From the port of Mocha to the eighteenth-century tomb of Imām al-Mahdī Muḥammad in al-Mawāhib: locating architectural icons and migratory craftsmen

Abstract

This article introduces and analyses the tomb of the Qāsimī imam, al-Mahdī Muhammad (r. 1686-1718), in the village of al-Mawāhib north-east of Dhamār. Unlike many of the mosques and tombs associated with the other Zaydī imams of Yemen, al-Mahdī's mausoleum has never been published, but merits close examination. While most historians consider his imamate to have been an era of both religious and political decline, this period was marked by increased cross-cultural interaction and artistic production. In particular, the tomb of al-Mahdī features unique decoration above its miḥrīb and a remarkable wooden cenotaph. In order to explain the meaning and context of these two individual features, the article posits a strong connection between al-Mahdī's legacy and the lucrative port city of Mocha on the Red Sea coast, which was separated from al-Mawāhīb by a considerable distance but in close communication with the imam's court. The projecting box over the miḥrāb relates to the rawshan, or wooden projecting window, which appeared as a key visual icon of Mocha's house facades. Additionally, the ivory-inlaid wooden cenotaph was probably manufactured in Mocha by Indian artisans. In fact, it may serve as the single remaining Yemeni specimen of this provincial woodworking industry mentioned by Prisse d'Avennes in the nineteenth century.