Preview
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Creation Year
1974
Image ID
CS.016
Alternate Identifier
B49.197
Subcollection
CS: Granada
Abstract
Elaborate stucco-work covering one of the arches in the Court of the Mexuar at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The court of the Mexuar (from the Arabic ‘mashwar’, meaning to consult) was the place where administrative matters and meetings were held in the palace complex.
Description
The Alhambra as a whole is one of the most fantasized monuments of Islamic Architecture, captivating the imagination of a vast number of writers and artists, including Washington Irving and the French author Chateaubriand, to name just a couple. Indeed, some parts of the Alhambra, such as the Court of the Lions, are commonly written about examples of the most beautiful architecture in the world. The palace-complex as it stands today was built mostly in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries under the Nasrid dynasty (1238-1492), in particular by Yusuf I (1333-54) and his son Muhammad V (1354-59, 1362-1391). Out of six royal palaces, only two survive (the Comares palace and the Palace of the Lions). A summer palace called the Generalife (from the Arabic jannat al-arif, ‘the garden of the architect’) is also extant. – SK
Image Notes
Photograph created 1974. Photograph processed June 1974. Formerly catalogued as B49.197. Notes written on the slide or index: Court of the Mexuar.
Image Format
35 mm slide
Geographic Reference
Granada, Spain
Keywords
Moorish, Muslim, Fifteenth Century, Reconstructed, Palace, Stone, Brick, Stucco, Carving, Stucco Carving, Arches, Relief Patterns