Cleveland Museum of Art

Door (right)

Date

early 1400s

Medium

gilded and painted wood (pine)

Culture

Spain, early 15th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Typical of Muslim-inspired ornamentation, these doors reflect a love of geometric decoration stemming from a nonrealistic artistic tradition. They consist of applied wood strips that form eight-point stars, flowers, and geometric interlace designs. Such designs are reflected in the tiles, ceramic vessels, and metalwork of Muslim-occupied Spain. The origin of the doors is not known, but they may have belonged to a palace or domestic residence. In 711 the Moors had invaded and conquered nearly the entire peninsula. During the next 750 years, independent Muslim states were established, and the entire area of Muslim control became known as Al-Andalus. Muslim philosophers and scientists developed knowledge in areas like medicine, optics, algebra, chemistry, and geometry, as seen here.

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