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Conferences "Reflections on Qurtuba in the 21st Century" in London
From May 22, 2014 until June 19, 2014
From 22 May to 19 June, the British capital will host four lectures on the importance of Qurtuba today.
Casa Árabe, in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, Research Seminar in Islamic Art) and the Instituto Cervantes de Londres, organizes a series of four lectures that focus on Islamic art, the history of al-Andalus, and specifically the universal importance of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba during the tenth century.
These lectures are a continuation of a book published by Casa Arabe in 2013, titled “Reflections on Cordoba in the 21st Century”. It was published in Spanish, English and Arabic, with the aim of adding the important contributions of Spanish scholars to the scientific understanding of this fundamental chapter of the history of Islamic arts and cultures. These short series of lectures share the book’s aim of bringing the work of Spanish scholars to a wider English-speaking audience.
Conf. Eduardo Manzano Londres
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Broad views of "convivencia" as the main feature that pervades Umayyad Cordoba in the 10th/4th century have usually fostered a number of myths and misconceptions regarding its sudden "magnificence" and "splendour". This has entailed that the material foundations of the Caliphate have usually been overlooked. The aim of this lecture is to show the role played by wealth and valuables in the social and political articulation of the Umayyad Caliphate, and how a proper assessment of these elements can render new insights for the knowledge of objects and material remains.
Research Seminar in Islamic Art. Department of the History of Art & Archaeology, SOAS in Room B104 (Brunei Building) at 5:30 p.m.
Conf. Eduardo López Busquets.
The aim of this lecture is to share the reflection on the extraordinary fact that Cordoba, as many other cities from former al-Andalus, is a timeless place. Just the name, from a first abstract impression, evokes a world of emotions and mental images that transcend well-known spatial and temporary borders and compose a rendition of what the city is, has been and, maybe more importantly, will be in the future. Although the Arab identity of the past has little to do with the present situation of Cordoba and many other Spanish cities, yet this past partly inspires a retrospective view that transcends the city and its Arab-Islamic legacy. In this context is where Casa Arabe stands a Spanish institution created with public support seven years ago, whose venue in the city of Cordoba is on itself a landmark of heritage and modernity.
Instituto Cervantes Londres. 102 Eaton Square. London SW1W 9AN. At 6:30 p.m.
Conf. Antonio Vallejo Londres
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Madinat al-Zahra was the great urban creation of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus. It was built in the middle of the tenth century as part of the ideological-structural programme launched by Abd al-Rahman III after his self-proclamation as Amir al-muminin (prince of believers) and within the context of his rivalry with other Caliphates, especially that of the Fatimids. Since Madinat al-Zahra was one of the Caliphate’s main means of propaganda and legitimisation, the lecture seeks to explain how city planning and architecture not only reflect the structure of the Caliphal State but also its most pressing concerns and issues. This direct relationship, guaranteed by the sovereign’s involvement in all decision-making processes regarding construction, is one of the aspects that the lecture aims to bring to light. Moreover, the changes in palace architecture also clearly reflect the changes made to the configuration of the State. Madinat al-Zahra was not a static city but underwent important transformation processes that can be read and interpreted in a historical context as a reflection of the evolution of the Caliphal State from its proclamation to its consolidation.
The analysis of the building materials of Madinat al-Zahra in the Victoria and Albert Museum, which were uncovered in the first excavations, will help corroborate these hypotheses.
Research Seminar in Islamic Art. Department of the History of Art & Archaeology, SOAS, in Room B104 (Brunei Building) at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday 19th June 2014
"Qurtuba: the monumentality and artistic sense of al-Andalus," by José Miguel Puerta Vílchez, University of Granada. Presented by Eduardo López Busquets, Director General of Casa Árabe.
COnf. Puerta Vílchez Londres
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Along with the rich humanistic culture of the Umayyads of al-Andalus, the architecture and arts of Qurtuba from the eighth to thirteenth centuries AD are milestones in the history of classical Islam. Their monumentality and refinement, admired in medieval Europe, have become a renowned cultural and aesthetic paradigm today. The exceptional values of the Great Mosque of Cordoba , of the palace-city of Madinat al-Zahra and other monuments are enhanced by their wide ornamental range of stone, metal, ivory, ceramic, glass, textiles and paper objects, representative of a deep artisanal wisdom, and profoundly significant on a conceptual and iconographic level. This lecture will focus on the essential elements of these objects and the high level of aesthetic self-awareness manifest in the Andalusian Arabic sources, and in the hand of the masters, patrons and craftsmen of these works of art.
Thursday 19th June 2014 at 7 p.m.
Seminar Room Three, Learning Centre
Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL.
This event is free, but booking is required. If you are interested in attending, please email asia.events@vam.ac.uk
Doors open at 18.30 and the lecture is followed by a reception
Please enter the Museum by the Secretariat Gate.
You will be escorted through the building to the Seminar Room.
Wheelchair access: please contact 020 7942 2324 in advance
Enquiries: 020 7942 2324
These lectures are a continuation of a book published by Casa Arabe in 2013, titled “Reflections on Cordoba in the 21st Century”. It was published in Spanish, English and Arabic, with the aim of adding the important contributions of Spanish scholars to the scientific understanding of this fundamental chapter of the history of Islamic arts and cultures. These short series of lectures share the book’s aim of bringing the work of Spanish scholars to a wider English-speaking audience.
Thursday 22nd May 2014
"Delivering the Caliphate. The circulation of wealth and valuables in Umayyad Cordoba in the 10th/4th century," by Eduardo Manzano Moreno, CSIC, Madrid. Presented by Nuria Medina, coordinator of Culture and New Media at Casa Árabe.Conf. Eduardo Manzano Londres
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Broad views of "convivencia" as the main feature that pervades Umayyad Cordoba in the 10th/4th century have usually fostered a number of myths and misconceptions regarding its sudden "magnificence" and "splendour". This has entailed that the material foundations of the Caliphate have usually been overlooked. The aim of this lecture is to show the role played by wealth and valuables in the social and political articulation of the Umayyad Caliphate, and how a proper assessment of these elements can render new insights for the knowledge of objects and material remains.
Research Seminar in Islamic Art. Department of the History of Art & Archaeology, SOAS in Room B104 (Brunei Building) at 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday 3rd June 2014
"Reflections on Qurtuba in the 21st Century: legacy and modernity," by Eduardo López Busquets, director general of Casa Árabe.Conf. Eduardo López Busquets.
The aim of this lecture is to share the reflection on the extraordinary fact that Cordoba, as many other cities from former al-Andalus, is a timeless place. Just the name, from a first abstract impression, evokes a world of emotions and mental images that transcend well-known spatial and temporary borders and compose a rendition of what the city is, has been and, maybe more importantly, will be in the future. Although the Arab identity of the past has little to do with the present situation of Cordoba and many other Spanish cities, yet this past partly inspires a retrospective view that transcends the city and its Arab-Islamic legacy. In this context is where Casa Arabe stands a Spanish institution created with public support seven years ago, whose venue in the city of Cordoba is on itself a landmark of heritage and modernity.
Instituto Cervantes Londres. 102 Eaton Square. London SW1W 9AN. At 6:30 p.m.
Thursday 5th June 2014
"The Cordoban caliphate through Madinat al-Zahra: from its proclamation to its consolidation" by Antonio Vallejo Triano, former director of the Madinat al-Zahra Architectural Complex (from 1985 to 2013)Conf. Antonio Vallejo Londres
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Madinat al-Zahra was the great urban creation of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus. It was built in the middle of the tenth century as part of the ideological-structural programme launched by Abd al-Rahman III after his self-proclamation as Amir al-muminin (prince of believers) and within the context of his rivalry with other Caliphates, especially that of the Fatimids. Since Madinat al-Zahra was one of the Caliphate’s main means of propaganda and legitimisation, the lecture seeks to explain how city planning and architecture not only reflect the structure of the Caliphal State but also its most pressing concerns and issues. This direct relationship, guaranteed by the sovereign’s involvement in all decision-making processes regarding construction, is one of the aspects that the lecture aims to bring to light. Moreover, the changes in palace architecture also clearly reflect the changes made to the configuration of the State. Madinat al-Zahra was not a static city but underwent important transformation processes that can be read and interpreted in a historical context as a reflection of the evolution of the Caliphal State from its proclamation to its consolidation.
The analysis of the building materials of Madinat al-Zahra in the Victoria and Albert Museum, which were uncovered in the first excavations, will help corroborate these hypotheses.
Research Seminar in Islamic Art. Department of the History of Art & Archaeology, SOAS, in Room B104 (Brunei Building) at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday 19th June 2014
"Qurtuba: the monumentality and artistic sense of al-Andalus," by José Miguel Puerta Vílchez, University of Granada. Presented by Eduardo López Busquets, Director General of Casa Árabe.
COnf. Puerta Vílchez Londres
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Along with the rich humanistic culture of the Umayyads of al-Andalus, the architecture and arts of Qurtuba from the eighth to thirteenth centuries AD are milestones in the history of classical Islam. Their monumentality and refinement, admired in medieval Europe, have become a renowned cultural and aesthetic paradigm today. The exceptional values of the Great Mosque of Cordoba , of the palace-city of Madinat al-Zahra and other monuments are enhanced by their wide ornamental range of stone, metal, ivory, ceramic, glass, textiles and paper objects, representative of a deep artisanal wisdom, and profoundly significant on a conceptual and iconographic level. This lecture will focus on the essential elements of these objects and the high level of aesthetic self-awareness manifest in the Andalusian Arabic sources, and in the hand of the masters, patrons and craftsmen of these works of art.
Thursday 19th June 2014 at 7 p.m.
Seminar Room Three, Learning Centre
Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL.
This event is free, but booking is required. If you are interested in attending, please email asia.events@vam.ac.uk
Doors open at 18.30 and the lecture is followed by a reception
Please enter the Museum by the Secretariat Gate.
You will be escorted through the building to the Seminar Room.
Wheelchair access: please contact 020 7942 2324 in advance
Enquiries: 020 7942 2324
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"Qurtuba: the monumentality and artistic sense of al-Andalus,"
June 19, 2014By José Miguel Puerta Vílchez, University of Granada.Along with the rich humanistic culture of the Umayyads of al-Andalus, the architecture and arts of Qurtuba from the eighth to thirteenth centuries AD are milestones in the history of classical Islam. Their monumentality and refinement, admired in medieval Europe, have become a renowned cultural and aesthetic paradigm today. The exceptional values of the Great Mosque of Cordoba , of the palace-city of Madinat al-Zahra and other monuments are enhanced by their wide ornamental range of stone, metal, ivory, ceramic, glass, textiles and paper objects, representative of a deep artisanal wisdom, and profoundly significant on a conceptual and iconographic level. This lecture will focus on the essential elements of these objects and the high level of aesthetic self-awareness manifest in the Andalusian Arabic sources, and in the hand of the masters, patrons and craftsmen of these works of art.Thursday 19th June 2014 at 7 p.m.
Seminar Room Three, Learning Centre
Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL.
This event is free, but booking is required. If you are interested in attending, please email asia.events@vam.ac.uk
Doors open at 18.30 and the lecture is followed by a reception
Please enter the Museum by the Secretariat Gate.
You will be escorted through the building to the Seminar Room.
Wheelchair access: please contact 020 7942 2324 in advance
Enquiries: 020 7942 2324