In 1969, the Australian tourist Denis Michael Rohan destroyed this artwork in an act of arson, leading to its painstaking reconstruction from 6500 pieces of walnut wood. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name or describe this 12th-century artwork commissioned by Nur al-Din and made of interlocking pieces without glue or nails. In this artwork, mashrabiya balustrades lead up to an ornate khutba.
ANSWER: the minbar of the Al-Aqsa Mosque [or the Minbar of Saladin; prompt on minbar by asking “in what building?”]
[10e] The reconstructed minbar stands inside the Al-Aqsa mosque in this city, where it lies on the Temple Mount near the Dome of the Rock.
ANSWER: Jerusalem [or Yerushalayim or al-Quds]
[10m] Abweini et al. wrote that restoring these elements atop the minbar’s door and khutba was the greatest challenge for the reconstructors. These decorative elements, often likened to stalactites or honeycombs, decorate the iwans or domes of many Islamic buildings.
ANSWER: muqarnas [or muqarbaṣ or mocárabe]
<TH, Visual Arts>