Universität Wien
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080042 PS Case Study I: Inlaid Metalwork from Mosul to Cairo (2015S)

10.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 8 - Kunstgeschichte und Europäische Ethnologie
Continuous assessment of course work

Das begleitende Tutorium findet von 15:15 bis 16:45 Uhr statt an folgenden Terminen: 02.03.15, 09.03.15, 16.03.15; 23.3.15; 13.04.15, und 15.06.15.
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: German

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 02.03. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 09.03. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 16.03. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 23.03. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 13.04. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 20.04. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 27.04. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 04.05. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 11.05. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 18.05. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 01.06. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 08.06. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 15.06. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 22.06. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27
  • Monday 29.06. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 4 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte (1. Stock) UniCampus Hof 9 3F-O1-27

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In the twelfth century, the inlay of brass metalwork – i.e. the embellishment of metal objects with inlays of colorful noble and non-ferrous metal – became widely established in the eastern Islamic world. The gold, silver and copper inlays were combined with a black paste and resulted in a polychromy that allowed for a wide range of iconographic and decorative programs. The Mongol invasion of the 1220s engendered a movement of inlaid objects (and probably also metalworkers) towards the West. Centers producing the glittering brasses then sprouted in the Jazira, in Syria, and in Egypt. Here, the technique of metal inlay was combined with local vessel forms and decorations. In the period of the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, metal objects with inlaid inscriptions, ornamentation, and figurative representation served as luxury goods produced for the princes and dignitaries of the ruling dynasties (such as the Zengids, the Ayyubids, and the Mamluks) or as export products (for example for the Rasulids of Yemen or the European market).
Brass objects such as ewers, basins, pen boxes, incense burners, candlesticks and trays enable a series of questions. Besides the objects’ techniques, forms, and functions, often discussed topics incorporate their production centers (Mosul, Aleppo, Damascus, and Cairo). Also the patrons and artists can be studied, their names being epigraphically provided in the objects, the identity of the patron indicated by heraldic symbols. Especially the multicolored decorations and representations allow for various approaches questioning the origin and development, iconography and meaning of for example patterns of fish or ducks, representations of the zodiac, enthronements, hunting scenes, and even christian images.

Assessment and permitted materials

Frequent and active participation in the seminar and the tutorial, assignments, a test in description, student presentation, term paper.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Introduction to selected inlaid metal objects from the Jazira, Syria and Egypt. The description of metalwork and its techniques, forms, functions and iconographies will be trained. An insight into research questions and approaches will be offered.

Examination topics

In the first sessions of the semester, participants will be introduced to the art of inlaid metalwork in the Jazira, Syria, and Egypt from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. Assignments aim for an increasing familiarity with techniques and nomenclature of the art of metalwork in the Islamic world. The following sessions will be dedicated to student presentations. Every participant will present a single object and fellow students are asked for their feedback. A term paper will be developed out of the presentation.

Reading list

Reading for the first session:
“The glittering surface: 1100–1300, Iraq, Syria” and “Poetry and propaganda: 1300–1500, Egypt and Syria” in Rachel Ward, Islamic Metalwork, London 1993, pp. 80–85, 106–121.
“Metalwork: B. Syria and the Jazira, C. Egypt and Syria” in Jonathan M. Bloom/Sheila S. Blair (eds.), The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture, 3 Vols., Oxford 2009, Vol. 2, pp. 498–505.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:31