inscriptions in floriated Kufic
Zanzibar
12th Century
Source: Stéphane Pradines, 'Early Swahili Mosques: The Role of Ibadi and Ismaili Communities, Ninth to Twelfth Centuries', in Heritage and Sustainable Conservation, pp. 215-228.
Recipe Details
Evidence
"The mihrab was decorated with inscriptions in floriated Kufic which ran along each side and in the interior of the niche."
Remarks
The mihrab of the mosque of Kizimkazi (dated 1107 AD) is the earliest known Swahili mihrab still in elevation. It features elaborate architectural decorations including engaged columns, twisted colonettes carrying a trilobal arch, and blind arcades (p. 226). Scholarly disagreement exists regarding the date of the arch; Peter Garlake suggests it dates to an 18th-century restoration (1772), whereas Mark Horton and others consider the trilobal arch and floriated Kufic inscriptions to be original to the 12th century (p. 228).
Scientific Analysis
Analytical Techniques
archaeological survey
stylistic analysis
Certainty Level
Inferred
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
pigment
RegionZanzibar
Approx. Year1150
Source Information
AuthorStéphane Pradines, 'Early Swahili Mosques: The Role of Ibadi and Ismaili Communities, Ninth to Twelfth Centuries', in Heritage and Sustainable Conservation, pp. 215-228.
CollectionKizimkazi mosque, Zanzibar
Language
N/A
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