Eurasian Studies Balkans, Anatolia, Iran, Caucasus and Central Asia Studies Notebooks

Series | Eurasian Studies
Edited book | «A mari usque ad mare»
Chapter | The Long Tradition of the Cycle of Paintings of Qusayr ‘Amra

The Long Tradition of the Cycle of Paintings of Qusayr ‘Amra

Abstract

The cycle of paintings of the bathhouse of Qusayr ‘Amra (eighth century, Jordan) has been the object of several attempts of interpretation. Scholars have usually limited its contextualization to the large family of Roman and late antique bathhouses to its plan and hydraulic features. The present article argues instead that late antique examples of the same architectural typology might have provided models and patterns for the paintings of Qusayr ‘Amra too. Agreeing with a common late antique artistic practice, legends were instead used in the painting in order to add and explain new and unusual themes inserted among the traditional repertoire.


Open access

Language: it

Keywords Early Islam • Bilingual inscriptions • Bathhouses • Late antiquity • Representation of kings • Qusayr ‘Amra • Bathhouses decoration

Copyright © 2016 Mattia Guidetti. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.14277/6969-085-3/EUR-4-11


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