Pisa Griffin

We just learned about the Trà Kiệu Pedestal from the ancient Champa kingdom.

Another famous sculpture is the Pisa Griffin, made around 1000 AD somewhere in Spain.

It is about 3 feet tall, and is the largest Islamic metal sculpture ever found.
It has carvings on it, and some holes.
Some people think the holes were used to make it into a fountain, and others think maybe the holes were to make sounds like a horn.

The sculpture is in Pisa, Italy now, and people think it was taken as a treasure from war long ago when some people from Italy battled some Islamic people in Spain.


(from: wikipedia - pisa griffin)


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Mshatta Facade

We just learned about the Khajuraho Group of Monuments.

Another famous work of art is the Mshatta Facade.

This used to be part of one of the desert castles in the country of Jordan.

The castle was later abandoned and ruined by some earthquakes.
In 1840, the sultan in Jordan named Abdul Hamid II gave this nice looking piece of the old castle as a gift to the German emperor named Wilhelm II, and it is now in a German museum.
It is about 16 feet tall, and over 100 feet long.


(from: wikipedia - mshatta facade)

(from: wikipedia - qasr al-mshatta)


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