IVORIES.
NO artistic industry in Spain has left behind so little historical information as ivory carving. Only a very small number of examples of this art have reached us which are of undoubted Spanish manufacture, but a group exists among them which has been but little examined or studied; it is worthy of the utmost attention, on account of its artistic character, and the inferences which may be drawn from it.
We find no allusion in the works of Pliny or St. Isidoro to the existence of the industry of ivory carving in Spain during the Roman and Visigothic dominations. An interesting example of ivory work of the Roman period, consisting of a consular diptych may be seen at the cathedral of Oviedo, which, although certainly not carved in Spain, must not be overlooked here, in order that it may be included among the number of the carvings which have reached us of this period. The two leaves of this diptych are complete, and in a perfect state of preservation: they are 16 inches long by 6 inches wide; in the centres are two medallions in relief with a bust of the consul, who is represented in the act of throwing down with his right hand the mappa or handkerchief, and holding in his left hand a sceptre. The right angles are ornamented with masks, the rest of the surface is plain. The two following inscriptions run along the upper part of the leaves: FL·STRATEGIVS APION. STRATEGIVS APION V. ILL: COM. DEVV. DOMM. ET · CONS · OR.
Flavius Strategius Apius. Strategius Apius, illustrious man, count of the most fervent servants, and consul in ordinary.
This consul belongs to the period of Justinian, by which emperor he was invested with this dignity in A.D. 539. We do not know how this diptych came to Spain; it is generally supposed that it belonged originally to the shrine of the cathedral of Toledo, from whence it was removed to Asturias, with other relics, to be concealed there during the invasion of the Arabs at the beginning of the 8th century. The student will find further details in "Corpus Ins." by Hübner. "Monumentos arquitectonicos." "Mus. Esp. de Antiguedades." Vol. i. p. 385.
From the invasion of the Arabs, which began early in the 8th century, and on the foundation of the empire of the Caliphs of Cordova in the year 756, an era of grandeur began for the Arabs in Spain, coinciding with their independence from the Caliphs of Damascus, which lasted for more than two centuries; during this time Cordova became the most important literary and scientific centre in Europe. The direct influence of the East and Constantinople may be traced without interruption from this time on the culture of the Spanish Arabs. At times this culture was transmitted by the objects of every kind which the Spaniards received from the East, at others by the influence exercised by the artists who established themselves on the territory of the Caliphate of Cordova. The greater part of the industrial arts, which were imported at this time, became naturalized in the country, and we find them developed in every locality of the Peninsula, and although we do not possess any positive historical information stating this fact, which distinctly bears on ivory carvings, we are safe in affirming that the industry existed among the Spanish Arabs in a very high state of perfection during the last years of the Caliphate. The description and details of the most important ivories which have reached us of this period confirms this opinion.
At the South Kensington Museum there is a cylindrical box No. 217-'65 with rounded cover. I copy Mr. Maskell's description of this object, of which a woodcut is given. (Vide "Ivories, Ancient and Mediæval, in the South Kensington Museum," London, 1872.)
"This beautiful box is carved throughout, except the bottom of it, with interlacing narrow bands forming quatrefoils, in which on the cover are four eagles. These have spread wings and stand erect; well designed and most delicately executed. A small knob serves to lift the lid.
IVORY BOX. MOORISH. 10TH CENTURY. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
"Round the side, each quatrefoil is filled with a star having a leaf ornament. The same decoration is repeated in the spaces between the larger quatrefoils on the cover.
"The whole is carved in pierced work, except a band which forms the upper upright portion of the box, round the side of the lid. This band has an Arabic inscription:
"A favour of God to the servant of God, Al Hakem al Mostanser Billah, commander of the faithful." He was a Caliph who reigned at Cordova, A.D. 961-976."
Another very interesting oblong box is preserved in the same Museum, No. 301-'66. The cover and sides are carved with scroll foliated ornament: the hinges and clasp are of chased silver inlaid with niello. Round the sides, immediately below the lid is the following Arabic inscription in Cufic characters:
"In the name of God. This (box) was ordered to be made by Seidat Allah, the wife of Abdo-r-rahman, prince of the believers. God be merciful and satisfied with him."
IVORY BOX. MOORISH. 10TH CENTURY. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
This inscription must allude to Abd er Rahman III. the first Caliph of Cordova who bore the title of Emir, el Mumenin. The formula "God be merciful," &c., denotes that he was dead when it was written. He died A.D. 961. (See woodcut.)
Another casket, undoubtedly the most important in size which is known of this period, proceeds from Sanguesa, in the province of Navarre, and is now preserved in the treasury of the cathedral of Pamplona.
This splendid box, hitherto undescribed, is 15 inches long, by 9¼ wide. A woodcut is given opposite. It is completely covered with carvings in relief, within circular cusped medallions, with figures in the centres representing different subjects: men seated, hawking, or struggling with wild beasts, and numerous single figures of lions, stags, and other animals. The intermediate spaces contain an ornamentation of leaves and flowers which is accommodated to the geometrical style of Saracenic art. Round the upper part of this box appears an Arabic inscription in fine Cufic characters.
"In the name of God. The blessing of God, the complete felicity, the happiness, the fulfilment of the hope of good works, and the adjourning the fatal period (of death), be with the Hagib Seifo daula (sword of the State), Abdelmalek ben Almansur. This (box) was made by the orders (of the said Hagib), under the inspection or direction of his chief eunuch, Nomayr ben Mohammad Alaumeri, his slave in the year of 395," [A.D. 1005].
In the centre medallion, on the opposite side to the lock, is represented the standing figure of a man who is attacked by two lions. He holds on his arm a shield, upon which is engraved an inscription, with the following religious formula: "There is no God but God," or a similar one, for the characters are very illegible and confused. In the centre of this shield may be read "made by Hair," undoubtedly one of the artists who made the box. Another artist's name may be read with difficulty in a similar inscription which appears on one of the medallions on the left side: it is written on the thigh of a stag, which is attacked by a lion "it was made by Obeidat." Three other inscriptions of a similar character appear in other parts of this box, which probably give the names of other artists, but I have been unable to decipher them.
MOORISH CASKET. 11TH CENTURY. CATHEDRAL OF PAMPLONA.
[Medium amplification]
[Largest amplification]
Among other artistic objects in the shrine of the cathedral of Braga, in Portugal, there is an ivory box of the same period, and the inscription, which runs round the cover, mentions the same persons:
"There is no God but God, and Mahomad is his prophet. In the name of God, a blessing, prosperity and fortune for the Hagib Seifo, d. daula, for this work, which he ordered to be made by the hands of"—here the inscription has been broken off—"his principal eunuch." (Vide 'Artes e Letras,' No. 6, 3rd series, p. 94, Lisbon, 1874.)
Both these caskets were made for Hadjeb Abd el Melik, a minister of Hischem the second.
It is necessary to add to them an ivory diptych, preserved at the Provincial Museum of Burgos, which, as we find by the following inscription, was also made for Abder Rahman III, (A.D. 912-961).
"This was ordered to be made by the Iman servant of God Abder Rahman, prince of believers."
Two other boxes of the same artistic character, belonging to a private collection, must also be mentioned. They are both cylindrical, and are terminated by a spherical cover. They measure 7½ inches high, by 4-5/8 wide, and are covered with a profuse and splendid ornamentation of figures and animals. Round the lid of one them is a band, with the following inscription in fine Cufic character:
"The blessing of God and his favours, joy, and prosperity, for Almogueira, son of the Prince of the faithful, whom may God have forgiven. It was made in the year 357 [A.D. 967]."
Almogueira was the son of the Caliph of Cordova, Abder Rahman III.
On the other may be read in similar characters—
("In the name of God, clement and merciful, blessing")—this part of the inscription is missing—"and prosperity and happiness for Riyadh ben Aflah, captain of the superior guard. It was made in the year 359" [A.D. 969].
The style of the objects which we have hitherto described is undoubtedly Oriental, and we must seek in Persia the origin of this industry. There is, however, every probability that these seven ivory boxes were made in Spain by Spanish Arabs, or artists who had settled there from the East. On all these carvings the names of Spanish historical persons appear, and it is hardly possible that they were ordered in remote countries, especially as some of these objects are small and comparatively unimportant. It must also be borne in mind that we find in contemporary authors many details on the luxury and magnificence of this period of the Spanish Arabs, and the great height which the arts and industries had reached at that time.
The ivory carvings which I have described present all the characteristics of the Oriental school, which was copied by European Christian sculptors during the 11th and 12th centuries. We find in Christian productions of this period, too constantly to require any further comment, the same geometrical traceries, flowers, leaves, animals, and birds. The subjects represented on monuments of Christian art have been erroneously interpreted by modern ecclesiologists who have endeavoured to demonstrate the symbolism of these figures in a purely Christian sense with only the unsatisfactory result of checking and leading astray art students of the Middle Ages. It is of the utmost importance to go to the primitive sources from which this art is derived in order to illustrate this important theory. The Oriental school of sculpture was soon transmitted, either through the influence of the Spanish Arabs, or by other means, to Christian artists. As an interesting example of this may be mentioned the shrine which King Dn. Sancho ordered to be made, A.D. 1033, in which to deposit the bones of San Millan, still preserved in San Millan de la Cogulla, in the province of La Rioja, Spain. This fine shrine is 4 feet 6 inches long, by 2 feet 3½ inches high. It is of wood, and covered with gold plates and inlaid stones and crystals. Between this metal work are placed 22 plaques of ivory carved with subjects representing passages from the life of the saint, and single figures of the princes, monks, and benefactors who helped to defray the expense of this work of art. Among them there are two small figures with the names of Apparitio Scholastico, Ramirus Rex. These have been generally supposed to be the artists' names. A sculptor is also represented carving a shield, and near him is one of his workmen. Underneath these figures ran formerly an inscription, of which the first part only remains, containing the name of the artist—"(Magis) tro et Rodolpho filio."
Two other interesting specimens remain of Spanish Moresque art of the 11th century. One is a casket at the South Kensington Museum, No. 10, 66, which Mr. Maskell describes as "richly carved in deep relief with foliage and animals in scrolls interlacing one another, and forming larger and smaller circles. The top and each side is a single plaque of ivory; the sloping lid at the front and back has two panels. On the two are two animals, like does; a large bird stands on the back of each, attacking it with his beak. The sloping sides have, in the large circles, men on horseback, and animals fighting. The intermediate spaces are completely filled with foliage, and smaller beasts. Similar subjects are repeated in the circles on the panels forming the lower sides of the casket, and among them are two groups of men and women sitting; one blowing a horn, another playing on a guitar, another holding a cup in one hand and a flower in the other." There is no inscription on this casket, but in one of the medallions on the lid there is a bust which is carried on the back of a horse, and which is probably a representation of the prince for whom the casket was made.
The other example of this period is that known as the cross of Don Fernando, at the Archæological Museum at Madrid. This cross is 20½ inches by 14. On the front is a figure in high relief of Our Lord with the inscription: IHE. NAZARENVS REX IVDEORVM. In the upper part is represented the figure of Our Lord at the moment of his Resurrection, and in the lower a symbolical figure of Adam; both these figures are in high relief. Underneath may be read in two lines,—
SANCIA REGINA.
At the back of the cross appears in the centre the Lamb of God: in the four corners the emblems of the Evangelists. Besides these purely Christian symbols, the ground work is covered with foliage, circles interlacing each other, figures of animals of different kinds, and men struggling with wild beasts. The whole of the ornamentation corresponds to the style of decoration of the moresque objects which I have already described. King Ferdinand I. died A.D. 1065, his wife Sancha A.D. 1071; and documents exist proving that in 1063 they gave this interesting work of art with other artistic objects to the Church of San Isidoro of Leon, where it remained until 1870, when it was given up by the authorities of the church to the Museum at Madrid. The following woodcut represents the back of the cross:—
BACK OF CROSS OF KING FERDINAND I. ARCHÆOLOGICAL MUSEUM. MADRID
These different specimens represent, in my opinion, the most satisfactory view of the art industry of ivory carving during the 10th and 11th centuries. Several other examples of oriental carving in ivory still exist in Spain in the shrines of different cathedrals; others of less artistic interest may be seen at the Archæological Museum at Madrid. These caskets are for the most part not ornamented with carvings in relief, but are decorated with inscriptions painted in gold and colours. The most important are:—
A large casket at the Archæological Museum of Madrid, decorated with painting in red and green, and a fine inscription in Cufic characters.
A similar casket at the same museum, decorated with a design painted in green, red, and blue; an inscription in cufic letters runs round a band in the upper part.
"Made by Mohammad Ben Assarag."
An ivory casket at the Real Academia de la Historia at Madrid, with an ornamentation and inscription painted in the style of the former ones and the shield of arms of the Kings of Aragon. The inscription reproduces several Suras of the Koran, and the arms of the house of Aragon were probably added when the casket came into the possession of some person belonging to the family.
A casket exists at the Church of Santo Domingo de Silos (province of Burgos), which merits a special mention on account of what has remained to us of the inscription.
This casket is 13¼ inches long by 7½ inches wide and high. It is ornamented in part with foliage and flowers in the moresque style, alternating with hunting subjects, men shooting with bows and arrows, riding upon lions, fantastic animals and leopards mounted on the back of bulls. The work is inferior in art to the caskets at Pamplona and South Kensington. On a band which runs round the four sides of the lid is an inscription in Cufic characters, of which unfortunately the two longer sides have been destroyed, and have been substituted at a very early period by bands of cloisonné enamel, evidently belonging to other caskets. On the two sides an inscription remains, upon which may be read the year Hegira 417 (A.D. 1026); the name of the artist who carved it, Mohammad Ibn Zeiyan, and the two first letters of the town in which it was made (probably Cuenca)
".....for its owner (may God lengthen his days.) It was made in the town of Cu[enca] in the year 417. (A.D. 1025.) By Mohammad—ibn Zeiyan, his servant. May God glorify him."
In the geography of Edrisi, an Oriental author who describes Spain in the beginning of the 12th century, only two names of towns are mentioned which agree with this inscription, Coria and Cuenca The first of these towns was always a less important centre than Cuenca. Edrisi praises the woollen fabrics made at Cuenca, and there is every probability that this casket was carved there, as there is also an ivory monstrance at the cathedral of Perpiñan, which has likewise an inscription in Cufic characters, stating it was made for the Hageb Ismail.
"The blessing of God. Made at the town of Cuenca, for the Hageb Ismail."
Villanueva in his "Viage por España," Vol. 5, p. 144, mentions two large ivory caskets with Cufic inscriptions which still exist at the cathedral of Tortosa, Cataluña.
Another of a similar description is preserved in the Treasury of the cathedral of Bayeux.
This casket is, as M. André tells us in a pamphlet on "Antiquites Arabes de la Normandie," Rennes, 1869, Om 42 L. by Om 28 W. and 13 H. It is decorated with bands of enamelled metal, and covered with a fine running design of peacocks and other birds. Round the lock runs the following inscription in Cufic characters:
"In the name of God, clement, merciful, the blessing and His benefits complete."
These ivory caskets were made originally to hold perfumes, jewels, or precious stones. For besides the Arabic inscriptions which allude to this, we find the idea distinctly expressed in an inscription in Cufic letters on a casket which came from Cordova belonging to the Caliphate. This casket was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1867; I do not know where it is at present.
It appears at first sight difficult to explain why the Spanish Moors decorated these objects with the representations of animated beings, against the precepts of the Koran, and the reason why these objects of undoubtedly Moorish origin have been preserved until the present day in the treasuries of Spanish cathedrals. The prohibition of the Koran to represent animated beings is, however, not so strict as is generally supposed; it is reduced to the following sentences. "O Believers! Wine and games of chance, and statues and the divining arrows, are only an abomination of Satan's work! Avoid them that ye may prosper." [Sura v. ver. 22.] Later commentators on the Koran have added the severest prohibitions against painters and artists who represented animated beings, but to very little effect, and we find in contemporary authors numerous details of the specimens of sculptures and paintings which were in the houses of Moorish magnates. Coins, textile fabrics, furniture, and other objects which have reached us, leave no doubt that the representations of animated beings were constantly used by the Spanish and Eastern Arabs from the first century of the Hegira.
The fact that these Moorish caskets should have been used for preserving the relics of saints in Spanish churches, is explained by the custom common in the middle ages in Spain and other countries, of offering war spoils and treasures brought from long and distant peregrinations, and even objects of natural history, to the different churches. Alligators may still be seen hanging in churches in Seville, Toledo, Valencia, etc. The Moors did the same thing: the famous warrior Almanssor, the minister of Hischem II. at the end of the 10th century, carried off the bells from the cathedral of Cordova, and had them turned into lamps and used at the mosque of Cordova. We find in ancient writers frequent mention of the custom of Spanish Christians of offering these ivory caskets to the churches, as trophies taken in their warfares with the Moors. The ecclesiastical authorities probably placed them at the time with other valuable objects in the treasuries of the churches, filling them with relics, for such is the manner in which they are found; they have remained untouched from the earliest times and are constantly mentioned in local histories of the cathedrals. We must not suppose that the ecclesiastical authorities ignored their Mohamedan origin, for we find at every step during the middle ages the names of priests who knew and interpreted the Arabic language. The principal reason why these objects of Oriental art have been preserved, is, that the hatred of race and belief between Moors and Christians was by no means as great as has been supposed by modern authors, and certainly never went so far as to destroy objects of industrial and artistic interest. In the year A.D. 1275, certain privileges were granted to Moorish workmen who were set apart and ordered to repair the Mosque at Cordova, at that time already converted into a christian cathedral. During the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries a large number of parish churches were built in Spain in the Moorish style, either by Oriental architects, or Spaniards who had adopted their architecture, and numerous examples might be given of inscriptions and details of ornamentation which confirm most fully these theories.
Objects of ivory carvings of the middle ages, posterior to the 12th century, are frequently met with in Spain. Among the most remarkable is the Virgin de las Batallas, in the cathedral of Seville. This image belonged to St. Ferdinand, early in the 13th century, and the tradition exists that it was carried on the king's saddle in battle. The fine ivory diptychs at the Escorial and Archæological Museum at Madrid must also be mentioned, and a large number of ivory caskets, and fragments, existing in the same Museum and in different Spanish churches.
Notwithstanding, however, the numerous examples of ivory carvings which are still to be met with in Spanish churches and cathedrals, I find no information which enables us to affirm that this artistic industry existed in Spain during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. We find artists mentioned who carved in wood, iron, and silver work, and numerous details of their work, but ivory carvers are never mentioned, if any existed, their number must have been comparatively small; and I am led, therefore, to suppose that the specimens existing in Spain were imported from Italy or France, and for this reason it is necessary to end at the Renaissance the history of ivory carving in Spain.
The inlaid ivory work so constantly used in Spanish furniture of the 16th and 17th centuries, cannot be included in this notice on ivory carvers, owing to its limited character, and the use to which it was employed. One branch of sculpture must be mentioned representing sacred images, which were carved in the 16th and 17th centuries by natives of the Philippine Islands or the Portuguese Colonies. They are frequently met with in Spain, and are remarkable for their bad and careless modelling, a mannered unartistic style, combined with the exaggerated rigidity so common in Chinese and Indian productions. As examples of this style of art may be mentioned the representations of St. Erasmus, and the Immaculate Conception (Nos. 9069, '63, 183, '64), in the South Kensington Museum.
POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.
Roman and Visigothic.—Hispano Moresque earthenware.—Painted, glazed and lustred pottery.—Terra-cotta.—Azulejos (Tile decorations).—Pottery made at Talavera, Valencia, Seville, Triana, Zamora, Puente del Arzobispo.—Unglazed pottery.—Bucaros.—Alcora ware and porcelain.—Buen Retiro porcelain.
ROMAN AND VISIGOTHIC.
THE productions of Ceramic Art have constituted from the earliest times a very important industry in Spain. Fragments of vases of greyish-coloured paste, ornamented with bands or zones, are constantly found in excavations in different localities. It cannot, however, be determined whether they were importations, or imitations made in the Spanish Peninsula. The earliest mention which we find of this industry in Spain is in Pliny (Lib. xxx., cap. xii., line 19, Edition of Paris, 1526-7), who, in praising vases of pottery made in different countries, mentions those of Saguntum (Murviedro) near Valencia. An epigram by Juvenal (Sat. v. xxix.), and several by Martial (iv. 45, viii. 6, xiv. 108) on the same subject, prove that the pottery from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean was very famous at that time.
Count Lumiares, in his work on pottery of Saguntum ("Barros Saguntinos," Valencia, 1779, 8vo), mentions having examined more than 1500 specimens of pottery of different kinds, which he classifies in four groups: grey pottery, cream-coloured pottery, yellow pottery and red glazed ware, with ornamentation in relief (Samian ware); this ornamentation constitutes, in my opinion, the only distinctive feature of the pottery made at Saguntum.
Remains of this pottery are very frequently found in the ruins of former Roman cities; a much larger number of specimens of all kinds have appeared since Count Lumiares wrote his book, none however differ materially from the terra-cottas of the Roman period found in Italy, or in other countries. Some of the marks are identical with those given by Birch and several authors who have written on Roman pottery; hence it would appear that this industry was imported into Spain, or the forms and marks copied there to a very large extent.
The number of inscriptions and potters' marks met with on the vases and fragments found in Spain is very great. Students who take a special interest in this subject will find full details in Dr. Emile Hübner's important work, "Inscrip. Hispaniæ Latinæ," Berlin, 1869. This writer has collected the greatest number of inscriptions. He mentions 43 which appear on bricks, 36 on vases and drinking vessels, 63 on lamps, 579 on vases of red pottery, 115 inscriptions of doubtful reading, 21 which are incomplete, and 56 written by hand. He gives us, besides, other marks without inscriptions, representing hands, horses, rabbits, butterflies, bees, flowers, etc. In an inedited history of the ancient city of Emporion (Cataluña) [MS., Acad. of Hist., Madrid], the author, Dr. Joaquin Botet y Sisó, has collected 198 potters' marks. A large number are still unpublished which have been met with on fragments of pottery found in Extremadura and Andalucia; we may therefore confidently assert that the number amounts to upwards of 1500.
During the Visigothic monarchy, after the downfall of the Roman empire, which lasted until the invasion of the Arabs in the 8th century, the same style of ceramic industry, copied from the Romans, continued in Spain. No special study has been made of the pottery of this epoch, but, judging by the large amount of fragments of vessels for domestic use, which are constantly found in ruins of the Visigothic period, there can be no doubt that pottery continued to be manufactured in Spain. What San Isidoro, who died in 636, says in his "Etimologies, Book xx.," confirms this opinion, and undoubtedly refers to vessels similar to those of the Roman period. (De vasis Escariis, potoriis vinariis et aquariis, oleariis, coquinariis et luminariorum.)
After the Roman domination and Visigothic monarchy, ceramic art in Spain may be divided into the following groups:—
1st. Objects imported by the Moors into Spain; these consist of remains of pottery belonging to the first period of their invasion; lustred wares, manufactured in the Peninsula, which attained great importance during the Middle Ages, and still continue to be made in the present day; terra-cottas, and green and white glazed pottery; and lastly tiles, azulejos, of bright colours in the Moorish style.
2nd. Pottery of a distinct Italian style, made principally at Talavera; porous, unglazed, coloured pottery, bucaros; white, unglazed pottery, made at Andujar and La Rambla.
3rd. Pottery and porcelain made at Alcora, and the porcelain manufactory of Buen Retiro, near Madrid.
HISPANO MORESQUE EARTHENWARE.
The Spanish Peninsula was invaded by the Arabs about the year 711 A.D., and they absorbed for several centuries the industries of the country. Ceramic Art attained great importance in their hands during the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, for even while the pottery works established at Talavera, Seville, and other localities, manufactured pottery to a very great extent, which was chiefly imitated from Italian models, the Moorish style still continued, and has never been interrupted in the province of Valencia down to the present day.
The Arabs had as early as the beginning of the 12th century, if not even before, established the industry of metallic-lustred pottery in Spain. It remains to be seen what were the leading characteristics of the pottery of the period of the greatest importance of the Spanish Moors from the 8th to the 11th century.
Cordova, the capital of the independent Caliphs of Damascus, was the centre from which works of art of all kinds of a high order were largely exported. The ruins of the palaces at Medina Az zahra have, it is deeply to be regretted, never been excavated, and Granada is the only locality where some fragments of Moorish pottery may be studied belonging to this time.
Granada was almost unknown in the 8th century; the ancient Roman town of Illiberis, about six miles from the present site of Granada, had alone any importance: it was one of the bishoprics of Andalucia. The Arabs first settled in the remains of the Roman city: in the 10th century they removed to the spot occupied by the present town, and Illiberis was then abandoned. Roman remains are frequently found at Illiberis, as are also vestiges of the Moorish occupation, chiefly consisting of objects in bronze and fragments of pottery. These specimens are decorated with arabesques in green and black on a whitish ground. Some interesting examples may be studied at the small Museo Provincial at Granada, which certainly belong to the 10th or beginning of the 11th century. One of these fragments has unreadable Arabic letters; another is decorated with a stag; the most remarkable is a plate fourteen inches in diameter, in the centre of which is represented a falcon on a horse's back. The form and every detail of the horse, the plaited tail, ending in the form of a trident, all are identical with one on which is mounted a man holding a hawk in his hand, carved on the ivory casket described on page 133 as dated 359 of the hegira (A.D. 969), and probably of Cordovese manufacture. Both these objects possess a very decided Persian character, and undoubtedly belong to the date ascribed; for besides the circumstance of their having been found in ruins of this period, the shape of the horse is conclusive; its character changes soon after, as we find in the miniatures of the MS. of the 13th century at the Bib. Nationale de Paris, containing the "Séances de Hariri." It is almost impossible to assert whether this pottery was made in, or imported into Spain. One argument in favour of its Spanish-Moorish origin is that the glaze and paste are similar to pottery which we know was manufactured at Granada. The common earthenware proceeding from that locality is decorated in much the same manner.
Soon after the fall of the Caliphate, metallic-lustred ware was made in Spain: Edrisi, the most remarkable Arabic geographer of the Middle Ages, in describing Calatayud, says: "Here the gold-coloured pottery is made which is exported to all countries." ("Descrip. de l'Afrique et de l'Espagne," Leyde, 1866.) Edrisi was born in the year 1100. He studied at Cordova, and finished writing his book in 1154. The circumstance of this pottery being mentioned in the 12th century as excellent enough for exportation, certainly makes it appear probable that the fabrique already existed at an earlier date, especially when we bear in mind that Calatayud was conquered in the year 1120 by the Christians, and it is impossible to suppose that they established an Oriental industry there which was foreign to their culture, or to the contemporary Christian art. This text of Edrisi's has hitherto not been properly interpreted. In Jauber's translation (Edrisi, Paris, 1836-40), he interprets the word guidar, lutum purum of potters, as the name of a gilt textile, perhaps because in his time it was difficult to believe in the existence of metallic-lustred pottery. In the Edit. of Leyden, by Messrs. Dozy and Goeje, the sense of the word is properly given; indeed, Jauber himself translates it by porcelain in the chapter of this volume which refers to China.
This text of Edrisi's has never yet been quoted by writers on Ceramic Art; but once known it is impossible for a moment to state that the earliest manufacture of Moorish lustred ware was that at Malaga, an opinion which has been supported hitherto on the quotation from Ben Batutah's works, which will be given later on. I regret to have found no other allusion to the lustred ware of Aragon until the 10th century. No mention is made of it in the geographical texts published by Juynboll, Al Makkari, or other Arabic writers. From what we know of Aragon in the 16th century, it was a great centre of this industry, and its productions rivalled those of Valencia and Andalucia.
The next text which alludes to this manufacture is given by Ben Batutah, a celebrated traveller, who, after travelling for twenty years in the East, went from Tangiers to Granada, from 1349 to 1351. Passing by Malaga, he says: "At Malaga, the fine golden pottery is made which is exported to the furthermost countries." ("Voy. d'Ibn Batoutah," Paris, 1853-58, vol. iv. p. 367.) This text has been constantly reproduced and commented upon, since Baron Charles Davillier first drew attention to it in his interesting little brochure on "Faïences Hispano-Moresques."
The next time I find lustred pottery mentioned is in the 15th century. Eximenus, in his "Regiment de la cosa publica," Valencia, 1499, in speaking of the excellent things made in the kingdom of Valencia, says: "The twenty-seventh excellent thing is that some artificial objects are made there which bring great renown to the country, for they are excellent and beautiful, and are now to be found in other localities ... but above all is the beauty of the gold pottery so splendidly painted at Manises, which enamours everyone so much, that the Pope, and the cardinals, and the princes of the world obtain it by special favour, and are astonished that such excellent and noble works can be made of earth."
Lustred pottery had already attained great importance in Aragon early in the 16th century. We find in a deed granted at Calatayud in 1507, that "Muhamed ben Suleyman Attaalab, an inhabitant of the suburb of the Moors at Calatayud, and an artificer of lustred golden earthenware, engaged himself with Abdallah Alfoquey of the same locality, to teach him the said industry, in the space of four years and a half, from the date of the deed." ("Estado social de los mudejares de Castilla, by Fernandez y Gonzalez," Madrid 1866, p. 437.) At Muel, a village in the province of Aragon near Zaragoza, this industry existed to a great extent in 1585. In the travels of Henrique Cock ("Relacion del viage hecho por Felipe II. en 1585," por Henrique Cock, publicado por Morel Fatio y Rodriguez Villa, Madrid, 1876,) we find the following interesting details of the manner in which this pottery was made, p. 30:—
"Almost all the inhabitants of this village are potters, and all the earthenware sold at Zaragoza is manufactured in the following manner. First the vessels are fashioned of a certain ingredient the earth furnishes them in that locality, in the shape they may require. Once made, they bake them in an oven fitted for the purpose. They then remove them to varnish with white varnish and polish them, and afterwards make a wash of certain materials in the following manner: twenty-five pounds, one arroba, of lead, with which they mix three or four pounds of tin, and as many pounds of a certain sand which is to be found there. All these ingredients are mixed into a paste like ice; it is broken into small pieces and pounded like flour, and kept by them in powder. This powder is mixed with water, the dishes are passed through it, and they are rebaked in the oven, and keep their lustre. Afterwards, in order that the pottery may be gilt, they take very strong vinegar, mixed with about two reales (a small coin equivalent to 6d.) of silver in powder, vermilion, and red ochre, and a little wire. When all is mixed together, they paint with a feather on the dishes any decoration they may like, rebake them, and then they remain gold-coloured for ever. This was told me by the potters themselves."
But nothing can be compared in exactitude to the following receipt of the manner of preparing this lustred ware, which I was fortunate enough to find in a manuscript in the British Museum. (Egerton, No. 507, MS. fol. 102).
Count Florida Blanca wishing in 1785 to establish at Madrid a manufactory of metallic-lustred ware, had the following report on the actual state of the industry sent to him from Manises with full details of the manner in which it was required to be carried out.
"After the pottery is baked, it is varnished with white and blue, the only colours used besides the gold lustre; the vessels are again baked; if the objects are to be painted with gold colour, this can only be put on the white varnish, after they have gone twice through the oven. The vessels are then painted with the said gold colour and are baked a third time, with only dry rosemary for fuel.
"The white varnish used is composed of lead and tin, which are melted together in an oven made on purpose; after these materials are sufficiently melted, they become like earth, and when in this state the mixture is removed and mixed with an equal quantity in weight of sand: fine salt is added to it, it is boiled again, and when cold, pounded into powder. The only sand which can be used is from a cave at Benalguacil, three leagues from Manises. In order that the varnish should be fine, for every arroba, 25 pounds of lead, 6 to 12 ounces of tin must be added, and half a bushel of fine-powered salt: if a coarse kind is required, it is sufficient to add a very small quantity of tin, and three or four cuartos worth of salt, which in this case must be added when the ingredient is ready for varnishing the vessel.
"Five ingredients enter into the composition of the gold colour: copper, which is better the older it is; silver, as old as possible; sulphur; red ochre, and strong vinegar, which are mixed in the following proportions: of copper three ounces, of red ochre twelve ounces, of silver one peseta (about a shilling), sulphur three ounces, vinegar a quart; three pounds (of twelve ounces) of the earth or scoriæ, which is left after this pottery is painted with the gold colour, is added to the other ingredients.
"They are mixed in the following manner: a small portion of sulphur in powder is put into a casserole with two small bits of copper, between them a coin of one silver peseta; the rest of the sulphur and copper is then added to it. When this casserole is ready, it is placed on the fire, and is made to boil until the sulphur is consumed, which is evident when no flame issues from it. The preparation is then taken from the fire, and when cold is pounded very fine; the red ochre and scoriæ are then added to it; it is mixed up by hand and again pounded into powder. The preparation is placed in a basin and mixed with enough water to make a sufficient paste to stick on the sides of the basin; the mixture is then rubbed on the vessel with a stick; it is therefore indispensable that the water should be added very gradually until the mixture is in the proper state.
"The basin ready prepared must be placed in an oven for six hours. At Manises it is customary to do so when the vessels of common pottery are baked; after this the mixture is scratched off the sides of the basin with some iron instrument; it is then removed from there and broken up into small pieces, which are pounded fine in a hand-mortar with the quantity of vinegar already mentioned, and after having been well ground and pounded together for two hours the mixture is ready for decorating. It is well to observe that the quantity of varnish and gold-coloured mixture which is required for every object can only be ascertained by practice."
Excellent lustred ware was made at Murcia, and in several villages of the province of Valencia; a good example exists of this pottery at the museum (see woodcut); none, however, was so important as the manufactory of Manises. Diago, in his "Anales del reyno de Valencia, 1613-40," repeats the words of Eximeno: "That the pottery made at Valencia is painted and gilt with so much art, that it has enamoured every one, so much so that the pope, the cardinals, and princes send for it, astonished that things of such beauty can be made of earth."
PLATEAU, PROBABLY OF VALENCIA. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
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This and similar texts relating to the exportation of Spanish pottery explains the fact of these specimens being so frequently met with in Italy. Pottery of a dark copper-coloured lustre is made at the present time at Manises, and the imitations and forgeries to be met with at the dealers' shops in Madrid are made in that locality.
I have mentioned the different historical texts which allude to this industry, and the technical receipts showing the ingredients employed to give the lustre. It is now no longer possible to doubt that this pottery came originally from the East. This opinion has gained ground of late years; for among the objects discovered by Sir Henry Layard at Nineveh, and in more recent excavations in Ephesus and Asia Minor, fragments of pottery have been found with metallic lustre. This and other important examples of artistic culture undoubtedly arose in Persia. No examples which may be mentioned can give a better or more distinct idea of this than a comparison between the Persian and Hispano-Moresque wares at the South Kensington Museum. The technical proceedings and effect produced by the metallic lustre on a white ground, with touches here and there of blue, are exactly the same in both cases. The principal difference consists in a greater richness and variety of ornamentation which we find in the specimens brought from Persia, especially those covered with a turquoise blue lustre, those of a dark blue and metallic lustre, and those on which gold is applied en froid, of which I know no similar examples in Spain. It is possible they may have existed in the mosques, but no traces remain of mosques built by the Spanish Moors during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. The mosques at Cordova and Toledo which still exist are of an earlier date. If we judge by the mosque of Amru at Cairo, and others of the same early period, tile decorations were not used in their ornamentation, and it appears probable that this industry only became important after the 10th century. The similarity of objects used in Spain and Persia is constantly observed by travellers in that country. Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who was sent there as ambassador from the King of Castille from 1403 to 1406, gives a most interesting description of tile decoration, by which we find they were used in the same manner as in Spain. ("Historia del gran Tamorlan," Seville, 1582, fol.) Another Spanish traveller, Silva de Figueroa, in a MS. belonging to Don Pascual de Gayangos, in describing his embassy to Persia in 1618 mentions the manner in which these tiles were used. I do not quote from many other travellers, for their remarks are hardly so valuable as those of Spaniards, who were accustomed to see these objects in their native country.
After mentioning the historical sources from which I have traced the manufactory of Hispano-Moresque lustred ware in Spain, it is advisable to enumerate the most important examples which have reached us belonging to the 14th century, or to an earlier date.
The fine vase at the Alhambra, Granada. (See woodcut.)
A vase of the same character which exists at the Archæological Museum of Madrid.
A vase of the same kind, which belonged to the painter, Mariano Fortuny, and which was sold at the sale of his art objects in Paris, April 30th, 1875. (Vide "Atelier de Fortuny," Paris, 1875.)
A fragment of another vase, which belonged also to Fortuny, and was sold at the same time.
A fragment of a vase at the Museo of Granada; it is similar to the others in form and size, but without metallic lustre.
A large plaque, or azulejo, which belonged also to Fortuny.
The azulejos, or tile decorations of the house known by the name of Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo at Granada.
Several dishes and bowls at the Kensington, Madrid, and Cluny Museums, which belong to this period.
Baron Charles Davillier in his article on Hispano-Moresque lustred ware, in "Atelier de Fortuny," Paris, 1875, says that interesting specimens of this pottery exist also at the Museum of Stockholm, and the Cathedral of Mezzara in Sicily, but that he had not had the opportunity of studying them.
All these objects have hitherto been considered to have proceeded from Malaga, writers on ceramic art derived their evidence from the text already mentioned, given in Ben Batutah's travels, the only one which alluded to the existence of this industry in Spain before the 15th century; but since I have found in Edrisi's Geography a manufacture mentioned of lustred pottery which existed at Calatayud at the beginning of the 12th century, that is to say, more than two centuries earlier than Ben Batutah's travels, I consider it extremely difficult to classify them.
The fine vase at the Alhambra is 4 feet 5½ inches high by 8 feet 2½ inches in circumference. It is decorated in the centre with two antelopes, and a series of elegant traceries of knots, stems, and leaves which cover the body of the vase. The colours employed are brown and blue on a yellow ground, the metallic lustre is extremely pale, of a mother-of-pearl colour. The following inscriptions are repeated all over the vase in African characters:
A similar vase was at the Alhambra until the beginning of the present century; it disappeared at that time, and its present whereabouts is unknown. Drawings exist of this vase which have been published in Lozano's "Ant. Arab. de España," and Murphy's Atlas of "Arabian Ant. of Spain."
The fine vase at the Museo Arq. of Madrid is similar in style. It has been reproduced in a chromo-lithograph in Mus. Esp. de Ant. VI. p. 435. Both these vases are decorated with colours which are disposed in quite a distinct manner to all the other specimens of this pottery hitherto known. The vase at Granada is ornamented in the centre with two antelopes, and from drawings which have reached us of the companion vase, we find birds are introduced in the decoration of the handles. Animals combined with ornamentation are never met with in the immense number of Moorish traceries of all kinds which may be studied at Granada. This circumstance has induced me to consider these objects to have been brought from Persia, for Ben Batutah tells us that several Persians of importance had settled at Granada; and it is highly probable that a direct communication existed between these two countries. It is fair, however, to mention a detail which is against this argument. The arms of the Moorish kings of Granada appear on the vase which has disappeared from Granada, and although it may have been ordered from Persia, it is also possible that it was made in the province of Andalucia.
The vase which belonged to Fortuny, and the large azulejo, Nos. 42, 44 (vide "Atelier de Fortuny"), are very different in style. They have no colours, and their metallic lustre is very low in tone, a common circumstance in Hispano-Moorish pottery. The following inscription,
TILE PROBABLY FROM THE ALHAMBRA; FORMERLY IN THE MARRYAT COLLECTION.
"Glory to Our Lord the Sultan Abul Hajaj," [A.D. 1333-1354.] occurs on this tile, an inscription very frequently met with also on the walls of the Alhambra. Abul Hajaj carried out works of restoration to a very large extent at the Palace. The two large tiles on either side of the entrance-door of the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo at Granada, although not so fine as the vase and tile which belonged to Fortuny, are similar in general character, and it is safe therefore to consider these objects, and others of a similar kind, to have proceeded from the manufacture of Malaga mentioned by Ben Batutah, or other pottery works of the same kind, which probably existed at that time in the province of Granada.
Metallic-lustred dishes have at times an even surface without ornamentation in relief, and sometimes are ornamented with ribs and convex dots, which appear to suggest that they are meant to imitate the structure of nails, bars, or other work common to metal vessels, in the manner of Etruscan vases.
The finest specimens of Hispano-Moresque ware at the Kensington Museum are—
No. 8968-'63. A vase which belonged to the Soulages Collection. Mr. Fortnum, in his "Majolica, Hispano-Moresco, Persian, Damascus and Rhodian Wares, at the Kensington Museum," London, 1873, describes this vase as spherical on a trumpet-shaped base, the neck of elongated funnel form, flanked by two large wing-shaped handles perforated with circular holes. The surface, except the mouldings, is entirely covered with a diaper-pattern of ivory or briony leaves, tendrils and small flowers in brownish lustre, and blue on the white ground. Spanish. 14th or 15th century. (See woodcut.)
No. 486-'64. Bowl, funnel-shaped, with representation of a ship in full sail, with the royal arms of Portugal, 15th century.
The following are also especially worthy of mention:—
No. 7659-'62. Bowl and cover, painted with a scroll diaper in alternate compartments of gold lustre and blue, the cover surmounted by a cupola-shaped ornament in gold lustre. 16th century.
VASE DIAPERED WITH IVY OR BRYONY IN GOLDEN LUSTRE.
HISPANO-MORESCO, 14TH OR 15TH CENTURY. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
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No. 489-'64. Plateau with lustred arabesque ornaments in compartments. In the centre are two simulated Arabic inscriptions. 15th century.
PLATEAU, DIAPERED AND WITH RAISED RIBS AND STUDS, IN BLUE
AND GOLDEN LUSTRE. THE ARMS OF LEON, CASTILE, AND ARAGON.
HISPANO-MORESCO. 15TH OR 16TH CENTURY. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
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No. 1680-'55. Plateau, gold shield in the centre, with the arms of Leon, Castille, and Aragon. The diapered ground is curiously ribbed, and dotted with raised studs. (See woodcut.)
No. 243-'53. Plateau, in the centre an escutcheon of arms of Aragon, Leon, and Castile. (See woodcut.)
SALVER, DIAPERED IN GOLDEN LUSTRE, WITH THE SHIELD OF
ARAGON, LEON, AND CASTILE. HISPANO-MORESCO. 15TH OR 16TH CENTURY.
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
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No. 104-'69. Vase, with shield of arms, seemingly of Sicily and Portugal.
Specimens of a later date are distinguished by the redness of the lustre, such as No. 327-'66, a bowl, with feather-like ornament in the centre; Nos. 326-'66 and 328-'66 are good examples of this lustred ware of the last and early present century made at Manises, Valencia.
It is almost impossible to classify the existing specimens of Hispano-Moresque pottery. A few examples are marked with the monogram of Manises, or possess some special sign, such as the Eagle of St. John, which would make it appear they were made in the province of Valencia, but as the texts from ancient authors only praise this pottery and give no details of its general characteristics, it is very difficult to assign any given specimens to the manufactories of Aragon and Valencia. The receipts which I have given prove that the ingredients used were the same, the modification in lustre was owing to the different combinations of silver and copper. The system hitherto adopted of classifying this ware by the localities in which it has been purchased is not a safe one, unless borne out by further evidence. All that can be done at the present time is to point out the oldest specimens, and probable period of their manufacture. As a general rule the finest specimens are also the oldest, for this industry decayed after the Moors were expelled from Spain, and Italian pottery was imported into that country in the 16th century.
The opinion which has been so generally accepted that gold lustred pottery was made and exported from the Balearic Islands has been contradicted by Dn. Alvaro Campaner y Fuertes in a letter addressed to Baron Davillier which appeared in the "Museo Balear," Palma, 1875, in which he refutes the Baron's arguments on the pottery which he supposes to have come from that locality.
TERRA COTTAS.—AZULEJOS, OR WALL DECORATIONS OF TILES.—EARTHENWARE.—BUCAROS AND UNGLAZED POTTERY.
The earliest historical notice which I have met with of Terracottas is in a grant made in A.D. 1222, by King Don Fernando el Santo, in favour of the manufacturers of bricks or tiles at Talavera (M. S. Bibl. Nacional Madrid, Dd. 114, p. 17), and another document of a similar kind by his son, King Don Alonso el Sabio A.D. 1281, in favour of the Cathedral of Cordova, "that no pottery works should be allowed inside the town, unless they were established in the same manner as in the time of the Moors." (Mem. Hist. Español, t. ii. p. 45). Although this information is not of great importance, it enables us to infer that in the 13th century an industry existed in Spain which was closely connected with pottery. Baron Davillier mentions a privilege granted by King Dn. Jaime de Aragon to the inhabitants of Jativa, province of Valencia, in which he commands, "that any master potter who made jars, pots, pans, tiles, and bricks, should pay a tribute of one besant yearly for each oven, and be permitted to carry out his industry with no other obligation or service." (Col. Doc. Ineditos, vol. xviii. p. 67.)
The details concerning this industry in Cataluña are more interesting; especially on account of the references given to the marks of the objects proceeding from this manufacture. The potters, who were known by the generic name of olleros sent, in 1257, two individuals to form part of the town council. They formed at that time a guild; in 1314 they agree in their regulations as to the mark to be adopted for their pottery, and the actual spot is mentioned on which every potter was to stamp his wares. This stamp was ordered to be very visible, and instructions are given as to the quality of the clay, and its manipulation, in order to produce pottery of a first-class order. We find statutes in this sense up to 1355. But we cannot find in the "Libro de Ordenanzas" of the potter's guild that any laws existed touching the technical details of this manufacture; most of the regulations refer to the management of the guild from 1304, which was composed of potters, bricklayers, jar-makers, and manufacturers of pottery for domestic purposes of Barcelona. (Capmany, Memorias Historicas, 1779-92, vol. i. part 3, p. 69.)
WINE JAR—"TINAJA." SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
These references are not, however, sufficient to identify the kind of pottery made at that time in Cataluña. It is highly probable that lustred ware was also made there to a great extent, not only because it was the most characteristic produce of the Peninsula, but also because this ware was exported to a great extent, and highly esteemed.
The most important examples of Spanish terra-cotta which have reached us are tinajas, large jars for holding wine and oil.
One of the best tinajas which I know is at the South Kensington Museum, No. 330-'66. (See woodcut.) It is a wine jar, amphora-shaped, and ornamented with incised pattern of vine leaves, and stamped diaper of a Gothic character. This and similar specimens have always been found in Andalusia and the province of Toledo, and hence we may infer that the chief centres of this industry existed at Toledo and Seville. They continue to be made there, and are used for the same purposes as in the Middle Ages, for keeping stores of wine, oil, meat, grain, etc.
Belonging to this section of objects of a large size, are some specimens of glazed earthenware made for brims of wells. I only know four or five examples in the local museums of Toledo and Cordova; the font of the church of San Salvador, Toledo, belongs also to the same pottery. The brim of a well, at the South Kensington Museum, No. 1763-'71, is of the same manufacture. It was bought at Toledo for three guineas at a shoemaker's shop. It is made of glazed white and green earthenware, with ornamental Cufic characters in high relief all round, which appear to be of the 14th century (see woodcut on next page). The inscription, which is repeated, is imperfect, and all that I can decipher are the words:
"The power, the excellence, and the peace."
There is no difficulty in affirming that this form of earthenware was made at Toledo, for Marineo Siculo, in his interesting volume treating of "De las Cosas Memorables de España," Alcala, 1539, says, "much coarse green and white pottery is made at Toledo."
BRIM OF WELL FROM TOLEDO. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
The manufacture of tiles, as was the case with so many other industries in Spain, was imported by the Arabs. In the Middle Ages it attained great importance, and has never ceased in Spain up to the present day. The earliest tiles (azulejos) made in Spain are composed of small pieces let into the wall, forming geometrical patterns. The proceeding is similar to that employed by the workers of Byzantine mosaic,—tile decoration undoubtedly took the place of this mosaic work in Moorish buildings. It is difficult to fix the precise period when they were first made, but it must have been posterior to the 10th century, when Moorish architecture underwent a radical change in its system of decoration. The oldest tiles which exist in Spain are at the Palace of the Alhambra, Granada. They belong to the 14th century. The great variety of their design may be seen in Owen Jones' "Plans and elevations of the Alhambra," London, fol. 1842, and the fine work published by the Spanish government, "Monumentos Arquitectonicos." We can judge of the style adopted by two interesting fragments, both of which came from the Alhambra, No. 1104-'53, No. 324-'64, South Kensington Museum.
The earliest mention which I have found of this manufacture occurs in a letter from Doña Juana de Mendoza, the wife of the Almirante de Castilla, which is addressed to the lady abbess of the nunnery of Santo Domingo at Toledo. She begs that a large number of "azulejos" of different colours, black, white, yellow, and green should be sent to her. She alludes, in the same letter, to painted tiles, and says she was expecting a master potter from Seville to place these tiles in their proper places. This shows us that it was only in the province of Andalusia that the art was known of cutting these tiles into geometrical sections and mosaic patterns. This letter is not dated, but it is bound up with other documents of 1422, and evidence exists to prove that both the Almirante and his wife were dead in 1431. The locality for which the tiles were required was probably Palencia; the convent of Santa Clara was built by them at that time, and they both were buried there. It was extremely difficult to cut and join together these tiles; the workmen who did so had to pass through a regular examination in compliance with the municipal ordinances drawn up in the 15th century; without this requisite they were not allowed to exercise their trade.
We know, from documents existing at the Archives of the Alhambra, at Granada, that tiles were made there at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century. We find the names of Antonio Tenorio, Gaspar Hernandez, and Pedro Tenorio working there at that time as master potters.
The use of these azulejos was not restricted to Moorish buildings; they were largely employed to decorate the walls of Christian churches, convents, palaces, and private houses. The style of work, however, soon changed, for instead of being made of mosaic work, they were formed of a single piece like the ordinary tiles, but imitating the Moorish colours. In the 16th century designs of the Renaissance style alternated with these, although the system and colouring continued the same. This style continued in vogue until the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1610. A fine collection may be seen at the South Kensington Museum of 200 tiles, in which upwards of 150 varieties of design will be found, Nos. 308-'66 and 367-'66. Their chief characteristic is that only pure colours are used without gradations or half tints. Lustred reflets are very seldom met with in tiles; the only examples I know are two beautiful plaques of the 14th century of a pale lustre which are on either side of the entrance door of the Moorish saloon called Cuarto Real de Sto. Domingo, at Granada; some small polygons of copper-coloured lustre at the Tower of la Cautiva, Granada: some few details in the coats of arms which are let into the tiles which adorn the walls of the Chapel at the Alhambra, and some few tiles with the arms of the Mendozas at the Casa de Pilatos, Seville.
A few dishes belong also to the 15th century, ornamented with the same colouring as the tiles without metallic lustre, and generally decorated with fantastic animals. They are very scarce. Two examples exist at the South Kensington Museum, Nos. 1459 and 1461-'70. They probably were made at Seville; all those I have seen come from there, and we know that the pottery from Seville was much esteemed. In Pedro de Medina's "Libro de Grandezas y Cosas Memorables de España," Sevilla, 1549, fol. Iii., he says, "In this town of Triana much excellent pottery of Malaga is made, coloured white and yellow, and of different sorts and kinds. This pottery is made in about fifty houses, and it is exported from here to many localities. In the same manner excellent azulejos are made, of great variety of colour and design. And likewise fine reliefs of men and other things. Great quantities of these azulejos are taken to different localities."
At the introduction of Italian forms of art in Spain, at the beginning of the 16th century, artistic pottery divided itself into two schools—one kept to the traditional designs and strong tones of colour, the other used shaded colours, and especially yellow and blue tints, at times imitating Italian maiolica, but always following the decoration characteristic of the Renaissance style.
The Italian influence, and its finest results in Spain may be favourably studied in Seville, in the tile decorations of the chapel at the Alcazar, the doorway of the convent of Santa Paula, and a remarkable sepulchre decorated with tiles at the church of St. Anne at Triana. All these tile decorations are signed by the same person, and it would be difficult to find any more remarkable.
The azulejos at the Alcazar represent a picture in the manner and style of Pietro Perugino; they are admirable in colour and design. Those which decorate the sepulchre at the church of St. Anne have the following inscription, "Niculoso Francesco italiano me fecit, en el agno del mil ccccciii." Some very interesting tiles also may be seen in one of the rooms in the lower part of the Alcazar; they are marked in the following manner: A.V.S.T.A.—A.V.G.W.S.T.A. 1577-1578. On the floor of the pavilion of the Emperor Charles V. in the garden there are also some fine tiles which are signed Juan Hernandez, 1540.
We find mention in Cean Bermudez of a painter of azulejos named Juan Flores, a native of Flanders; he painted tiles for the royal palaces of Madrid, the Pardo and Segovia; he was appointed Maestro Azulejero by Philip II. in 1565.
Returning to other examples of earthenware we meet with the ancient manufactures of the Balearic Islands, although it is not easy to determine the kind of pottery which was really made there. Bernardo da Uzzano, in 1442, made a commercial treaty, (vide Davillier, "Faïences Hispano Moresques," p. 26), in which he mentions the "faïence" made at Mallorca and Minorca, which "was exported to a very large extent." The royal Ordinances for the island of Iviza, which have not been mentioned by either of these authors, state that the principal traffic and the greatest industry of ancient times of the island of Iviza consisted in some vessels of the finest earthenware, well baked and curiously worked, of which an innumerable quantity were sent off to Africa and other places, not only on account of the excellence of their worth, which was admirable, but the speciality of the clay, which preserved from poison. ("Reales Ordinaciones de Iviza," Palma, 1751).
Manufactures of pottery also existed in a great number of localities in Spain; the most important centres were at Talavera, Valencia, and Triana. Judging by the manner in which different authors praise the earthenware of Talavera, its productions were evidently the most esteemed. The earliest mention we find of Talavera pottery occurs in a MS. volume dated 1560—a history of this town, in which mention is made of "white, green, blue and other coloured Talavera ware." In the inventory of the effects of Dna. Juana, a sister of Philip II., 1573, several objects of "white earthenware of Talavera" are mentioned. In a report drawn up by order of Philip II. 1576, it is stated that Talavera "produced fine white glazed earthenware-tiles, and other pottery, which supplied the country, part of Portugal and India." Father Ramon de la Higuera in his "Republicas del Mundo," 1595, mentions the ware of Talavera in terms of the highest praise. In a MS. history of Talavera written in 1651, (Bib. Nac. Madrid, G. 112,) the author, Father Alfonso de Ajofrin, says that "the pottery is as good as that of Pisa, a large number of azulejos are also made to adorn the front of altars, churches, gardens, alcoves, saloons, and bowers, and large and small specimens of every kind. Two hundred workmen work at eight different kilns. Four other kilns are kept to make common earthenware. Red porous clay vases and drinking cups are baked in two other kilns, in a thousand different shapes in imitation of birds and other animals, also brinquiños for the use of ladies, so deliciously flavoured that after drinking the water they contained, they eat the cup in which it was brought them." In another MS. history of Talavera (Bibl. Nac. G. 187) we find mention of "perfect imitations of oriental china," and that the pottery made there, "was used all over Spain, and sent to India, France, Flanders, Italy and other countries, and was esteemed everywhere for the perfection of the colouring and brilliancy of the glaze."