Object of the Day #4
Ashante K. Charles
Ms. Johansson
Monday, October 29th, 2018
Islamic Art
The Frieze, detail of facade, palace, Mshatta
A Frieze is a sculpted piece, richly embellished with intricately detailed carvings for decor, which circulate the surface of walls or ceilings of a building that are most commonly mosques. This stone Frieze is a decorative piece of artifact that encompasses symbols and illustrations that are significant to Islamic art and most of all the Muslims. This artifact I have chosen is remarkably adorned and is displayed in the focal point of the building that is the Mshatta palace. The Prussian cultural heritage museum of art possesses this piece in Berlin, Germany.
The medium used in this object is stone, it contains carving styles of both high relief and low relief on different sections of the piece. These carving techniques were significant to designing the elements of the particular illustrations created. As a unique style, in the foreground, geometric patterns inhabit the stones framework, these geometric patterns are sculpted in a variety of forms and are commonly seen an associated with Islamic art and generally in architectural designs. The artifact embodies a variety of attributes such as the creatures that are interlaced by the florals and plants, and the urn where two lions are seen sharing, where the “Tree of Life” sprouts from, connecting to the large rosette in the centre. The “Tree of Life” is a dominant idea that has been interpreted by many religions mythologically, this particular motif from the Persians was sacred and depicted that it “bore all the seeds necessary for trees to grow on earth.” Based on a thorough analysis, since this artifact holds a religious context, non figural ornamentation that is defined as excluding the depiction of humans, which was strict guideline in Islamic art, the representation of animals was an alternative, this artifact serves as an example.
Furthermore, The Mshatta palace where this framework was discovered, is home to one of the Desert Castles of Jordan, Qasr Mshatta, and holds a relationship with the Umayyad dynasty of the eighteenth century. These castles were significant to the early period of Islamic art and overall era of architecture The Umayyads were “noted patrons of the arts…” (Stokstad 2005, 309) and this pieces are one of the many exceptional frameworks they’ve produced. This artifact instantly caught my attention through its neverending fine details, it is abundantly occupied with elaborate illustrations that is impressively complex in nature. As I read through the history of Islamic art, the image of the artifact captured at close range, elicited the essence of the art the people designed from an intimidating height of “sixteen feet across the facade.” (Stokstad 2005, 308)
Altogether, through my study of this exceptional object, a few questions have surfaced, such as, what tool was used to create these intricate and miniature illustrations? Is this a specific type of stone that was used to create this artifact? Is this stone commonly used in the art of Frieze? Was this medium difficult to carve into? How long did it take to execute this piece of art? Did it take more than one person to create this framework? What do the two facing lions drinking from the urn symbolize? When did the people begin practicing the Frieze art form? Where was Frieze originally practiced?
