DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.29899#0540
520
SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE.
Part III.
decorated in so sumptuous a manner by succeeding khalifs as to render
it one of fhe most beautiful buildings in the world.
The first drawings which were made of the Dome of the Rock
(Cubbet-es-Sakra, more generally known as the Mosque of Omar) by
Messrs. Arundale and Catherwood (probably under great difficulties,
for the sacred enclosure was not then thrown open to the gaze of
unbelievers), represented the work as one of uniform design. The
more careful examination which has been made in later years has
revealed that the columns, capitals and bases of the main structure
were taken from some earlier buildings and adapted in the best way ;
a high base making amends for a small capital, and new ones only
being made when it became necessary. On this point Major Condor
says, 1 “ only three of the capitals under the drum are alike ; the rest
differ in size, in outline, and in details. One of the capitals is
evidently placed on a shaft which did not originally belong to it, but
which required a large
capital. The sixteen
capitals in the screen
are more uniform : ”
“ two of those capitals
are, however, of entirely
different design, and
their shafts longer than
the others.” “ The
original bases are now
covered with marble
flagging ; ” “ but this
w 7as removed in 1874,
and it w ras then found
that they differed in
outline and height, viz. from 4 to as much as 17 inches.”
The plan (Woodcut No. 972), consists of a central hall over the
Sakhra, or sacred rock, with doublë aisles round. The hall is divided
from the first aisle by 4 piers, with 3 columns between each ; these 16
supports carry 3-centred arches (virtually pointed arches, whose centres
are distant from one another by about one-fourth of the span, with the
puint of the arch rounded off) with wooden tie-beams. Above these
arches rises a lofty cylindrical drum, the upper portion of which is
pierced with 16 clerestory windows ; the whole covered by a wooden
dome, richly carved, painted and gilded. The screen w 7hich divides the
first aisle from the surrounding one is octagonal, with piers at each
angle, and two columns between each ; these columns are surmounted
by capitals, dosserets, and carry wood beams encased in rich archi-
972. Plan of the Dome of the Rock (Mosque of Omar) Jerusalem.
1 Transactions of the Royal Institution of British Architects, 1878-79.
SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE.
Part III.
decorated in so sumptuous a manner by succeeding khalifs as to render
it one of fhe most beautiful buildings in the world.
The first drawings which were made of the Dome of the Rock
(Cubbet-es-Sakra, more generally known as the Mosque of Omar) by
Messrs. Arundale and Catherwood (probably under great difficulties,
for the sacred enclosure was not then thrown open to the gaze of
unbelievers), represented the work as one of uniform design. The
more careful examination which has been made in later years has
revealed that the columns, capitals and bases of the main structure
were taken from some earlier buildings and adapted in the best way ;
a high base making amends for a small capital, and new ones only
being made when it became necessary. On this point Major Condor
says, 1 “ only three of the capitals under the drum are alike ; the rest
differ in size, in outline, and in details. One of the capitals is
evidently placed on a shaft which did not originally belong to it, but
which required a large
capital. The sixteen
capitals in the screen
are more uniform : ”
“ two of those capitals
are, however, of entirely
different design, and
their shafts longer than
the others.” “ The
original bases are now
covered with marble
flagging ; ” “ but this
w 7as removed in 1874,
and it w ras then found
that they differed in
outline and height, viz. from 4 to as much as 17 inches.”
The plan (Woodcut No. 972), consists of a central hall over the
Sakhra, or sacred rock, with doublë aisles round. The hall is divided
from the first aisle by 4 piers, with 3 columns between each ; these 16
supports carry 3-centred arches (virtually pointed arches, whose centres
are distant from one another by about one-fourth of the span, with the
puint of the arch rounded off) with wooden tie-beams. Above these
arches rises a lofty cylindrical drum, the upper portion of which is
pierced with 16 clerestory windows ; the whole covered by a wooden
dome, richly carved, painted and gilded. The screen w 7hich divides the
first aisle from the surrounding one is octagonal, with piers at each
angle, and two columns between each ; these columns are surmounted
by capitals, dosserets, and carry wood beams encased in rich archi-
972. Plan of the Dome of the Rock (Mosque of Omar) Jerusalem.
1 Transactions of the Royal Institution of British Architects, 1878-79.