Two Royal Figures

 


Pictured: https://smarthistory.org/two-royal-figures-saljuq-period/

 

                Two Royal figures are pieces of Islamic art that come from the mid-11th-12th century, that can be found today at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Looking back at the few recent posts on my blog, we saw how art was supposed to follow the guidelines of not representing the human body with 3D sculptural pieces.  While the fact of that matter remains true in a lot of cases, early Islamic art enforced that rule for art in mosques and religious spaces, but for the normal citizen, all bets for art are off.

                The Two Royal Figures are made from stucco, a soft cement like material that is easy to mold and then carve afterwards. The material is also rather light, which makes it a easy material to use and hang on walls for decoration. In fact, although we do not know for sure, we believe that these pieces were hung on the walls of some kind of reception hall. If you look closely, you can see both sculptures clutching swords in their hands which is a representation of power. Another representation of power is seen in their dress, the elegance and color schemes were designed to compliment the jewelry they wore around their necks, earrings and even their crowns. We do not know for sure whether these figures represented kings, princes, or even royal guards. On the right, the figure is seen wearing the winged crown, which is the earliest symbol of authority in Iranian Culture and was worn by the Sassanian Kings, recognizable to almost anybody when they see these sculptures. 

                The two royal figures are carved with a very round facial structure, also called the Turkic moon face, which is a direct influence from central Asia and the east.  It is also important to notice how bright and vibrant the blues and reds are on the dress of the sculptures. In a period where this piece could only be visible in sunlight or candlelight, it was important for them how have bright and vibrant color so they could stand out and be easily be seen.  In addition, color schemes are also expressions of wealth and power. Golds are expensive, the blue is a product of lapis lazuli which is a resource that had to be traded for and acquired from Afghanistan back then.



works cited: Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis and Dr. Steven Zucker, et al. “Two Royal Figures (Saljuq Period).” Smarthistory, smarthistory.org/two-royal-figures-saljuq-period/. 

Comments

  1. Amanda SantistevanSeptember 27, 2020 at 7:39 PM

    Hey Marcus, great blog post this week. I found it to be very interesting and am very curious to wether these sculptures are supposed to represent someone important or if it up to the viewer decide, or if there was no intention at all to represent someone. However still are very powerful sculptures.

    ReplyDelete

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