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Lot Essay
In the early days of Umayyad rule in Spain, buildings tended to be constructed with spoliated classical capitals. These can be seen in the oldest parts of the Mosque of Cordoba built by Abd al-Rahman I (756-88), which features an eclectic assortment of different capitals. This has been variously interpreted as evidence of the more modest resources of the Umayyad Emirate (as opposed to the caliphate that it would later become) or a deliberate attempt to emulate classical precedent. Either way, by the time of the extension to the mosque built by Abd al-Rahman III (929-61), newly-made capitals were being used instead, reflecting the greater confidence and economic strength of the caliphate, or simply a dwindling supply of Roman and Visigothic archiectural material.
Abd al-Rahman's extension coincided with the founding of the palace-city of Madina al-Zahra not far from the mosque. As a city, it was intended to rival the grandeur of Fatimid al-Qahira and Abbasid Baghdad. The extensive use of hypostyle architecture necessitated the numerous capitals. Unlike those used in later phases of the Mosque of Cordoba, these were richly decorated with deep carving. The inclusion of Arabic inscriptions, however, mean that they are unmistakably the products of Umayyad workshops, and not reused material. Ironically, these newly-made columns were themselves spoliated after the city was sacked in the 11th century, being used by Almohad and Almoravid architects: a small number can be seen at the top of the Giralda tower in Seville, for instance.
The fact that some are dated allows them to be attributed quite precisely: a particularly impressive example in the al-Sabah collection, Kuwait was carved by a certain al-Falih, and bears the date AH 362 / 972-3 AD (acc.no.LNS 2 S). Further inscribed examples of a similar size to ours include exampes in the Museum fur Islamische Kunst, Berlin (acc.no.I.5053) and the Conjunto Arqueológico Madinat al-Zahra (acc.no.ISAW no. 34.). Uninscribed examples of very similar design and size to the present lot include capitals in the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (acc.no.AKM663) and the Museo Arqueológico de Córdoba. Similarly designed capitals were also used in other Umayyad building projects, such as the Castillo de Albaida (El esplendor de los Omeyas Cordobeses, Granada, 2001, p.383).
Abd al-Rahman's extension coincided with the founding of the palace-city of Madina al-Zahra not far from the mosque. As a city, it was intended to rival the grandeur of Fatimid al-Qahira and Abbasid Baghdad. The extensive use of hypostyle architecture necessitated the numerous capitals. Unlike those used in later phases of the Mosque of Cordoba, these were richly decorated with deep carving. The inclusion of Arabic inscriptions, however, mean that they are unmistakably the products of Umayyad workshops, and not reused material. Ironically, these newly-made columns were themselves spoliated after the city was sacked in the 11th century, being used by Almohad and Almoravid architects: a small number can be seen at the top of the Giralda tower in Seville, for instance.
The fact that some are dated allows them to be attributed quite precisely: a particularly impressive example in the al-Sabah collection, Kuwait was carved by a certain al-Falih, and bears the date AH 362 / 972-3 AD (acc.no.LNS 2 S). Further inscribed examples of a similar size to ours include exampes in the Museum fur Islamische Kunst, Berlin (acc.no.I.5053) and the Conjunto Arqueológico Madinat al-Zahra (acc.no.ISAW no. 34.). Uninscribed examples of very similar design and size to the present lot include capitals in the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (acc.no.AKM663) and the Museo Arqueológico de Córdoba. Similarly designed capitals were also used in other Umayyad building projects, such as the Castillo de Albaida (El esplendor de los Omeyas Cordobeses, Granada, 2001, p.383).