Open Access E-book: Antique Dealing and Creative Reuse in Cairo and Damascus 1850-1890

Antique Dealing and Creative Reuse in Cairo and Damascus 1850-1890

Intercultural Engagements with Architecture and Craft in the Age of Travel and Reform

Author: Mercedes Volait

ISBN: 978-90-04-44988-6

Publication Date: 25 May 2021

Series: Leiden Studies in Islam and Society, 12

"The commodification of Islamic antiques intensified in the late Ottoman Empire, an age of domestic reform and increased European interference following the Tanzimat (reorganisation) of 1839. Mercedes Volait examines the social life of typical objects moving from Cairo and Damascus to Paris, London, and beyond, uncovers the range of agencies and subjectivities involved in the trade of architectural salvage and historic handicraft, and traces impacts on private interiors, through creative reuse and Revival design, in Egypt, Europe and America. By devoting attention to both local and global engagements with Middle Eastern tangible heritage, the present volume invites to look anew at Orientalism in art and interior design, the canon of Islamic architecture and the translocation of historic works of art."

New OA resource: Syrian Heritage Archive Project

Until now, a general register for Syrian cultural heritage has been lacking. Several Syrian and international initiatives are working together on a compilation of the abundant research data collected over the past decades within the framework of archaeological and art-historical projects, with the content made accessible for research via a national Syrian Heritage register.

In 2013, the Museum of Islamic Art (National Museums in Berlin) and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) started the “Project for the Establishment of a Digital Heritage Register for Syria”/“Projekt zur Erstellung digitaler Kulturgüterregister für Syrien”. This original name was soon replaced by a shorter English version: “Syrian Heritage Archive Project”, commonly abbreviated as SyrHer or SHAP. From the very beginning, the project was funded by the Cultural Preservation Program maintained by the German Foreign Office.

This website is the responsibility of the subteam of the Museum of Islamic Art.

A detailed documentation of Syria’s cultural heritage provides a basis for recording damage and destruction from the war and for possible future reconstruction measures. The awareness of a common cultural heritage may become an important component for national reconciliation processes in the future.

Website: https://project.syrian-heritage.org/en/. 

Les Monuments ayyoubides de Damas in AMAR

Les Monuments ayyoubides de Damas in AMAR

One of a series of AWOL pages seeking to pull together publication series digitized and served through AMAR: Archive of Mesopotamian Archaeological Site Reports

		Les Monuments ayyoubides de Damas ; v. 1 Le tombeau de Safwat-el-Molk. Le dâr al-hadîth de Noûr ad-Din Le tombeau de Farroukh-Châh et de Bahrâm-Châh. La madrasa Djahârkasiya	Institut Français de Damas (Damascus)	1938	OK
		Les Monuments ayyoubides de Damas ; v. 2 La madrasa Raihâniya. La madrasa 'Adrâwiya. La madrasa 'Izziya hors-les-murs. La madrasa 'Adiliya. Trois bains ayyoubides de Damas	Institut Français de Damas (Damascus)	1940	OK
		Les Monuments ayyoubides de Damas ; v. 3 Mitqâl. La Madrasa Mâridâniya. La Madrasa Chibliya Hors-Ies-Murs. Tombeau anonyme	Institut Français de Damas (Damascus)	1948	OK
		Les Monuments ayyoubides de Damas ; v. 4 Epitaphes coufiques de Bâb Saghîr par Janine Sourdel-Thomine	Institut Français de Damas (Damascus)	1950	OK