COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
MMA_.91.1.2064
AMICA Library Year:
2000
Object Type:
Architecture
Creator Nationality:
African; North African; Egyptian
Creator Name-CRT:
Attributed to Cairo, Egypt
Title:
Pair of doors
Title Type:
Object name
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
ca. 1325-1330
Creation Start Date:
1325
Creation End Date:
1330
Materials and Techniques:
Wood inlaid with carved ivory panels
Classification Term:
Woodwork
Dimensions:
65 x 30 1/2 in. (165.1 x 77.5 cm)
AMICA Contributor:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location:
New York, New York, USA
ID Number:
91.1.2064
Credit Line:
Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
Context:
The furnishings of Cairo's mosques, especially during the Mamluk period, were decorated with intricately constructed polygons and strapwork. Most often, the polygons were of wood, either carved or inlaid with ivory or colored woods. These doors exhibit a great variety of patterns, most of which are also found in other media, such as stone carvings, marble mosaics, and stucco window grilles. The accurate cutting required to make such patterned objects is remarkable, since every piece affects the whole. Comparative material in the Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo, suggests that these doors come from the minbar (pulpit) of the mosque of the emir Sayf al-Din Qawsun (died 1342), the powerful cupbearer of Sultan al-Nasir ibn Qala'un.
Related Image Identifier Link:
MMA_.is91.1.2064.R.tif
