Reframing the Alhambra: Architecture, Poetry, Textiles and Court Ceremonial

337 Pages·2020·72.558 MB·English

by  Olga Bush

Edinburgh StudiES in iSlamic art Edinburgh StudiES in iSlamic art
S E r iE S E d i t o r : r o bE r t h i l lE n b r a n d S E r iE S E d i t o r : r o bE r t h i l lE n b r a n d
This series offers readers easy access to the most up-to-date research across the whole range of Islamic
R
art, representing various parts of the Islamic world, media and approaches. Books in the series are
e
academic monographs of intellectual distinction that mark a significant advance in the field. f
r
a
m
Reframing the Alhambra
i
n
ARchitectuRe, PoetRy, textiles g

And couRt ceRemoniAl t
h
olgA Bush e

A
l
h
A beautifully illustrated study of the so-called London Qazvīnī a
m
The London Qazvīnī is an early fourteenth-century illustrated Arabic copy of al-Qazvīnī’s The Wonders of Creation and the b
r
Oddities of Existing Things. One of a handful of extant illustrated codices produced under the Mongols of Iran, this unique
a
manuscript gathers earlier Mesopotamian painting traditions, North Jaziran-Seljuq elements, Anatolian inspiration, the
latest changes brought about after the advent of Mongols and a large number of illustrations of extraordinary subjects
which escape proper classification.
In this lavishly illustrated volume Stefano Carboni offers a stylistic analysis and discussion of the manuscript’s miniatures,
a presentation and description of the 368 extant paintings that illustrate the codex and a partial critical translation of the
o
related Arabic text. This is the first time that sections throughout the whole text are available in English.
l
g
Stefano Carboni is the Director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Western Australia and Adjunct Professor at the University
a
of Western Australia. He is author and editor of several books including Glass from Islamic Lands. The Al-Sabah Collection

(2001) and Venice and the Islamic World 8281797 (2007). B
u
s
h
Reframing the Alhambra
Architecture, Poetry, textiles
ISBN 978-0-7486-8324-6
E
and court ceremonial
d
9 780748 683246 in
b
Cover image: The Planet Mercury, Fol. 8r; 87x165 mm, British Library u
r olga Bush
Cover design: Stuart Dalziel g
h
1314 eup Bush_PPC.indd 1 16/05/2017 21:59
REFRAMING THE
ALHAMBRA
Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art
Series Editor: Professor Robert Hillenbrand
Series titles include:
Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shiʿism and the Architecture
of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran
Sussan Babaie
Text and Image in Medieval Persian Art
Sheila S. Blair
The Minaret
Jonathan M. Bloom
Reframing the Alhambra: Architecture, Poetry, Textiles and
Court Ceremonial
Olga Bush
The Wonders of Creation and the Singularities of Painting: A Study
of the Ilkhanid London QazvÈnÈ
Stefano Carboni
Islamic Chinoiserie: The Art of Mongol Iran
Yuka Kadoi
Rum Seljuq Architecture, 1170–1220: The Patronage of Sultans
Richard P. McClary
The Dome of the Rock and its Mosaic Inscriptions
Marcus Milwright
The Shrines of the ʿAlids in Medieval Syria: Sunnis, Shiʿis and
the Architecture of Coexistence
Stephennie Mulder
China’s Early Mosques
Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt
edinburghuniversitypress.com/series/esii
REFRAMING THE
ALHAMBRA
ARCHITECTURE, POETRY,
TEXTILES AND COURT
CEREMONIAL
Olga Bush
Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses
in the UK. We publish academic books and journals in our selected
subject areas across the humanities and social sciences, combining
cutting-edge scholarship with high editorial and production
values to produce academic works of lasting importance. For more
information visit our website: edinburghuniversitypress.com
© Olga Bush, 2018
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
The Tun – Holyrood Road
12 (2f) Jackson’s Entry
Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
Typeset in Trump Medieval by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire,
and printed and bound in Malta by Melita Press
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 4744 1650 4 (hardback)
ISBN 978 1 4744 1651 1 (webready PDF)
ISBN 978 1 4744 1652 8 (epub)
The right of Olga Bush to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations
2003 (SI No. 2498).
Contents
List of Figures vi
Series Editor’s Foreword xii
Acknowledgements xiii
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER 1 Colour, Design and Medieval Optics 17
CHAPTER 2 A ddressing the Beholder: The Work of Poetic
Inscriptions 72
CHAPTER 3 Qalahurra of YËsuf I: A Case Study of a
Tower-palace 110
CHAPTER 4 ‘Textile Architecture’ in the Cuarto Dorado 166
CHAPTER 5 I ntegrating Aesthetic and Politics: The Mawlid
Celebration in the Alhambra 228
Appendix 285
Bibliography 291
Illustration Acknowledgements 314
Index 316
Figures
I.1 Alhambra and the city of Granada, view from the
Generalife 2
I.2 Alhambra, general view from the Mirador de San
Nicolás, Albayzín 3
I.3 The fortress and madÈna of the Alhambra, and the
Generalife, general plan 4
I.4 Key to Figure I.3 5
I.5 Generalife, seen in the middle ground, a view from the
fortress of the Alhambra 7
I.6 Alhambra, aerial view 9
1.1 Alhambra, general view 18
1.2 Hall of Comares, interior, Palace of Comares, Alhambra 19
1.3 Plan of the administrative precincts, Palace of Comares
and Palace of the Lions, Alhambra 20
1.4 Undressing room (bayt al-maslakh), baths, Palace of
Comares, Alhambra 25
1.5 Undressing room (bayt al-maslakh), baths, stucco
decoration, detail, Palace of Comares, Alhambra 25
1.6 Court of the Lions, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra.
Historical photograph from 1899 showing Rafael
Contreras’ addition of domes over the pavilions 27
1.7 Court of the Lions, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra 28
1.8 Capital, mishwår, Alhambra 29
1.9 Decorative plaster panel on the north, east and west
walls between the qubbas, Hall of Comares, Alhambra.
Owen Jones, chromolithograph 30
1.10 Stucco decoration, detail, Sala de la Barca, Palace of
Comares, Alhambra 32
1.11 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, interior elevation, Alhambra.
William Harvey, drawing 33
1.12 Artesonado ceiling, Hall of Comares, Palace of
Comares, Alhambra 37
1.13 Artesonado ceiling, Hall of Comares, Palace of
Comares, Alhambra, reconstruction of colour scheme
after Darío Cabanelas Rodríguez 37
FIGURES vii
1.14 Glass ceiling, Mirador de Lindaraja, Alhambra 38
1.15 Undressing room (bayt al-maslakh), baths, Palace of
Comares, Alhambra 45
1.16 Dadoes of ceramic tile mosaic, west wall, northwest
niche, Patio of Comares, Palace of Comares, Alhambra 46
1.17 Dadoes of ceramic tile mosaic, north wall, northwest
niche, Patio of Comares, Palace of Comares, Alhambra 47
1.18 Dadoes of ceramic tile mosaic, detail, north wall,
northwest niche, Patio of Comares, Palace of Comares,
Alhambra 48
1.19 Hall of Two Sisters, interior, Palace of the Lions,
Alhambra 49
1.20 Vault, Hall of Two Sisters, Palace of the Lions,
Alhambra 50
1.21 Vault, Hall of the Abencerrajes, Palace of the Lions,
Alhambra 50
2.1 Mirador de Lindaraja, central niche, Palace of the Lions,
Alhambra 73
2.2 Sala de la Barca, interior, looking west, Palace of
Comares, Alhambra 76
2.3 Court of the Myrtles, south portico with the Palace of
Charles V abutting it, Palace of Comares, Alhambra 77
2.4 Court of the Myrtles, north portico and the Tower of
Comares, Palace of Comares, Alhambra 77
2.5 Alhambra, view from the street along the River Darro
(Paseo de los Tristes) 78
2.6 Hall of Comares, interior, Alhambra 79
2.7 Entrance arch, Sala de la Barca, Palace of Comares,
Alhambra 82
2.8 Niche, east side, entrance arch to the Sala de la Barca,
Palace of Comares, Alhambra 83
2.9 Niche, west side, entrance arch to the Sala de la Barca,
Palace of Comares, Alhambra 83
2.10 Pyxis, ivory, silver, paint and gold leaf, height 9.4 cm,
diameter 11.5 cm, Spain or Egypt, seventh–eighth/
thirteenth–fourteenth century. Catedral Basílica del
Pilar, Cabildo Metropolitano de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 91
2.11 ‘Alhambra’ vase, incomplete, Nasrid period, eighth/
fourteenth century, Spain. Freer Gallery of Art,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC,
F1903.206a–b 93
2.12 ‘Alhambra’ vase, Nasrid period, eighth/fourteenth
century, Spain. Museo de la Alhambra, Granada (R. 290) 100
3.1 View of the Qalahurra of YËsuf I with the Qalahurra
of Mu˙ammad VII to the east from the palace of Generalife;
dense vegetation obscures the curtain wall from view,
Alhambra 112
viii REFRAMING THE ALHAMBRA
3.2 View of the towers in the curtain wall west of the
Qalahurra of YËsuf I: Torre de Cadí in the foreground
and the Torre de los Picos in the background, Alhambra 112
3.3 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, exterior with the curtain wall,
looking west from the Qalahurra of Mu˙ammad VII,
Alhambra 113
3.4 Qalahurra of Mu˙ammad VII, exterior with the curtain
wall, looking east from the Qalahurra of YËsuf I,
Alhambra 113
3.5 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, plan, Alhambra 114
3.6 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, longitudinal section, Alhambra 115
3.7 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, interior patio, Alhambra 116
3.8 Qalahurra of Mu˙ammad VII, plan, Alhambra 117
3.9 Qalahurra of Mu˙ammad VII, longitudinal section,
Alhambra 118
3.10 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, interior of the principal room or
qubba, south wall, entrance, Alhambra 119
3.11 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, interior of the qubba, Alhambra 120
3.12 View of the palace of Generalife from the Qalahurra
of YËsuf I 121
3.13 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, interior of the qubba, niche
on the east wall with a view of the Qalahurra of
Mu˙ammad VII, Alhambra 122
3.14 View of the Albayzín from the Qalahurra of YËsuf I,
Alhambra 122
3.15 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, interior decoration,
detail, area no. 1, Alhambra (detail after William
Harvey, fig. 1.11) 123
3.16 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, central niche, dadoes of
ceramic tile mosaics with an eight-pointed star design,
Alhambra 125
3.17 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, northwest corner,
dadoes of ceramic tile mosaics with a sixteen-pointed
star design, Alhambra 125
3.18 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, niche on the east wall,
dadoes of ceramic tile mosaics with lustre, Alhambra 126
3.19 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, northwest corner, view
of Ibn al-Jayyåb’s poem, inscribed in the rectangular
frame around the large cartouches with the Qurånic
verses, Alhambra 127
3.20 D etail of Figure 3.19: rectangular frame inscribed with
a poem s urrounding cartouches with the Qurånic verses 127
3.21 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, interior, decoration,
detail, area no. 2, Alhambra (detail after William
Harvey, fig. 1.11) 128
3.22 Schematic construction of the superimposed
decorative grids 129
FIGURES ix
3.23 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, plaster panel in the
northeast and northwest corners, Alhambra 130
3.24 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, central niche, Alhambra 131
3.25 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, niche on the west wall
with an epigraphic cartouche, Alhambra 132
3.26 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, interior decoration,
detail, area no. 3, Alhambra (after William Harvey, fig.
1.11) 134
3.27 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, interior decoration,
detail, area no. 4, Alhambra (detail after William
Harvey, fig. 1.11) 135
3.28 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, wooden cupola,
Alhambra 135
3.29 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, qubba, parietal decoration,
detail, Alhambra 136
3.30 Qalahurra of YËsuf I, plan, constructed on proportional
ratios, Alhambra 149
4.1 Palace of Comares and Palace of the Lions, ground
floor, plan, Alhambra (after Orihuela Uzal, Casas y
palacios) 168
4.2 Palace of Comares, ground floor, hypothesis of the
original plan (after Orihuela Uzal, Casas y palacios) 168
4.3 Key to Figures 4.1 and 4.2 169
4.4 Patio of the Cuarto Dorado precinct with the portico
on the north side, Palace of Comares, Alhambra 170
4.5 Patio of the Cuarto Dorado precinct with the Façade
of Comares on the south side, Palace of Comares,
Alhambra 171
4.6 Façade of Comares, Palace of Comares, Alhambra
(after drawing by M. López Reche) 173
4.7 Roundel with Ibn Zamrak’s verses, north wall,
interior, Hall of Two Sisters, Palace of the Lions,
Alhambra 179
4.8 Effigy of Isabel I of Castile in Prayer, 1520–2,
polychromed wood, Felipe Vigarni. Capilla Real,
Cathedral of Granada, Granada 183
4.9 Textile fragment, late eighth–ninth /fourteenth–
fifteenth century. Textile Museum, Washington,
DC (TM 84.29) 186
4.10 Pluvial, eighth–ninth /fourteenth–fifteenth century.
Museo Diocesano-Catedralicio, Burgos 188
4.11 Textile fragment, second half of the eighth/fourteenth
century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(MMA 29.22) 190
4.12 Textile panel, eighth–ninth/fourteenth–fifteenth
century. Hispanic Society of America, New York
(No. H921) 191