Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

704
Political and Cultural History of Islam
Moresque style introduced into North Africa by artists from Andalusia. Typical Hispano-Moresque arabesque decoration in wood is still preserved in the screen and the ceiling of the mosque of Tlemcen, which is carved with a rich floral arabesque known from contemporary stucco work. The twelfth century pulpit of the mosque at Karawayan is another example of Almoravid wood carving.
Hispano-Moresque wood carving of the Almohad period is known from two magnificent pulpits, one in the mosque of Kutubiya in Marrakesh, Morocco, made between 1150 and 1160 the order in the mosque of the K?sba. The sides of these minbars have polygonal interlacing with inserted panels forming a geometrical pattern adapted to the structure of the furniture. The panels contain rich floral arabesque scrolls carved with great precision and fine detail, recalling some of the Hispano-Moresque ivory carving of the tenth and eleventh centuries. The pulpit is further enhanced by the use of maraquetry in bone and precious wood. The mihrab of the Kasha mosque is particularly rich in parquetry mosaics, which form geometrical patterns based on early Egypto-Arabic prototypes. Moorish Ivory Carving in Spain
Under the Umayyad rulers of Spain, ivory boxes, both round and rectangular, became exceedingly popular, and great number were dated and inscribed with the names of sultans or court officials, The earliest ones, which date from the tenth century, when the Umayyad style of Ivory carving had became fully developed are inscribed with the name of Abdur Rahman in (912-961) and are in the Victoria and Albert Museum. An important tenth century box from the Cathedral of Zamora is now in the National Museum in Madrid. It is dated A.H. (353) (964) and bears the name of Caliph Hakam II. Two rectangular boxes in Spanish collections, both dated A.H. 355 (966), were made at Madinat-az- Zahra, near Cordova, famous for its palace. The main decoration of these boxes consists of palmette scrolls into which are occasionally introduced animals and birds. The exuberant palmettes, with finely carved veins, give the illusion of naturalism which is characteristic of Hispano-Moresque art. Two round boxes, one date A.H. 357 (968), in the Louvre, the other, dated A.H. 359 (970), in the Victoria and Albert Museum, are of great interest because of the fact that their decoration, consisting of court scenes with entertainers and hunters, is derived from the contemporary Islamic art of Egypt and Mesopotamia. In the eleventh century the Umayyad style became even more elaborate, the
Moorish Art
more formal, and
compositions
705 frequently
palmette scrolls overcrowded.’