Preview

Creation Year
1974
Image ID
CS.055
Alternate Identifier
B49.236
Subcollection
CS: Granada
Abstract
Arabic calligraphy in carved stucco on a wall in the Alhambra. The wider central band contains script in Kufic, while the smaller bands contain script in less angular and more cursive ‘Naskhi’ script. The Alhambra’s walls are filled with text—most of these are Quranic inscriptions, but also include a lot of poetry by the court poets.
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. Processing date unknown. Formerly catalogued as B49.236. Notes written on the slide or index: Wall decoration.
Image Format
35 mm slide
Geographic Reference
Granada, Spain
Keywords
Moorish, Muslim, Fourteenth Century, Fifteenth Century, Palace, Inscription, Stucco, Stucco Carving, Kufic Script, Naskhi Script, Quranic Inscription, Arabesque