the curves form a relationship through all parts. The deep carved patterns are of charming clarity and possess sculptural depth.
This type of decoration goes back to the stuccoes and wood carvings at Samarra. Samarra, situated some 60 miles up the Tigris from Baghdad, was the capital of the Abbasid caliphs from AH 224 / AD 838until AH 270 / AD 883. Ahmad ibn Tulun, the founder of the Tulunid dynasty in Egypt (AH 254–94 / AD 868–906) spent many years in Samarra and brought the Abbasid style of decoration and Abbasid craftsmen to his own capital, al-Qata'i. The so-called style C of the Samarra stuccoes is characterised by bevelling carved, symmetrical abstract patterns of leaf and vase motifs which match the shapes within the arch of the wooden panel. The wood carvings made in Tulunid Egypt at the end of the AH 3rd / AD 9th century represent the culmination of this style, although they have a tendency to break up the originally broad sculptured surface into smaller elements as in the case of this panel. The specific function of the panel is not known; it was possibly part of the architectural decoration.

View Short Description

The carved decoration on this rectangular wooden panel shows a vase-like motif, with a flower in the centre and leaves inside and outside the arch. This decorative style goes back to Abbasid stuccoes and wood carvings in Iraq. The panel was possibly part of Tulunid architectural decoration.

How date and origin were established:

The architectural decoration of the mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in al-Qata'i, completed in 266 / 879, is close to the style of this panel.

How Object was obtained:

Purchased by the Crown Prince of Sweden in December 1934 in Cairo.

How provenance was established:

The object was found during excavations in Egypt.

Selected bibliography:

Abu Khalaf, M., “Early Islamic Woodwork in Egypt and the Fertile Crescent”, Ph.D. dissertion, University of Oxford, 1985.
Anglade, E., Catalogue des Boiseries de la Section Islamique, Paris, 1988.
Pauty, M. E., Catalogue Général du Musée Arabe du Caire: Les Bois Sculptés, Cairo, 1931.

Citation of this web page:

Friederike Voigt "Panel" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;se;Mus01;3;en

Prepared by: Friederike Voigt
Copyedited by: Monica Allen


MWNF Working Number: SE 04