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A Reassessment of the Location of the Mural Paintings in the Caliphal Palace of Samarra
-
Fatma Dahmani
Published/Copyright:
October 8, 2020
Abstract
The mural paintings discovered in the Caliphal Palace of the ʿAbbāsid city of Samarra constitute a rare example of figural decoration in an urban Islamic palace as well as one of the most important testimonies to Medieval mural paintings that have come down to us from the region. However, as with the rest of the Samarra finds, these paintings suffered significant damage and were published several years after their excavation (Herzfeld, E., Die Malereien von Samarra, Berlin 1927). Although valuable in many respects, this publication presents a breach of methodology, as it does not attend to either the archaeological or architectural contexts. It also contains several information gaps and inaccuracies. One of the main issues not properly addressed is the exact location of the paintings within the building. Researching various archival and museum collections and taking into account studies on the interpretation of the palace layout, this analysis has shown that the location of the paintings is much more complex than indicated in the publication; these were found in both private areas of the complex and in a few public ones too. This is confirmed by some medieval texts, which provide important information for the study of this material.
Online erschienen: 2020-10-08
Erschienen im Druck: 2020-10-07
© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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