Student Number : 8546313 - PhD thesis - School of Arts - Faculty of Humanites / This thesis interrogates the extent to which the façades of, and decorative programmes in, selected South African public and commercial buildings erected during the decade 1930 – 40 may be understood as important indexes of the various ideological, social and historical concerns underpinning the construction of an imaginary of national belonging during this period. In the context of rapid urbanisation, burgeoning industrialisation, and rampant capitalism that characterise the period, issues of nationalism and political power are brought into sharp relief, with three political agendas competing for dominance: Afrikaner nationalism at one extreme and British imperialism at the other, with, from 1933 to the end of the decade, the insipid ‘South Africa First’ nationalism of the Smuts-Hertzog ‘fusion’ government occupying a highly contested space somewhere between the two. I argue in this thesis that the rhetoric of ‘unity in diversity’ that informs the fusion politics of the 1930s, and particularly its expression in the decorative programmes of public buildings provides for a more nuanced reading of the political and cultural landscape of 1930s South Africa than has been the case to date, where the focus has tended towards deconstructing the cultural nationalism of the 1930s in terms of the rise of Afrikaner nationalism. Moreover, it also serves as a compelling reference point against which to assess contemporary South African attempts to re-narrate notions of nationhood, and the extent to which difficult arguments around ethnicity, autochthony, and the construction of imaginary new ‘publics’ are articulated in post-apartheid public architecture. Chapter 1 is a review of the literature that informs this thesis; both as regards the art historical discourse on South African inter-World War art and architecture, as well as theoretical issues arising from writing on nationalism, national identity, and the role that art and architecture plays in evolving the nation code. In Chapters 2 and 3, I consider the ways in which the notions of identity arising from fusion politics are played out in the decorative programmes of two significant public buildings, South Africa House in London (1933) in Chapter 2 and the Pretoria City Hall (1935) in Chapter 3. I argue that both these buildings are classic examples of the manifestation in architectural terms of the hybrid identity being forged by the centrist ‘South Africa first’ ideologues, in so far as their decorative programmes express an uncomfortable alliance between the entrenched values of British imperialism and a burgeoning Afrikaner nationalism. In Chapter 4, I contrast the decorative programme of the headquarters of the new Afrikaner insurance companies SANTAM and SANLAM (1932) with that of the new corporate headquarters of the Commercial Union Assurance Company (1932), a British owned firm that had had a presence in Cape Town since 1863. The differences in effect of the decorative programmes of these two buildings serve to illuminate the extent of the ideological posturing of volkskapitalisme and its construction of a ‘modern African/Afrikaner’ identity within the imperialist heartland of Cape Town. These debates are brought into sharp relief by the third example discussed in this chapter, the Old Mutual building (1940), the decorative programme of which effectively conflates these concerns with modernity and nationalism in order to construct a hybrid ‘South Africanism’ that neatly elides Boer and Brit imaginings. In conclusion, I show in Chapter 5 how the post-apartheid South African situation presents an interesting case study in terms of constructing an imaginary of national belonging rooted in similar notions of ‘unity in diversity’. Examples here include important national architectural commissions like the legislature buildings for the newly constituted provinces of Mpumalanga (1999) and the Northern Cape (2003), as well as the new Constitutional Court in Johannesburg (2004). In this chapter, I interrogate these debates, and conclude by pointing to parallels with the case studies from the 1930s. The post-1994 examples in question have been widely celebrated as exemplary of a new and appropriate response to the challenges of public building in democratic South Africa. I suggest, however, that the lessons of the 1930s should serve as a reminder that the ostensible dichotomy between ‘good’ (civic) and ‘bad’ (ethnic) nationalism is perhaps not as natural and obvious as it may appear, and that both are equally problematic.

The seaport of Bombay is often referred to as India's "Gothic City." Reminders of British colonial rule are seen throughout South Bombay in its Victorian architecture and sculpture. In the heart of Bombay lies the Victoria Terminus, a towering, hybrid railway station blending gothic and vernacular architectures. Built at the height of the British Empire, the terminus is evidence of the rapid modernization of Bombay through the philanthropy of the Parsis. This religious and ethnic minority became quick allies to the British Raj; their generous donations funded the construction of the "Gothic City." The British viewed the Parsis as their peers, not the colonized. However, Parsi-funded architectural ornament reveals that they saw themselves on equal footing with Bombay's indigenous populations. The Parsis sought to integrate Indian and British art, design, and culture. Through their arts patronage they created an artistic heritage unique to Bombay, as seen in the architectural crown of Bombay, the Victoria Terminus.The Parsi philanthropist, Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy was the most influential in Bombay's modern art world. He was chosen with other Indian elites to serve on the selection committee for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. He selected India's finest works to demonstrate India's rich tradition of the decorative arts. In turn, these works were viewed within the Indian Pavilion by the Victorian public and design reformer Owen Jones. Jones used many of the objects at the India Pavilion in his design book, The Grammar of Ornament. This book went on to inspire the eclectic architectural ornament of Victorian Britain and eventually Bombay. Jeejeebhoy sold the majority of the works from the exhibition to the Victorian and Albert Museum and the Department of Sciences and Art in South Kensington. The objects were studied by design students in South Kensington who were later hired by Jeejeebhoy to be instructors at the Bombay School of Art. This school taught academic European art alongside traditional Indian design forthe purpose of creating public art works. Thus, the Parsis were important cultural mediators who funded British and Indian craftsmen to create symbols of "progress," such as the Victoria Terminus, for a modern India.

L’objet de ce travail est d’étudier le lien entre le mécénat et le décor architectural à Damas de l’arrivée des Salğūqides à l’irruption des Mongols en Syrie et l'occupation destructrice de la ville, soit la fin de la dynastie ayyūbide.Un recensement des monuments conservés, replacés pour certains dans le contexte d’un mécénat qui dépasse largement la métropole syrienne, permet de mettre plusieurs groupes de mécènes, un groupe princier (le dynaste et sa famille directe), celui des émirs qui gravite autour de ce pouvoir central sans toujours résider et se rend ainsi visible dans la capitale, et celui des groupes de juristes et de religieux (soufis notamment) qui, tracent avec leurs fondations une géographie dans la ville et dans ses faubourgs.Une présentation des monuments par étapes chronologiques, et par réseaux (familiaux, sociaux) illustre des moments-clefs de la création artistique à Damas (milieu du XII° siècle: Nûr al-Dîn; début XIII°: al-'Âdil) et des groupes d’édifices liés par des caractères originaux: muqarnas de plâtre au XII° siècle et de pierre au XIII° siècle n'ornent longtemps que les portails des familles princières.Le décor réside dans les choix architecturaux (salles à coupoles, transition sur trompes ou sur pendentifs), mais aussi dans le choix des matériaux avec le goût pour la peinture et la sculpture sur plâtre et pour les assises de pierre colorées (ablaq).L’étude des ornements, montre des liens durables avec l’art fatimide jusqu’au début du XIII° siècle, mais aussi des échanges constants avec les foyers de l'espace zankide et ayyûbide, mais aussi de Mésopotamie, d’Iran et d’Asie Centrale, qui pourvoient Damas en savants et combattants. / This work is a study about the link that we can find between the Architectural Ornament and the patronage in medieval Damascus from the arrival of Salğūqids to the Mongol conquest.A listing of the still existing (or documented) monuments, put for some patrons into the context of their known architectural activity in order to point out the importance of the destroyed monuments, throws light on the activity of rulers and their family, military circles, and religious circles. This patronage outlines a geography of these groups in and around the city of Damascus.The study of the monuments, chronologically and by circles of patronage (families, social groups…) illustrates some moments of important artistic activity ( Middle of the XIIth century: Nûr al-Dîn; Beginning of the XIIIth century: al-Âdil), and also some groups of monuments with original ornamentation, or conception: plaster and stone muqarnas only occcur on portals built by the ruler and his family, not by the amirs, nor scholars.Architectural ornament is also based upon some choice, for cupolas on squinches or pendentives, for cut plaster or painted plaster, couloured stones for stripped walls (ablaq).The study of ornaments shows the links with Fatimid art till the beginning of the XIII° century, and with close Syrian and Mesopotamian sources, but also with the more remote oriental sources, with Iranian and Central Asian art, in this time many scholars and warriors.come to Damascus from these countries.