DavidsSamlingGennem24År

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.

38/1973 Door-knocker

Eastern Anatolia, beginning of 13th century

Cast and chased bronze. H:27.5, B:24.5

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.