CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Nagy, Peter Tamas |
|---|---|
| Title | Islamic Art and Artefacts in Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century Hungary |
| Summary | My research represents a novel approach to the connections between Islamic art and Hungary in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The present thesis brings together seemingly disparate artefacts, such as the rock crystal head of the Hungarian royal scepter, the ring of Béla III (1172–1196), a type of coin with pseudo-Arabic imagery issued by the same king and a wall painting of the Cella Trichora in Pécs, arguing that they form a coherent group from the point of view of their patrons. After discussing some persistent historiographical myths about the Islamic artefacts, Hungarian visitors in the Islamic world, and Muslims living in the country, the thesis presents four case studies focusing on the artefacts, with special attention to their date, origin and symbolic significance. Technical observations and comparison with a wide range of analogous material suggest that the rock crystal pommel was made either in Cairo in the second half of the eleventh century or in Sicily in the second half of the twelfth century, the ring has an early Iranian seal stone mounted on it, the coins imitated two types of Andalusian coins, and finally, that the fresco was inspired by a Sicilian or Andalusian textile. As other examples of Islamic artefacts reused in a Christian context suggest, it is justifiable to argue that the objects were understood as references to the Holy Land, which also facilitated attributing Christian significance to them. The present thesis proposes a similar interpretation for the surviving Islamic artefacts created or used in the Kingdom of Hungary in this period, and also associates this phenomenon with Béla III’s political endeavours. |
| Supervisor | Szakács, Béla Zsolt + Laszlovszky, József |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/nagy_peter_02.pdf |
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