Mihrab
1700-1800
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Mihrab is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a mihrab appears is thus the "qibla wall".
This mihrab is a portable one, as it was not built directly into the wall structure of the mosque. Surviving portable mihrabs date back to the Fatimid period in Egypt (12th century), but this example is believed to have come from the mosque of Sheykh Abdallah, near the citadel in Cairo, and is dated to the 18th century.
This mihrab is a portable one, as it was not built directly into the wall structure of the mosque. Surviving portable mihrabs date back to the Fatimid period in Egypt (12th century), but this example is believed to have come from the mosque of Sheykh Abdallah, near the citadel in Cairo, and is dated to the 18th century.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved wood; painted |
| Brief description | Carved and painted mihrab, Egypt, Cairo, Ottoman period, 1700-1800 |
| Physical description | Rectangular shaped, carved stalactite-like (or honey-comb) decorated prayer niche (mihrab), with each element painted with red, dark green and white floral sprays and arabesque patterning. |
| Dimensions |
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| Association | |
| Summary | Mihrab is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a mihrab appears is thus the "qibla wall". This mihrab is a portable one, as it was not built directly into the wall structure of the mosque. Surviving portable mihrabs date back to the Fatimid period in Egypt (12th century), but this example is believed to have come from the mosque of Sheykh Abdallah, near the citadel in Cairo, and is dated to the 18th century. |
| Bibliographic reference | Bernard O’Kane, ed. The Treasures of Islamic Art in the Museum of Cairo (The American University of Cairo Press: Cairo & New York, 2006)
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 143-1881 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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