Dar Si Said Museum

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Reception hall of the Dar Si Said Museum

The Dar Si Said Museum ( Arabic متحف دار السي سعيد, DMG Matḥaf Dār as-Sī Saʿīd ) in the Moroccan royal city of Marrakech is one of the most important museums in the country. It is primarily dedicated to the handicrafts of the Berber culture from the mountains of the Anti-Atlas and the High Atlas to the oasis region of the Tafilalet .

location

The outwardly inconspicuous Dar Si Said Museum is located about 500 m southeast of the Djemaa el Fna square or only about 200 m north of the Bahia Palace in the maze of alleys in the southern part of the medina of Marrakech.

history

The palace, built in the late 19th century, belonged to Si Saïd Ben Moussa , the war minister of Sultan Abd al-Aziz and younger brother of the then Grand Vizier Bou Ahmed . After his death in 1900 it was used for other purposes; It was not until the French protectorate in 1932 that the building was converted into a museum, which was given its current appearance after renovation work in 1978/80.

architecture

The two-storey building consists of several - partly garden-like - inner courtyards with surrounding rooms, all of which have a representative character on the ground floor (tile mosaics, artesonado ceilings, etc.). The actual living rooms on the upper floor (now also part of the museum) are furnished much more restrained.

museum

Most of the exhibits come from the Berber culture - woodwork can be found as well as jewelry, weapons, ceramics, textiles, carpets, musical instruments, etc. A stone fountain basin from the Arabic-influenced art of Andalusia dates back to around 1000, but it was used for centuries the Medersa Ben Youssef was erected. Its long side is richly decorated with arabesque motifs, while on the narrow side there are two eagles, which are otherwise hardly to be found in the art of the Islamic world that is hostile to images . Also to be mentioned are several wooden doors only approx. 1.40 m high from the storage castles of the Berbers of the western Anti-Atlas, whose geometric ornamentation (diamonds, triangles, etc.) originally probably had a disaster-defending ( apotropaic ) character. Similar ornaments can also be found on the pieces of jewelry and textiles on display.

Web links

Commons : Dar Si Said Museum  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 31 ° 37 ′ 24 ″  N , 7 ° 59 ′ 2 ″  W.