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Beil 8 Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Gmduate Depaxtment of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Tomnto 0 Copyright by Nola keUeJohnson 1998 National Library Bibliotheque nationale 1*1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON KIA ON4 OttawaON K1AON4 Canada Canada Your fik Votre refdrence Our lire Notre refdreoce The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde me licence noa exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pennettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, preter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette th8se. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne daivent &tre imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Pdsiacd Imagery in Eufy blhic Art Doctor of Philosophy, 1998 Nola Jkanette hhnson Gtaduate Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Tomnto Abstmct This thesis considers the Qubbat al-Sakhrah's construction to have been a regional response, couched in a regional artistic vocabulary, to counter what was perceived to be a serious regional problem, the distracting effect of the beauties of Christian churches and, that 'Abd al-Malik's text in the Qubbat al-Sakhrah reflects the ideological threat, by stating Christian beliefs and pointing out their inappropriateness for Muslims. It proposes that the Qubbat al-Sakhrah's ornament represents the Qur'k's numerous descriptions of Paradise as a wondrous garden of shady groves and trees bearing every kind of hit. Byzantine art provided the model for the visualization of the paradisiacal imagery, and the art of the Skiinid empire contributed the fantastical, other-worldly elements that might be imagined of Paradise. The Qubbat al-Sakhrah's heavenly garden was not an isolated phenomenon, as versions of it are attributed to at least three mosques; furthermore, two distinct, deliberate iconographic images developed fkom the Qubbah's ornament. One of these shows a hypostyIe mosque with a column and vase in its courtyard. A religious context may have been envisaged for this imagery, but there is evidence also of its popular manifestation. The second iconographic image was employed secularly, taking the fonn of a distinctive arcade through which naturalistic or very stylized vegetation can be seen. This version of the imagery appears as architectural decoration and was used in, or used to point to, areas in which public audiences might be held. Popular versions of the arcade imagery found on portable objects show that birds and animals as well as vegetation might be seen through the arches. In the Qubbat al-Sakhrah's shape, ornament and text, the building's patron showed himself alert and responsive to the cultural and religious environment. The development of rslihic iconographical forms suggests that the threat perceived &om other religious iconographies continued beyond the erection of the Qubbat al-Sakhrah and that Islh was still attempting to define itself, but, as with the Qubbah, conternporaxy artistic vocabularies were used to construct a Muslim answer to a Muslim need. iii Acknowledgments I am most gratefbl to my supervisor, Dr- Lisa V. Golombek of the Royal Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto, for her patience and help in this endeavour, and wish to express my thanks to her and my committee, Dr. Edward J. Keall of the Royal Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto, Dr. Sheila D. Campbell and Dr. L. S. Northrup of the University of Toronto, who guided my thesis studies and read the manuscript; and to those others whose aid I sought along the way: Dr. Donald S. Whitcomb and Mr. Raymond D. TindeI, Oriental hstitute, Chicago; Dr. P. M. Michele Daviau, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo; Mr. Daniel Walker, Curator, and Dr. Stephano Carboni, Ms. Katherine Daniels and Mrs. Tricia Sclater-Booth, Department of Islhic Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Dr. Leila Hemeda, Director, and Mr. Rabie Muhamed of the Manuscript Department, Diir al-Kutub, Cairo; Dr. Nimat M. Abu-Bakr, Director General, and Mr. Sayed Fathi el- Sayed, Chief of Metalwork Objects, Museum of Islhic Art, Cairo; Dr. Daniel R. McBride, Director, and Mr. Magdy AIi AIi of The Canadian Institute in Egypt, Cairo; Madame Siham Balqar of the Archaeological Museum, 'Ammiin; Dr. Pamela Watson, Ms. Nadja Qaisi and Mr. David Thomas at the British Institute at 'ArnmZn for Archaeology & History, 'AmmZn; everyone at the Library of the Royal Ontario Museum; and lastly, my colleagues in the West Asian Section of the ROM, and my fiiends but for whom .,... Table of Contenfs Abstract Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter One: Three Illustrations fkom a Qur'h Chapter Two: The Qubbat al-Sakhrah Chapter Three: The Hypostyle Mosque Chapter Four, Part 1: The Serrated Arch Chapter Four, Part 2: Origins and Uses Conclusion Selected Bibliography List of Figurcs Figures The particular circumstance that led to this paper was the recognition that the sites of Qal'at 'Ammiin and Qastal d-Balqa' in Jordan and a number of unglazed clay lamps shared a distinctive architectural motif: serrated arches on plain engaged colonnettes within whose fhmes might be seen vegetation, geometric patterns or fauna As instances of the motif accumulated, its appearance was observed to be remarkably similar across the range of examples and its location in architectural contexts, consistent. Furthermore, the search for paradigms led to the discovery that a Qur'in, found in a Cairo mosque, and some marquetry panels shared another, equallydistinctive architectural motif, namely, what seemed to be a hypostyle mosque with a prominently disp'rayed floral motif in its central courtyard. For reasons to be discussed, the architectural motifs individually appeared to be related to the Qubbat al-Sakhrah, suggesting that they might be evidence of Umayyad iconography. Neither motif had attracted attention as such, however, nor did a connection between them present itself until the writer saw three illustretions from a Qur'iin found at the Great Mosque of San.3, Yemen' (Figurea 1: 2 and 33 herein). An iconography of Umayyad architecture had been explored by J. Sauvaget, who proposed that, differences of detail aside, similar ceremonial usage had imposed common architectural layouts on the prayer halls of mosques and secular halls of audience.' For his doctoral thesis 0.Grabd examined the remains of several Umayyad princely structures, their decoration and textual material for evidence of the development of an imperial iconography. Both these works contain valued information and opinions, but their theses pre-date the discovery of much of the material on which this paper relies. As for the two architectural motifs, it might be supposed that reports of finding extensive remains of serrated arches at a number of early Islamic sites would have elicited comment, if only 2 because of the motifs repeated use. Some writers have referred to some of their predecessors' work, but there are curious lapses. In three articles of the 1950's K- Otto-Dorn reported that blind serrated arches were characteristic of RusZfah, and compared them with those at '~mrnh.~She described RusZah's blind arcades as typical of Umayyad art and referred to other examples such as those on the fqades of Qqr al-Hayr al-Gharbi and the Smdl Enclosure at Qqr al-Hayr al-Sharqi,' and on the "Marwiin" ewer.* In 1977, H. Gaube compared the serrated arches at 'Ammk, Qastal and Qera ~harbahg without mentioning those at RusXah. He did point out, however, that the blind niches on the fqades of Qqr Kharhah and the Small Enclosure at Qqr al-Hayr al-Sharqi were shilar,1° and that serrated horseshoe arches appeared at 'Ammin, Qastal, about the interior windows at Qwr Kharhah, and on the courtyard balustrade at Jabal Says." When he does refer to Otto-Dorn's articles on RusXah, in 1979, it is in connection with the site only, not its dec~ration.'~P. Carlier compared Qastal's serrated arches with those at nearby 'Ammiin," and later, A.