Early Islamic Prefabricated Stuccowork (original) (raw)
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Chronology of stucco production in the Gulf and southern Mesopotamia in the early Islamic period
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Stucco in the Architecture of Iran and Neighbouring Lands: New Research – New Horizons, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, 4-7 May 2022
Stucco used to be the most popular material of ornamentation in the early Islamic world due to its availability, flexibility, and affordability. By looking at a range of early Islamic stucco decorations from Samarra to Balkh, commonalities in motifs and techniques can be identified. In the 11th to 12th centuries, some features of this earlier trend can also be found in monuments of the subsequent Seljuk period, such as the so-called Madrassa of Ray and the mausoleums of Davazdah Imam of Yazd and Pir Hamza Sabzpush of Abarkuh. Despite of the existence of this established tradition of decoration, however, new forms and techniques of stucco revetment were also developed in Seljuq Iran. A distinctive feature of this period is the uniqueness of some of the stucco works, as in the case of the Mihrab of Heydariyya in Qazwin. In light of these findings, this paper aims to identify innovations in the field of stucco decoration during the 11th and early 12th century in Iran. Based on a discussion of monuments in central Iran, it seeks to trace the possible contexts in the development of the stucco decoration of this period.
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Carved stucco is the architectural revetment medium par excellence in Iran; its history began in Achaemenid, Parthian and Sasanian times, gained paramount significance in the Early Islamic, Seljuq and Ilkhanid periods and experienced a revival under the Safavids and Qajars. However, divides between pre-Islamic and Islamic archaeology, dynastic divisions and the Mongol conquest theory distort this trajectory. This study of c. fifty Ilkhanid stucco repertoires proposes a taxonomy of Ilkhanid stucco artistic techniques, based on the scrutiny of production technology, polychromy, inscriptions and ornamentation. It sheds light on the transfer of stucco production knowledge between pre-Ilkhanid and Ilkhanid periods. Ilkhanid craftsmen inherited millenary stucco craftsmanship practices, to which they contributed technical and artistic innovations: new artistic techniques, polychromy development, modified aesthetics, and new epigraphic and ornamental vocabulary. These finds enhance our understanding of Iranian stuccos.
Tracing Technoscapes. The Production of Bronze Age Wall Paintings in the Eastern Mediterranean , 2018
Abstract For a length of time Bronze Age stucco reliefs have been brought to light almost exclusively at sites in the Aegean with the ‘palace’ of Knossos as the most important example. Since the 1990s the palatial district of Helmi/Tell el-Dabca in the eastern Nile delta is now the first site beyond the Aegean which has produced such a kind of three-dimensional artistic expression within its élite architecture. Hence it seems very likely to assume an interrelation in the way this complex craft has been executed in both regions, but the question arises how and to which extent. Through an analysis of the involved raw materials and a reconstruction of the craft’s chaîne opératoire, this paper therefore aims at a better understanding of the characteristic technical choices and habitualized procedures of the craftsperson in the Nile delta. A comparison of these results with practices traceable in the Aegean should help us to carve out common craft tradition, as well as deviations, to finally approach the possible enmeshment of both craft activities. Keywords: stucco reliefs; technique; work flow; Tell el-Dabca; skill; knowledge transfer; Egypt; Aegean.