ARCHED CAPITAL (MUQARNAŞ)

Marble

Palestine, Greater Syria

Mamluk period

Fourteenth-fifteenth centuries CE

Length: 74 cm, width upper edge: 43.5 cm, width lower edge: 25 cm, height:

35.5 cm

The capital is decorated with three tiers of arches (muqarnaş) characteristic of

building entrances and windows, mosques, minarets, and even wooden ceilings

of the period. This type of decoration evolved and flourished in the Fatimid

period (910-1171) and was very popular under the Mamluks.

Each of the three tiers has slightly different ornamentation: the lower tier is

decorated with arches of the type called a 'Persian arch,’ whose sides curve

upwards to meet at a point. In this tier, the arch seemingly spans a flat ovoid

portal. The middle tier is composed of pairs of ‘Persian arches’, each pair being

set at angles to each other. The upper tier has a series of alternating level and

recessed ‘Persian arches’. The alternation of the decoration variegates the play of

light on the capital and creates an illusion of depth and a feeling of great height.

The arch decoration (muqarnaş) reflects the Muslim love of geometric forms.

The arch was also important in architecture for creating vaulted ceilings. In such

cases the arch lost its decorative role and became, for example in prayer niches,

a functional architectural component.

BLMJ 6311

BREAD STAMP

(Top View)

Fired clay

Palestine, Greater Syria

Mamluk period

Fourteenth-fifteenth centuries CE

Estimated diameter: 19 cm, thickness: 6 cm

The broken bread stamp is made up of two sections: a round stamp surface with

geometric designs and a round handle. Stamps like the one here were used by

the Muslims to stamp the cakes of bread termed al-ka‘ak așfar ("the yellow

roll") and intended for the souls of the departed. This stamped bread, together

with dried fruit, was distributed to the poor, to children, and to relatives by the

family of the deceased on the Thursday and Monday following the death. During

the entire year of mourning, the family would visit the dead or pray for the

salvation of his/her soul every Thursday, the day devoted to the memory of the

dead in Muslim tradition. On one of these Thursdays, called Khamis al-Amwat

(“Thursday of the Dead”), women went to the cemetery before sunrise to pray

for their dead and distribute the stamped bread cakes and dried fruit to the

poor. When the children handed out the bread cakes, they requested something

in return for the souls of the dead and received painted eggs (mostly yellow),

dried fruit, and pieces of bread. Khamis al-Amwat  always falls between the

Catholic and Orthodox Holy Thursdays and underscores the mutual influence

between Christians and Muslims. It is believed that this mutual influence began

to be felt around the twelfth century when Saladin urged the Muslims to adopt

Christian customs in order to promote religious tolerance in the land. Today

Khamis al-Amwat is rarely observed but stamped cakes of bread continue to be

distributed on the Thursday and Monday following the death of a family

member.

BLMJ 6126

BREAD STAMP

(Side View)

Fired clay

Palestine, Greater Syria

Mamluk period

Fourteenth-fifteenth centuries CE

Estimated diameter: 19 cm, thickness: 6 cm

The broken bread stamp is made up of two sections: a round stamp surface with

geometric designs and a round handle. Stamps like the one here were used by

the Muslims to stamp the cakes of bread termed al-ka‘ak așfar ("the yellow

roll") and intended for the souls of the departed. This stamped bread, together

with dried fruit, was distributed to the poor, to children, and to relatives by the

family of the deceased on the Thursday and Monday following the death. During

the entire year of mourning, the family would visit the dead or pray for the

salvation of his/her soul every Thursday, the day devoted to the memory of the

dead in Muslim tradition. On one of these Thursdays, called Khamis al-Amwat 

(“Thursday of the Dead”), women went to the cemetery before sunrise to pray

for their dead and distribute the stamped bread cakes and dried fruit to the

poor. When the children handed out the bread cakes, they requested something

in return for the souls of the dead and received painted eggs (mostly yellow),

dried fruit, and pieces of bread. Khamis al-Amwat always falls between the

Catholic and Orthodox Holy Thursdays and underscores the mutual influence

between Christians and Muslims. It is believed that this mutual influence began

to be felt around the twelfth century when Saladin urged the Muslims to adopt

Christian customs in order to promote religious tolerance in the land. Today

Khamis al-Amwat  is rarely observed but stamped cakes of bread continue to be

distributed on the Thursday and Monday following the death of a family

member.

BLMJ 6126