Stucco decoration in Islamic architecture refers to carved or molded stucco and plaster. The terms "stucco" and "plaster" are used almost interchangeably in this context to denote most types of stucco or plaster decoration with slightly varying compositions. This decoration was mainly used to cover walls and surfaces and the main motifs were those predominant in Islamic art: geometric, arabesque (or vegetal), and calligraphic, as well as three-dimensional muqarnas. Plaster of gypsum composition was extremely important in Islamic architectural decoration as the relatively dry climate throughout much of the Islamic world made it easy to use this cheap and versatile material in a variety of spaces.
Stucco decoration was already used in ancient times in the region of Iran and the Greco-Roman Mediterranean. In Islamic architecture, stucco decoration appeared during the Umayyad period (late 7th–8th centuries) and underwent further innovations and generalization during the 9th century under the Abbasids in Iraq, at which point it spread further across the Islamic world and was incorporated into regional architectural styles. Examples of historic carved stucco decoration are found in Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, and India, among other areas. It was commonly used in "Moorish" or western Islamic architecture in the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and parts of North Africa (the Maghreb), since at least the Taifa and Almoravid periods (11th–12th centuries). In the Iberian Peninsula it reached a creative pinnacle in Moorish architecture during the Nasrid dynasty (1238–1492), who built the Alhambra. Mudejar architecture also made broad use of such decoration. The Spanish term yesería is sometimes used in the context of Islamic and Mudéjar architecture in Spain.
History
Origins and early development
The use of carved stucco has been documented back to ancient times. Stucco decoration was used in Iran, Central Asia and the Greco-Roman Mediterranean, though it was most strongly associated with Iranian architecture under the Parthians and Sasanians. As the Islamic conquests of the 7th century captured Mesopotamia, Iran, and Central Asia and annexed them to the new Islamic empire, the long tradition of carved and painted stucco decoration in these regions was assimilated into early Islamic architecture. The Umayyad caliphs (661–750 AD) made use of carved stucco in their architecture, although it was of limited scope until the late Umayyad period. Examples of early 8th century stucco survive at Umayyad sites like Khirbat al-Mafjar and Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi (whose portal is now at National Museum of Damascus). As with other early Islamic sculptural decoration, the carved stucco decoration in the Umayyad period started out with an eclectic mix of styles originating in existing Classical, early Byzantine, and ancient Near Eastern artistic traditions.
It was only in the 9th century that a distinctively "Islamic" style of stucco decoration emerged. Under the Abbasids, based in Iraq, stucco decoration developed more abstract motifs, as seen in the 9th-century palaces of Samarra. Three styles are distinguished by modern scholars: "style A" consists of vegetal motifs, including vine leaves, derived from more traditional Byzantine and Levantine styles; "style B" is a more abstract and stylized version of these motifs; and "style C", also known as the "beveled" style, is entirely abstract, consisting of repeating symmetrical forms of curved lines ending in spirals. The Abbasid style became popular throughout the lands of the Abbasid Caliphate and is found as far as Afghanistan (e.g. Mosque of Haji Piyada in Balkh) and Egypt (e.g. Ibn Tulun Mosque).
Regionalization
As the Abbasid realm fragmented in the following centuries, architectural styles became increasingly regionalized. Towards the 11th century, muqarnas, a technique of three-dimensional geometric sculpting often compared to "stalactites", is attested across many parts of the Islamic world, often carved from stucco. It grew more popular from the 12th century onward.