Le décor architectural artuqide en pierre de Mardin placé dans son contexte regional: Contribution à l’histoire du décor géométrique et végétal du Proche-Orient des XIIe-XVe siècles

The Artuqids were one of the successor dynasties that rose to power in the aftermath of the eleventh-twelfth century invasion of Western and Central Asia by the Seljuq Turks. While the political power of the Artuqids was limited to the Diyar Bakr, a small region in northern Jazira corresponding to Southeastern Turkey, their artistic legacy is noteworthy. The many surviving Artuqid monuments, built over three hundred years (early 12th – early 15th century), and their decoration exemplify the mastery of stone carving which is reflected in intricate designs and motifs. Mardin, alongside other Artuqid centers such as Amid, Mayyafariqin and Hisn Kayfa, was set within a larger zone of diverse Christian and Islamic artistic traditions. This book defines Mardin’s artistic context in relation to the other Artuqid centers, as well as the neighboring zones that encompass Anatolia, the Caucasus, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt. During the Artuqid period an original style developed in Mardin and the Diyar Bakr, which itself was rooted in a well-established local school of stone carving. Connected with Christian traditions found in the Syriac Tur ‘Abdin and in Late Antique Syria, the decoration also compares with that of monuments in Armenia and Georgia, and resonates with artistic practices seen in areas controlled by the regional Muslim powers of the time: the Zangids, Ayyubids, Mameluks, Great and Anatolian Seljuqs and the Ilkhanids. The Artuqid buildings reflect the spirit of the time, when the Jazira served as an artistic platform, fostering the circulation of ideas that led to new inspiration, and open-minded rulers and patrons, curious and receptive to new creations, stimulated the creative efforts of architects, stone carvers and craftsmen. The decorated monuments also attest to the existence of significant economic wealth and the need to commission sophisticated buildings that magnified the political and social status of the ruling elite’s.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION; 1. SOURCES; 2. CONTEXTE GEOGRAPHIQUE ET HISTORIQUE; 3 MONOGRAPHIES DES MONUMENTS ARTUQIDES DECORES; 4 TAILLER ET SCULPTER LE DÉCOR : MATERIAUX ET TECHNIQUES DE PIERRE; 5 ELEMENTS ARCHITECTURAUX DECORES; 6 ANALYSER MOTIFS ET COMPOSITIONS; CONCLUSION; BIBLIOGRAPHIE; PLANCHES

About the Author :
Dr. Deniz Beyazit, spécialiste de l’art médiéval islamique et ottoman, est conservatrice assistante au département des arts de l’Islam du Metropolitan Museum of Art à New York. Diplômée de La Sorbonne, elle est également chercheuse associée de l’Institut Français d’Etudes Anatoliennes d’Istanbul. Elle a était Barakat Trus PostDoctoral Fellow au Khalili Research Centre à Oxford (2009 – 10), et a enseigné l’art islamique à l’Université de Zurich. Hormis ses nombreuses conférences et publications traitant de sujets variés sur l’art islamique, elle a aussi édité l’ouvrage At the Crossroads of Empires: 14th–15th Century Eastern Anatolia (Varia Anatolica, 2012). Au Met, elle a participé à la réinstallation des nouvelles salles du département des arts de l’Islam (rouvertes en 2011) et a organisé l’exposition inaugurale The Making of a Collection: Islamic Art at the Met. Parmi d’autres projets, elle a notamment organisé celui de Carpets of the East in Paintings from the West. Avec ses collègues, Dr. Sheila Canby et Martina Rugiadi, elle a collaboré à la mise en place de l’exposition Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs (25 avril-24 juillet 2016) et a coécrit le catalogue qui l’accompagne.