Join Dr. Frances Durocher each month to learn about some of the fantastic art objects in Berlin!
Art Object of the Month - November
The Mshatta Palace Façade
Jordan, 8th Century
The ornate façade of the Mshatta ('Winter Palace') is one of the highlights of the Museum for Islamic Art (located in the Pergamon Museum). The façade has a fascinating history. It begins when the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid II (743-744) commissioned the palace. The facade's decorative carvings are characteristic of early Islamic art, which blended pictorial motifs from various neighboring cultures. However, the building was never completed and left abandoned after the assassination of Al-Walid II. In 1903 it came to Berlin as a gift from the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II to Kaiser Wilhelm II. Since that time, the Mshatta has been reconstructed three times - the last time after damage from a WWII Allied bomb.
Dr. Frances Durocher is an archaeologist and art historian. She earned an MA in the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas and a PhD in World Art and Museology from the University of East Anglia, UK. She has worked on various international research projects and for museums in the US, UK, Peru and Europe. Presently, she is working on educational art and museum programs for children and teens.
Questions? Email Frances at francesmdurocher@gmail.com
