How does this artwork elucidate its Construction?
The Aleppo Room in its T-shaped form is 11 m long, 7.5 m wide and 2.95 m high. The panelling is constructed of 10 frames with attached panels, all made of cedar. There are 46 vertical and 10 horizontal in-fills with inscriptions. The frames consist of 15.5 cm broad cedar planks of 2 cm thickness, assembled with mitered mortise and tenon joints. The in-fills, with widths varying from 13 to 41 cm, measure 16 mm in thickness and end with a surrounding cyma. Originally the in-fills were attached with wooden nails. The quality of the wood used attests to the great knowledge of the carpenter, since it was well chosen and seasoned. Both, panels and in-fills were well and precisely burnished with a plane, and a ground was applied. They show very good craftsmanship. It is particularly remarkable that a coniferous wood could be made sufficiently smooth to be capable of providing a ground for lacquer. In European historical sources, it was stipulated that hardwood should be used. The difference of ground preparation of the red-lacquer panels is evident in comparison to the horizontal in-fills with inscriptions. Here the surface of the in-fills is fairly rough, which corresponds to a different painting technique.
There are 14 doors, which served as entrance, lattice blinds and wall-closets. Each of the doors show the same construction: The door frames and profiles are made of walnut and the geometrical in-fills of boxwood. The outer supporting frames are assembled with mortise and tenon joints, while the inner fillings are connected by a plug with geometrical fillings and beads, which is typical of oriental woodwork. The inner in-fills were fitted without glue. The doors are also proof of excellent craftsmanship. They moved on iron hinges, which were originally joined to the lintels.The upper ending consists of a muqarnas cornice. It is assembled with various components forming the typical stalactite form. The forms fit together with wooden nails and glue and are covered with canvas, which prepared them for painting. In each niche, as well as in the entrance area, are found different types of muqarnas design. Moreover, there are 10 lintels and four lattices, called mashrabiyya in Arabic, which until now had never been exhibited and which had been kept in storage.
In Aleppo, the panelling was presumably fixed directly to the walls. In the museum, in the 1930s, a supporting frame was mounted at the back. This construction still exists today and will be kept as a useful mounting system.
Arabic muqarnas Aleppo mashrabiyya