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

Fatimid Wood Carving in Egypt and Syria
The new tendencies which changed the style of stone and stucco sculpture decoration also influenced the development of wood carving under the Fatimids. Traditional Tulunid ornament and slant carving survived longer. However, in wood carving, as may be seen on the wooden tie became of the mosque of al-Hakim and the door from the mosque of al-Azhar (970) now in the Arab Museum in Cairo; according to the inscription this door was made at the order of al-Hakim. who restored the mosque of al-Azhar in (1010). It is decorated with rectangular panels carved with Abbasid arabesque scrolls forming symmetrical patterns. In the rendering of traditional patterns, the Fatimid artist followed the artistic principles apparent in the stucco ornament of the mosque of al-Azhar. In al-Hakim’s door, however, the connecting stems of the ornament are given greater prominence than heretofore and the motives are separated from each other. Syrian wood carvers of the Fatimid era were not behind those of Egypt in craftsmanship and ability in design. Several important monuments have survived in Syria and Palestine, among them the intact pulpit in the Great Mosque at Hebron in Palestine, made for the mosque of al-Hussain at Ascalon in 1091/2 and magnificently carved with intricate arabesques. There are a number of fine Syrian wood carvings in Damascus including the maksura screen from the mosque of Bab-al-Musalla(l 103). Fatimid Ivory and Bone Carving in Egypt
A number of bone plaques of various shapes, decorated with figure subjects, have been found in Fustat. The scenes and the style of carving recall the eleventh-century Fatimid wood carvings from the hospital of Kalam. A fragmentary plaque in the Metropolitan Museum depicts a hunter and a gazelle against a background of arabesque scrolls. Because of similarities to Fatimid wood carvings, a number of ivory plaques from boxes have been rightly regarded as Fatimid. The figures of musicians, dancers, hunters, and griffins, amid fine scrolls, are elaborately carved in open work, with a great deal of detail particularly in the costumes. These plaques, which represent the height of Fatimid ivory carving may be assigned to the period of the Caliph Mustansir (1036-94).2
2 Dirnand, P 125

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Political and Cultural History of Islam

Minor Art under tlie Fntinuds
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