Fragment of Cenotaph (?)

These two panels are composed of many small, carved polygons joined together, using the tongue and groove technique. Previously used during the Abbasid period[1], this technique developed during the Fatimid period in Egypt, and was used from the end of the eleventh century to join small, carved polygons[2]. This method was mainly developed by the Ayyubids, and then the Mamluks, who used ivory and ebony, in addition to various woods. This type of joint is also found on early Iranian works, obviously due to Syro-Egyptian[3] influences, and in works dating from the twelfth century onwards in Anatolia[4] and the Muslim West[5].

Two woods—boxwood and teak—were used, neither of which could be found in Egypt, and therefore had to be imported: boxwood from Asia Minor, and teak from the Far East. Teak was used in Islamic countries at least from the ninth century onwards, in the woodwork in the Palace of Jawsaq in Samarra, for example.

Apart from the two bands of inscriptions that run around the panel, the entire field is covered with a complex interlaced geometric design. In the centre, a six-pointed star inside a twelve-pointed star creates a radiating motif. Some of the joined polygons are regular: diamonds, pentagons, regular hexagons, and other less symmetrical shapes are also used, as well as two six-pointed stars either side of the panel.

The star motif was commonly used in Islamic art—as a simple decorative element, or in various symbolic ways. Usually comprising five, six, eight, and twelve points, stars are therefore found in many countries—from Iran[6] to the Maghrib, where, with the arrival of the strict orthodox dynasty of the Almohads, they were used in ceramic mosaic facings, possibly in exaltation of the divine Unicity. In Egypt, they were used extensively in marquetry, under the Fatimids, Ayyubids, and the Mamluks. The Mamluks often ornamented the frontispieces of the Qur’an with star motifs. They are also found in Christian Europe with a strong Islamic influence, such as on the Sicilian ivory plaque dating from around 1200[7], and on Mudejar ceilings—those made by Muslim craftsmen in Christian Spain[8].

Each joined piece is carved with arabesque motifs of fine stems adorned with fleurons, palmettes, and a large, very elegant palm. These motifs, composed of concentric, slightly spindly tendrils and tapering half-palmettes, are reminiscent of works dating from the end of the Fatimid dynasty and the Ayyubid period: woodwork[9], ivories, and ceramics[10].

Cursive epigraphy was often used by the Ayyubids, while the Fatimids preferred to use Kūfic script. The inscriptions cite several verses from the Qur’an[11]. One of them proclaims: ‘Indeed those to whom Our promise of goodness has been made, have been kept far away from hell. And they will not hear its faintest sound; and they will forever abide in whatever their hearts desire.’ (Qur’an 21:101–102)[12]. These verses were commonly used on cenotaphs during this period, such as the cenotaph of the mother of Sultan al-Kāmil[13]. The panel was found in the mausoleum of Imam Shāfiʿī (767–820), a legal scholar who founded the Shāfiʿīyah school of law, and who was honoured by the Ayyubids who built his mausoleum. From the time of the Fatimids, tombs were often placed close to a revered person—this was thought to be a sort of blessing for the deceased.

[2] Mihrāb of al-Sayyida Nafisa, Cairo, 1138–1145/46, Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo, 421.

[3] Minbar in the Great Mosque of Shushtar, Iran, 1053, in situ.

[4] Minbar in the Alaeddin Mosque in Konya, 1155, Istanbul, TIEM, 246.

[5] Minbar in the Kutubīyah Mosque, 1137–1147

[6] Tomb of Kharraqan, 1067–1068

[7] Carved ivory plaque, Sicily, c.1200, the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, EG-803

[8] Palace of Peter I, now the Santa Clara Monastery, 1340–1344, Spain, Tordesillas (province of Valladolid)

[9] Door leaf panels from the Qalāʾūn māristān, Egypt, eleventh century, wood, Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo, 554.

[10] Fragment of gourd, Syria, Damascus first half of the thirteenth century, clay paste with moulded decorations, National Museum, Damascus, A/4353.

[11] Qur’an 49, 22–24; 21:101–102, 104

[12] Le Coran, essai de traduction, by Jacques Berque. Paris: Sindbad, 1990 (1^st ed.), Paris: Albin Michel, 2002.

[13] Fragment of cenotaph of the mother of Sultan al-Kāmil, Cairo, Egypt, 1211, wood, Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo, 2129.