Hishām’s Balancing Act

This is a study of the sculpted and painted iconography at the late Umayyad palace of Qaṣr al-Ḥayr al-Gharbī, in Syria. Its links with classical and Byzantine and, to a lesser extent, Sasanian art will be analyzed, leading to a consideration of whether these diverse borrowings should be regarded as random or as the reflection of some underlying purpose. The essay will argue that these are not random borrowings but that they point to a consistently followed plan to keep a balance between “western” and “eastern” elements in the major categories of ornament, iconography, technique, and material. This suggests a sophisticated awareness of the potential of art as a means of expressing propagandist themes. Contemporary political developments provide a strikingly relevant context for this decoration.