Section of an Epigraphic Frieze from the Mosque of Ibn Tulun

ca. 879

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Ibn Tulun (r. 868–84) built a great mosque inspired by the architecture of the Abbasid capital Samarra when he established his semiautonomous rule over Egypt. The interior included an extensive frieze handsomely inscribed in Kufic with verses from the Qur’an. The mosque’s decoration represents an Islamic style increasingly distinct from the traditions of the region under Byzantine rule.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Exhibition History

Title: Section of an Epigraphic Frieze from the Mosque of Ibn Tulun
Date: ca. 879
Geography: Made in Egypt, from the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo
Medium: Pinewood
Dimensions: 11 5/8 x 48 7/16 x 11/16 in. (29.5 x 123 x 1.8 cm)
Classification: Woodwork
Credit Line: The David Collection, Copenhagen (1/2002)
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters