Spain, dated 972/73
Height 38.2 cm (15 in.), width 41.0 cm (16 1/8 in.)
LNS 2 S
This marble capital belongs to a series of hundreds of columns made for the royal palace at
Madinat al-Zahra near Córdoba begun in 936 by Caliph Abd al-Rahman III (r. 912-61) and
continued by his son al-Hakam II (r. 961-76).
The surface of the capital is divided into horizontal registers and is entirely covered with
deeply carved floral motifs. The lower registers are decorated with alternating rows of
projecting acanthus leaves, while the head of the capital has four large volutes protruding
from the corners. Above is a narrow panel with inscriptions, interrupted by four projecting
triangles.
The Arabic inscriptions, rendered in kufic, include the names of al-Hakam and the
supervisor of the project, Taled, and end with the date 362 A.H. (972/73). the name of the
maker, written on one of the triangular projections, is given as Falih. Other capitals from the
same structure are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Musée du Louvre in
Paris, Museo Arqueológico in Madrid, and in situ on the original site
