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Item number: 16988

Designer: Boym Partners

The Buildings of Disaster "Golden Mosque" Miniature by Boym Partners

Buildings of Disaster are miniature replicas of famous structures where tragic or terrible events happened to take place. These small monuments make a different, populist history of architecture, one based on emotional involvement rather than on scholarly appreciation. Inevitably, the sites of tragic events become involuntary monuments and tourist destinations.

Golden Mosque (or Al-Askari ), one of Shiite Muslim holiest sites, is located in the Iraqi city of Samarra. The original shrine dates back to 944. On February 26, 2006, a double explosion destroyed the famed golden dome of the building.The two remaining minarets were destroyed by another bombing in June 2007.

The building has become the most notable architectural victim of sectarian violence in Iraq. In the week following the explosion, 168 mosques were attacked or destroyed in reprisals. Presently, there is talk about rebuilding the Al-Askari.

In line with the original series, this 4 x 3 x 3 miniature is cast of bonded metal; each object is hand-finished and numbered. No more that 500 pieces will be made.