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Stefan Weber contributes chapter to Angels, Peonies, and Fabulous Creatures
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| Angels, Peonies, and Fabulous Creatures edited by Julia Gonnella and Jens Kröger. |
AKU-ISMC faculty member Stefan Weber contributed a chapter, Der Anfang vom Ende. Der Wandel bemalter Holzvertäfelungen in Damaskus des 18. Und 19. Jahrunderts [The beginning of the end: Changes in Damascus painted wooden interiors in the 18th and 19th Centuries], to the book Angels, Peonies, and Fabulous Creatures edited by Julia Gonnella and Jens Kröger. The book is the result of the proceedings of the International Symposium of the Museum fur Islamische Kunst – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin held in April 2002.
The symposium followed Julia Gonnella’s 1996 exhibition of her study of the Aleppo Room. Composed of specialists from different disciplines, the symposium addressed complex questions of iconography, style and architectural history, shedding light on a number of art historical, socio-historical and technical elements. The symposium also aimed to explore ways in which architectural heritage can be better preserved and managed.
The Aleppo Room at the Museum fur Islamische Kunst in Berlin, is one of the most famous interiors of the Muslim world. From an aesthetic point of view it is an impressive example of Arab domestic culture. However, the Aleppo Room is also of profound historical importance – built in 1601-3, it is the oldest completely preserved Ottoman interior in existence.
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| AKU-ISMC Assistant Professor of Material History Stefan Weber contributes chapter to Angels, Peonies, and Fabulous Creatures. |
The book contains papers from the conference on Ottoman painted wooden interior decorations particularly from Syria, centred on the Aleppo room. It aimed to bring attention to the extraordinary architectural heritage of painted Ottoman interiors, found throughout the Levant (today's Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine), in an effort to better preserve this legacy and explore its histories and contexts.
Weber’s chapter can be found in the section, The Heritage: Syrian Interior Decorations of the 18th and 19th Century. It is part of a large-scale survey of later Syrian woodwork, particularly in Damascus. His research catalogued 64 houses with painted wooden interiors from the late 18th and early 19th century.
According to Weber this woodwork represents a coherent palette of interior design styles and preferences in comparison with earlier woodwork design. He argues that 17th and 18th century woodwork design was influenced only partially by Istanbul, and that an indigenous style developed which was also used in other nearby centres.
These local styles changed during the 19th century when Syria and the Middle East in general were experiencing great social and political upheaval. Interiors during this period were strongly influenced by Istanbul, which in turn contained strong elements of European design. New techniques were gradually adopted by the wooden interiors but finally replaced the old techniques in the first decades of the 19th century.
The book presents an overview of iconography and concepts of structure, ornamentation and the space of the Aleppo room. It provides a detailed exposition of wooden interior decorations in the context of domestic architecture, inscriptions and calligraphy. In addition to this, the relationship of the Aleppo room with Persian art, Ottoman art and Ottoman provincial art is explored.
Online Resources
Further Reading*
The Aleppo Room
Syrian Interiors in Museums
External Links*
* Links to sites does not imply endorsement of the contents of those sites. AKU-ISMC is not responsible for content on external sites.
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