User:Charlottemeans/Qusayr 'Amra

Conservation
Since 1970, there have been multiple conservation projects undertaken at Qusayr 'Amra to address the state of the structure and the frescoes. The first was carried out by the Archaeological Museum of Madrid and spanned three years from 1971-1974. While the project involved some architectural restoration, it focused greatly on restoring the frescoes throughout the bathhouse. The frescoes were cleaned of soot, as well as covered with a layer of shellac to protect the paintings. However, this shellac was more damaging than protective, and was removed during a conservation project in 1996 carried out by the University of Granada. Over the years, the color of the shellac turned and covered the paintings. During and after the removal process, the shellac also caused some of the paint to come off of the wall.

Current Project
In 2010, a new conservation project began and is currently still active. This project has been conducted by the World Monuments Fund, the Italian Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro, and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. While this project works on the bathhouse itself as well as restoring the frescoes, it makes a point to also focus on the architecture outside of the bathhouse, such as the qasr, saqiya, and watch tower, that have not been conserved since previous projects focused mainly on the frescoes and interior of the bathhouse. The conservation efforts began with documentation of the state of paintings, frescoes, and the building. Lime mortar was applied to parts of the structure that were showing signs of leaking water and loss of original mortar. Additionally, windows and ceiling covers were added to prevent water from entering the bathhouse and to protect it from outside conditions. Removal of more shellac and cleaning of the paintings and frescoes revealed rich colors that had not been visible before.

West-Aisle
Around the west aisle, the story of Jonah and the whale is depicted four times in frescoes. These images of Jonah are the earliest known ones in Islamic Art. It is difficult to tell whether these depictions of Jonah are more accurate to the Christian story or, or the story from the Quran. Although the stories in the Quran and Bible are almost the same, inclusion of amphorae in the frescoes make it more accurate to the Biblical story. However, this could mean that the artists used other models to create these frescoes rather than sources from the Quran or Bible. In the Quran, Jonah had many roles and was often seen as an example of good and bad behaviour as well as a spiritual leader. Al-Walid's inclusion of multiple images of Jonah in the bathhouse allude's to his own belief in a predestined-right to rule since Jonah was divinely appointed as a leader. In addition to this, Al-Walid was greatly focused on legitimacy, especially coming from God, and the connection he made between himself and Jonah enforces this idea.

On the north wall of the west aisle, there is a large fresco of a nude woman swimming. In this fresco, there are fish that appear to be swimming around the woman, and a large flower that is understood to be a lotus flower. It is not known who the woman represents, but due to the apparent classical and late Roman style of depicting her, a number of mythological persons have been suggested. Despite this, due to the imagery surrounding the woman, it is believed that this specific fresco depicts a Nilotic scene. There have been a number of visual connections made between the Nile and the Jordan River that could support this claim. The Nile specifically was understood to be a symbol of plenty and a provider of life, and this meaning, which when placed in the context of where in the bathhouse this fresco is located, connects to al-Walid's role as a ruler. Opposite this wall the fresco of al-Walid enthroned sits, and this contrast between the large fresco of al-Walid and the fresco of the woman swimming implies that as caliph, al-Walid saw himself as a provider of life to the people he ruled over.

Tepidarium
Out of the three frescoes depicting women bathing in Qusayr 'Amra, two are located in the tepidarium. These frescoes depict women carrying water buckets to bathe their children, and included imagery of erotes as well. These women are depicted completely in the nude, which was not uncommon since the Umayyads accepted depictions of nudity, and since this building is not a religious one, depictions of humans was also approved. These frescoes have clear Roman influence with not only the inclusion of the erotes, but also the Roman-esque backgrounds and the belief that the scenes depicted could be part of a Dionysiac infant cycle. It is accurate to say that the women depicted were most likely goddesses of some kind since women were not allowed to enter bathhouses. Additionally, men were only allowed to enter if they were covered, which is reflected by the images of men somewhat covered in the bathhouse, so depictions of nudity of women would only be acceptable if the subjects were not human. Since the frescoes only have a few figures, it makes it so viewers can focus on them more and on what is happening in the scene. The scene of a woman pouring water over another person's head would have mimicked what occured in the room and further connects the frescoes to the viewer.

Caldarium
Creating the fresco on the dome was technically difficult, however, based on evidence showing that the artist had to redo several parts, it was clear that he was very skilled and focused on accuracy.