Muxrabija windows and roundel carvings

I am a third year University student reading for a BA (Hons.) in History of Art and currently working on my thesis entitled A gazetteer of Muxrabija-windows and Roundel Carvings in the Maltese Islands.

My assignment is to find, study, photograph and document specific architectural elements which in all probability were introduced to our islands during the medieval Arab occupation. These architectural features, which I am here illustrating with three photos, are now being lost to progress and hence becoming very rare.

The muxrabija window was and is still in use in North Africa as a device for women to keep a watchful eye on the streets without being observed from the outside. One has to take into account that the Koran restricts women from having contact with the outside world, therefore such a window with perforated screens suits the context well.

The other artefact is the roundel carving, that is carvings on stone, found mainly on farmhouses, house façades and in private courtyards or interiors. These carvings contain abstract patterns which recall the non-representation of the human form in Islamic art without reducing their significance of faith and of the spiritual dimension of what Muslims call the perfect universal religion.

I hope that readers of this newspaper would direct me to find examples of both muxrabija windows and roundel carvings in the Maltese Islands which I have not yet documented.

My address is: 'Mon-Reve', 25, Paul Inguanez Street, Rabat RBT 1950. I may be reached on 7905-2443 or 2145-6995; e-mail: rush@maltanet.net