Resumen de The monumental miniature: liquid architecture in the "kilgas" of Cairo
The 'kilga', a type of marble stand for water jars that appears to have been unique to medieval Cairo, makes reference through its carved ornamentation hydraulic arragements that were once intended to delight the senses in domestic and palatial settings. In so doing, the archetypal 'kilga' miniaturizes and dramatically reconfigures full-size water features, resulting in a complex and allusive relationship between the scaled-down architectural motifs carved on the jar stand and the monumental arragements that they imitate. Following the identification and discussion of specific architectural motifs found on the 'kilgas' and the implications of their modification during re-scaling, the essay situates these objects within the wider medieval Mediterranean phenomenon of miniature architectural structures associated with the provision of water, arguing that specific properties of the 'kilgas' enable them to be understood as standing in 'pars pro toto' for the city of Cairo itself.
