Minbar of the Bū ‘Inānīya madrasah

This piece of furniture is a masterpiece of cabinetwork, and bears the name of the founder of the Fez Bū’Inaniya madrasah, the sultan Abū ‘Inān (reigned 1348–1359). This is a pulpit from which the imām delivered the khutba (sermon) during Friday prayers.

The minbar is the characteristic tall pulpit made from cedar wood and it has seven steps, the lowest being covered with a pointed north arch. This is covered with an epigraphic band that bears the name of the founding king of the madrasah. The side panels are covered with finely chiselled medallions inlaid with ivory, bone, and lemon tree wood.

The madrasah’s minbar, like the gateway leading to the courtyard, is a wonderful example of the mastery of woodworking skills in the Marinid era, both in sculpture and marquetry. The principle decorations that adorn these objects were introduced to Morocco during the Almoravid era (see the minbars of Kutubīyah and Qarawīyīn). This ornamentation consisted of interlacing stars whose ribbons in marquetry of ivory and precious woods contain very finely carved small, wooden panels. This clever technique (tbi’) consists of applying a set of delicately moulded wooden baguettes to the sides of a panel of wood, which the artisan shaped to create various interlacing geometrical patterns. Over the ensemble, the interlacing shapes follow the rhythmical movement of the carved ribbons as they pass alternately above (qata’) and below the ones they cross (maqtu’). This process seems to have its origins in the inlaid ivory and mother-of-pearl woodwork of the Muslim East, and particularly that of Egypt and Syria. The joinery technique involves a clever assembly of the moulded baguettes with mortise and tenon joints (Hafra u lsan).

The minbar’s ornamental vocabulary, composed of interlacing geometrical compositions and interweaving floral motifs with double and simple finger-shaped palm leaves, is strongly influenced by Andalusian decorations. The cursive calligraphy, which here replaces the kufic script, is in extremely good condition. The geometric composition juxtaposes a series of polygonal interlacing motifs based on square stars. While certain shapes existed already during the Almoravid era, like the eight-pointed star and the dodecagon, new shapes appeared, like irregular six-pointed stars that were invented to complete the design. Similar themes, whose origins lie in Córdoba, were applied in the eleventh century in the minbar of the Kutubīyah Mosque and in the Almohad minbar of the Qasaba of Marrakech. Their influence can then be seen in the minbar of the Taza Mosque (thirteenth century) and in several Marinid wooden pieces in Fez (the ‘Attarīn madrasah, and the Chamma’in funduq…).

The Marinid decorations were thus distinguished by the return to Almoravid archetypes and hence to the Andalusian traditions: the minbar of the Kutubīyah Mosque, which was the prototype, was made in Córdoba. Once this was reacquired, the ornamental traditions and architectural dispositions of Andalusia were transferred to Fez, where it was perpetuated for many centuries.