The museum has a small collection of islamic objects, this is one of them.
A vine patterned column, it used to stand in the garden of the old museum, now has rightly been taken inside. Limestone, from Harran.
Fragment of a pillar. From Harran, Islamic (Umayyad), first half of the 8th century.
The Umayyad caliph Merwan II (744-750) made Harran his favorite residence and capital city.
The style and motifs (grapevine) of the sculpted decoration are strongly influenced by 5th-6th century Byzantine examples, which are themselves tributary to 3th century Roman art. This stylistic connection can be noticed in Umayyad architecture in general.