User:Secrettoaster/Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi
 | This is the sandbox page where you will draft your initial Wikipedia contribution.
If you're starting a new article, you can develop it here until it's ready to go live. If you're working on improvements to an existing article, copy only one section at a time of the article to this sandbox to work on, and be sure to use an edit summary linking to the article you copied from. Do not copy over the entire article. You can find additional instructions here. Remember to save your work regularly using the "Publish page" button. (It just means 'save'; it will still be in the sandbox.) You can add bold formatting to your additions to differentiate them from existing content. |
Art Found Within the Complex
[edit]Lead
[edit]As the complex was believed to be an estate owned by someone of wealth, it is no surprise that some decorations for it's opulent owners may be found within the remains of the palace. Many decorations and artwork from the complex are kept at the National Museum in Damascus.[1] Some items found within include richly decorated floor frescoes, stucco walls, and figural reliefs.
Figures and Artwork
[edit]
Although the site of the complex features degrading architecture, several artistic works have been located, including a stucco wall and a fresco floor.[2] Similar types of art can be found in Roman architecture, but the majority of works within the complex are dated in the Umayyad period, not Roman, excluding a few constructs within the waterworks.[3] Many of the pieces found are vague or unclear whether they are based on an actual figure. One piece of artwork can possibly be identified, among the reliefs discovered in a 1936 excavation of the complex, a figural relief of man, now missing from the torso and above.[4] This finely adorned figure in Persian dress and jewelry may represent Hisham, the Caliph who commissioned the palace to be built.[5] The relief's clothing is similar in style to various artworks created in the Sassanian period, found on dinnerware and household items. [5] This continuation of style suggests that pre-Islamic artwork may have been an inspiration for the Umayyad palace. There is also evidence that the relief would have been painted rather than left in simple bare stone.[4] This attempt to create artwork inspired by previous cultures is not uncommon in Islamic works, especially in the Umayyad period, as imagery depicting Sasanian mythological creatures such as senmurv's can be found at Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi as well as more well-known complexes such as Khirbat al-Mafjar.
Found within the complex's staircase, another example of Sasanian inspired artwork is featured in floor fresco. This architecture features a man in the middle of a gazelle hunt, similar to Persian depictions of kings during royal hunts. Unlike other works found within the palace, this fresco does not a feature an insignia representing the royal family.
References
[edit]- ^ "Discover Islamic Art - Virtual Museum". islamicart.museumwnf.org. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
- ^ Milwright, Marcus (2023-12-07). A Story of Islamic Art. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-003-37404-6.
- ^ Kennedy, Hugh (2006). The Byzantine and early Islamic Near East. Variorum collected studies series. Aldershot, Hants, England ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-5909-9.
- ^ a b "Lower half of a sculpturesque high relief - Discover Islamic Art - Virtual Museum". islamicart.museumwnf.org. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
- ^ a b Marsham, Andrew (2020-11-25). The Umayyad World [English]. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-43004-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)