An extravagant waste of time

August 10, 2024 1:26 AM

From the beginning, intarsia has served as a projection of imperial singularity and superiority. According to Maurice Sven Dimand, the first specialized curator of Near Eastern art at the Metropolitan Museum, the technique arrived in the cathedrals of Europe via Andalusia and Sicily from the mosques and minarets of North Africa, where, due to the prohibition on graven images, it was useful in effecting complex calligraphic patterns and tessellations. More than mere ornamentation, the intricate tiling served as a unifying design element, as much a part of the architecture as a pillar or qubba (dome). One can still feel transported before lonely door panels and orphaned minbars (pulpits), as one marvels at the way these features summon the ineffable through sacred geometry from the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia (ca. 836) to the Alhambra in Spain. from Exquisite Rot [Public Domain Review]
posted by chavenet (7 comments total)

Never heard of spalted wood before (not sure I’d heard of intarsia either - so it’s like marquetry but with shaped pieces of wood rather than veneers?) Very interesting.
posted by Phanx at 3:41 AM on August 10 [1 favorite]

Also it's done with semi precious stones in jewelry making, pendants, bracelets, etc.
posted by Czjewel at 7:27 AM on August 10 [1 favorite]

I am puzzled and put off by the title of this post.

If you ever visit the Alhambra, you'll see that the intensely detailed design and craftsmanship of all elements join to create a whole that is inspiring even to those who don't believe in Allah SWT. To those of us who do believe, it is a silent reminder of the presence of the Almighty.

Also, the "exquisite rot" referred to in the title of the linked article appears to have to do with the use of wood contaminated with fungus. Afaik, that's not a characteristic of the technique's use in al-Andalus; it's a practice that apparently began in earnest in Germany at the end of the Middle Ages:

"It was in Augsburg that naturally spalted wood — that is, wood that has been stained naturally, most often by some species of fungus — first became a regular source for intarsia work and the color palette was at last completed."
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 9:49 AM on August 10 [5 favorites]

Alhambra provided inspiration to MC Escher when he was touring Spain and Italy in his younger years.
posted by AlSweigart at 8:19 PM on August 10 [1 favorite]

Fascinating. What a beautiful, intricate art!
posted by blue shadows at 8:32 AM on August 12 [1 favorite]

> I am puzzled and put off by the title of this post.

Sometimes I feel impelled to comment before looking at TFA, and restrain myself, and find that my point is answered in TFA.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 8:47 AM on August 12 [1 favorite]

With respect to the title, there is another sense in which intarsia was a "waste of time." It was an extremely labor-intensive process, so much so that creating large-scale displays of it was a form of conspicuous consumption (of labor). That's the kind of thing that states and institutions do, as a legitimacy-building exercise. TFA nods in that direction but is not explicit because it expects you to already be up to speed on that.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 9:00 AM on August 12 [1 favorite]