Amanda Larsen and Dr. Cynthia Finlayson

I used my ORCA grant to aid in my research of Syrian pearl inlaid furniture from the Ottoman era. The money paid for part of my plane ticket to Amman Jordan. From Amman, I accompanied Dr. Cynthia Finlayson to Damascus, Syria. I was with a small group of students. We each had separate research projects, but we also all were there to help with conservation, cataloging and display in the Azem Palace in Damascus.

Pearl Inlaid Furniture

My interest in Islamic Art actually began in a ninth grade art class, but for all intents and purposes it began in an Islamic Art History class taught by Dr. Finlayson. The background in Islamic art, history and geometry was essential to my research on pearl inlaid furniture.

I began my research on pearl inlaid furniture some months before our trip. My findings were very scant. I discovered that there was nothing on Pearl inlaid furniture in the BYU library and close to nothing in the United States. My studies were mostly of related areas since I could find hardly anything actually on pearl inlaid furniture. Instead I studied related areas such as other earlier furniture, Islamic geometry and architecture, and the Ottoman influence in Syria.

Going to Damascus really helped my research. Most importantly, I actually saw the furniture. Since there is no catalog of the Azem Palace collection I was only able to see a few images of the furniture before my arrival at the Azem Palace. Also, while I was in Syria I was able to talk to antique dealers who sold pearl inlaid furniture. They were able to tell me a lot about the history of pearl inlaid furniture and about how it is made. I also got the name of an old furniture maker who still made pearl inlaid furniture. I was not able to see him while I was there though. While in Damascus I also looked for books on pearl inlaid furniture at the university library and at local bookstores, but unfortunately found none there either.

We went to Turkey on our way back from Syria. In Turkey we went to the Top Kapi Palace and saw Turkish pearl inlaid furniture from the Ottoman era. Pearl inlaid furniture was first brought to Syria by the Ottomans. Then the Syrians developed their own signature style. So, in Turkey, I was able to see the source of Syrian pearl inlaid furniture. I also was finally able to find a few books that had brief articles on pearl inlaid furniture. Although the books were mostly on the Turkish tradition, they were still helpful in my research.

Museum Studies

As I mentioned previously, I went to the Azem Palace in Syria, not only to study pearl inlaid furniture, but also study and help with the cataloging, display and conservation of the furniture in the Azem Palace collection. To prepare for this Dr. Finlayson gave us reading son Museum studies. We also help discussions in other museums that we visited about good and bad conservation and display techniques. While there, I made a list and wrote descriptions and dimensions of much of the pearl inlaid furniture for a catalog. I also helped measure rooms so that we could plan displays. Finally Dr. Finlayson and I discussed how I would present pearl inlaid furniture both in an article for the catalog and in museum displays.

Problems

As I worked on this research project, I did encounter some problems. My first problem was that there was very little already written on pearl inlaid furniture. This is the truest form of research, in which the researcher goes to primary sources instead of to other researchers’ work. On the one hand this made my research very exciting. On the other hand, I felt very ill-equipped. I felt that I needed to know everything there was to know about Islamic art and geometry in order to come to scholarly conclusions about my topic. One Islamic art history class was insufficient. Thus, my research had to begin with Islamic art instead of with my specific topic.

To remedy this situation, I worked closely with Dr. Finlayson. With her knowledge, she was able to guide me toward promising readings and research ideas. Under her direction I was able to learn much more about my topic than I would have otherwise.

To add to the above frustration, the Azem Palace Museum did not have any records kept for any of their pearl inlaid furniture. They did not know where any of the pieces came from, or when they were purchased, let alone constructed. We had hoped to find some information there, but did not.

Another problem we encountered was political red tape in Syria. Because of political upheaval and new museum directors, we had trouble getting in to the museum to do our work and research. Although our project had been planned well in advance and was actually the request of the Syrian museum, because of a change in directors we were denied access for awhile. This was very frustrating. We had to spend a lot of time waiting for things to happen. We tried to use our waiting time wisely.

Although I encountered problems, this research project has been enjoyable and successful. Since the project is so extensive, I am actually turning my research over to another student who will return to Syria and take some of the leads that I have found. I have come to realize how little is known or written on many aspects of Islamic art history and it was exciting to be able to take part in new research even as an undergraduate.