“Cup of Pharaoh” from Samarra and the Reuse of Ancient spolia as Water Features in the medieval Islamic World

Abstract

This paper opens with a consideration of the biography of a large basin discovered during excavations at the Abbasid capital of Samarra. The large, circular, basin from Samarra closely matches historical descriptions of a fountain located in the city’s Congregational Mosque which became known as “kasat firun,” or the “Cup of Pharaoh” and, since its discovery, this excavated basin and the historical account of the fountain have often been conflated as one and the same. The excavated basin is carved from a non-local—and probably Egyptian—stone which may have generated its mysterious association with the Pharaonic past. A consideration of the possible sources from which such a large stone basin might have been obtained during the Islamic period, however, opens up a wider discussion related to the reuse of pre-Islamic artefacts as water features. This paper explores possible scenarios through which the basin from Samarra might have been acquired by the Abbasid caliphs alongside the logistics associated with its transport to Samarra. In addition, the likely motivations for the installation of this enigmatic stone basin are evaluated—including pragmatic reuse of an impressive piece of stonework, a symbolic statement of contemporary pre-eminence over the rulers of the past or perhaps even beliefs in the quasi-magical powers of ancient objects. Alongside this, the existence of several comparable, near-contemporary, basins, demonstrate that the reuse of objects from the past as contemporary water features in important locations, was a wider practice seen in both the Islamic world and beyond. As an object that seems to have led multiple lives, the complex biography of the basin from Samarra illuminates the ways in which material remains of the past were understood and repurposed during the Abbasid Caliphate.

Reuse of Heritage Spolia in Iraq: A Historical Exploration

“…Another Spolia effect has been identified in Samarra. Although not a water feature per se, a parallel may also be drawn between the 'Cup of Pharaoh' and a uniquely Abbasid architectural feature mentioned in Brown (2022) and referenced to Ritter (2020). In the Dār al-Khilāfa at Samarra, it is probable that one of the rooms had a floor of blue-green glass tiles with regular raised, globular.…”

“…In a description of another Abbasid reuse of spolia that has occurred in the city of Samarra (762 CE) al-Mutawakkil, Brown (2022) shows that the basin discovered in the Dār al-Khilāfa (Figure 6) appears to have been carved during the Roman period from the stones extracted from the quarries at Aswan. From there, it has been probably transported as a labrum to a bathhouse in one of the major Roman cities.…”

“…This could have been in Egypt itself or, perhaps more likely, one of the Levantine cities-requiring the heavy basin to be brought down the Nile and across the Mediterranean from a port such as Alexandria. According to Brown (2022), the Abbasid caliphs have acquired the basin or basins which have been removed from this bathhouse as spolia. Brown suggests the reasons why the Abbasid caliphs not only sought to acquire ancient stone basins but chose to install them inside their palaces and, possibly, at the center of one of the Caliphate's most important religious buildings-Samarra's Congregational Mosque.…”

“…In other words, the legitimization of their claim to power, and the reinforcement of the prestige and authority of their new capitals, has been a key concern that has signaled visual and material cues referencing the past, specifically associated with a renowned ruler known through the Quran. Its installation at Samarra has evoked not only the common heritage that has connected the Abbasid caliphs with a powerful ancient ruler but also has signaled the extent to which the Abbasids eclipsed the rulers of the past (Brown, 2022).…”

“…Set in a white plaster bedding, these translucent tiles would have created a water-like effect-likely an allusion to a well-known legend relating to the King Solomon. Brown (2022) quotes Ritter and says "Hence a room with a glass floor in Abbasid palaces could connect the caliphal or princely owner with Suleyman, the powerful, religiously legitimate, universal king, and famous builder" (Ritter, 2020: ? ).…”