DavidsSamlingGennem24År

38/1973 Door-knocker Eastern Anatolia, beginning of 13th century Cast and chased bronze. H:27.5, B:24.5

3 8 /1 9 7 3 D ø r h a m m e r Ø s tlig e A n a to lie n , 13. å r h u n d re d e s b e g y n d e ls e S tø b t o g c is e le re t b ro n z e . H :2 7 ,5 , B :2 4 ,5 O m k r i n g 1210 fik h o v e d m o s k e e n i C is r e - U lu C a m i - n y e d ø re , o g p å d isse v a r a n b r a g t to d ø r ­ h a m r e u d f o r m e t s o m e t p a r d r a g e r fla n k e re n d e e n s p ig e r i f o r m a f et lø v e h o v e d . D e n e n e d ø r h a m ­ m e r e r i d a g i D a v id s S a m lin g , m e n s d e n a n d e n o g d e to s p ig re e r i M u s e e t f o r ty r k is k o g is la m is k K u n s t i Is ta n b u l. M e n s d e n tid lig e r e o m ta lte a l-Ja z a ri a rb e jd e d e fo r A r tu k id e - h e r s k e r e n N a s ir - a l- d in M a h m u d i D iy a r b a k r , k o n s tr u e r e d e h a n e n lig n e n d e d ø r h a m ­ m e r til k o n g e s lo tte ts p o r t, o g h a n a fb ild e d e d e n i s it » K o m p e n d iu m o m d e m e k a n is k e k u n s te rs te o ri o g p ra k s is « , d e r b le v f o r f a tte t o m k r in g å r 1200 . O v e r A le p p o - p o r te n i s a m m e b y s m u r e ses d ra - g e rn e o g så , o g d e t h a r v æ r e t fo re s lå e t, a t d e h a r f u n g e re t s o m A r tu k id e r n e s p e r s o n lig e s læ g ts e m ­ b le m . C is r e o g D iy a r b a k r lig g e r u n d e r alle o m ­ s tæ n d ig h e d e r så tæ t v e d h in a n d e n , a t e n s a m m e n ­ h æ n g f o r e k o m m e r rim e lig . D r a g e r ses re t o fte i is la m is k m id d e la ld e r k u n s t, ik k e m in d s t h o s s e ld ju k e rn e , s o m sy n e s a t h a v e tils k r e v e t d e m v isse ly k k e b r in g e n d e e g e n s k a b e r. M o d s a t h a r n o g le fo rs k e re b e tr a g te t d r a g e n s o m et tr u e n d e v æ se n , o g a n d re h a r a n s k u e t d e n s o m et a s tr o n o m is k s y m b o l. N å r m a n se r b o r t fra d ra g e rn e s s y m b o ls k e o g h is to r is k e b e ty d n in g , d a n n e r d e i k r a ft a f d e re s s ik re f o r m g iv n in g e n så f u ld e n d t h e lh e d , a t d ø r ­ h a m m e r e n a lt a n d e t lig e m å b e tr a g te s s o m e t m e ­ s te r v æ r k in d e n f o r d e n is la m is k e s m å s k u lp tu r.

Around 1210 the principal mosque in Cisre - Ulu Cami - had new doors installed, and on these were placed two door-knockers in theform of apair ofdragons flanking a spike in the form of a lion’s head. One of these door-knockers is now in the David Collection, while the other and the two spikes are in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art in Istanbul. While the learned al-Jazari was working for the Ar- tuqid ruler Nasir-al-Din Mahmud in Diyarbakr he de­ signed a similar door-knocker for the gate of the royal palace, and he reproduced it in his C o m p e n d iu m o n th e T h e o r y a n d P ra c tic e o f th e M e c h a n ic a l A rts , which was written around the year 1200. The dragons can also be seen over the Aleppo Gate in the walls of the same town, and it has been suggested that they func­ tioned as the personal family emblem of the Artuqids. A t all events Cisre and Diyarbakr are so close that a link would seem reasonable. Dragons are seen quite often in mediaeval Islamic art, particularly in that of the Seljuqs, who seem to have ascribed certain auspicious qualities to them. On the other hand some scholars have regarded the dragon as a threatening creature, and others again have seen it as an astronomical symbol. Leaving the symbolic and historical significance of the dragons aside it must be observed that by virtue of their confident design they constitute such a perfected whole that the door-knocker, other things being equal, must be regarded as a masterpiece in the field of minor Islamic sculpture.

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