Islamic Iconography in Alhambra
The light of Allah, it is taught in
Islam, remains invisible until it hits the prism of creation. Thus the world is a theatre for the
manifestation of Divine attributes. The
art and architecture created under the aegis of Islam bears witness to this
fundamental Islamic metaphor. In this
paper, I intend examine the artistic and architectural methods by which the
artists of Sultan Muhammad V turned this root metaphor into an iconographic
system, using
By far the most complex in the palace, the Court
of the Lions consists of the court itself and four principal surrounding
chambers: the Hall of Muqarnas, the Hall of Justice, the Hall of the
Abencerajes, and the Hall of the Two Sisters with the House of Aisha to its North. All were built
around a polygonal basin supported by stone lions by Muhammad V from
1354-1359.
The location of the court itself invites
speculation that its builder sought to create a complex with Divine
orientations. Being on a hill known in
medieval times as Sabikah, the Court of the Lions contains many rooms with
windows or loggias designed to command an extensive outlook. One could gaze out the Hall of the
Abencerajes at the many gardens within the palace, or on the city below[1]. While still remaining behind walls, this
layout gives the feel of a view from up above, surrounded by gardens, and is
strikingly similar to the Quranic description of heaven, or Jannah as “…gardens beneath which rivers
flow…[2]”
Water holds a
special place in Islam, as it is considered to be the gift of Allah from the
Heavens. The Quran repeats what means
“And We send down water from the sky according to
(due) measure, and We cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able
to drain it off with ease.[3]”
Thus it seems
that despite the many practical advantages of running water, its use in the
Court of the Lions was perhaps part of a greater iconography. The presence of water in a Muslim palatial
setting is not unusual. Almost all
Umayyad estates were provided with baths, at times highly elaborate, as at the
Khirbat al-Mafjar.[4] There are, however, several features of the
Court of Lions that suggest that water was used for more than just aesthetic
appeal. One is that the central fountain
itself was built in the 11th century, and is curiously older than
the rest of the monument. It has been
speculated that it was retained only because of its symbolic attachment to the
story of Solomon in the Old Testament.[5]
Water is carried by aqueducts from the surrounding
hills into the buildings, where it flows from the fountains through an
elaborate system of channels in the floor.
The are no less than eleven fountains,
combining both sight and sound to form the perfect metaphor for the Quranic
Paradise. Olivares describes the Court’s
central basin, supported by the twelve stone lions as “twelve crystalline jets
falling like dew drops from the mouths of the lions.[6]” The fountain perhaps aspires to al-Kauthar, a fountain in
The water symbolism is continued by projecting
pavilions, each sheltering a fountain. The overflow drains through four
channels to the center, perhaps forming al-Tasneem—the
There is yet another aspect to a consideration of
water in the Court of Lions. Unlike the
Court of the Myrtles, where the use of water is essentially static, we find it
here used dynamically. Agitated by a
single slender jet, each fountain basin is flush with the marble floor and
overflows into a narrow depression around its edge. This agitation sets the reflections in the
water in motion; the image of the richly ornamented court would thus be made
ethereal to an observer seated next to the fountain.[8] This dynamic use also gives rise to the
sounds of flowing water—the music of heaven—and as we shall see later plays a
significant role in creating an ambience in synchrony with the dynamic
architecture of the court.
The columns of
the court create spectacular visual illusions, adding an important element to
its heavenly aura. The thin, once highly
polished marble columns form a complex pattern of two, three, or four clusters
at the pavilion that sets the whole composition in motion; a subtle shift in
position reveals radiant light and soft shade succeeding each other. As Olivares notes “It is a sequence of
various and multiple prospects, but all within one theory of a rich variety
disconcerting in its prevailing oneness.[9]” Perhaps it is the unity of the Divine that
this one theory seeks to embody.
The
slender nature of the columns beckons the attention of the observer—who would
have been seated on the floor—towards the heavens instead of laterally. Indeed, the thinness of the columns
themselves seems to spite any earthly requirements. If vertical space tends to seem infinite, the
horizontal space does not. Rather than
having a flowing or unified space, we are presented with a succession of
independent cells, each complete in itself and separated from its neighbors by
a screen of columns or an arch.[10] Architecturally, this produces a complex
contrast that questions the distinction between internal and external
space.
We find many other styles of architecture within
the court that represents Allah’s attributes symbolically. The vaults in the Hall of the Muqarnas, suspended from wooden frames,
direct light in a way that dematerializes the ceilings and suggests infinite
space. Originally polychromed and
gilded, the muqarnas alludes to the
famous verse from Surah Nur, where the Quran describes the light of Allah as
like a niche within which rests a brilliant lamp.[11]
The vaults themselves are lit from below by rows
of small windows closed by pierced shutters or grilles of colored glass. Similarly pierced, the spandrels may be
pierced to admit light.[12] Thus, what should appear solid becomes
cloud-like. The arches bear
stalactite-like surfaces that resemble dripping waters frozen in time, and
again add to the water iconography.
The approach to the Court of the Lions appears to
signify the great importance of the coming destination. The Hall of the Kings is a long room opening
onto a larger room, which in turn opens onto a larger vaulted area and finally
opens onto the main Court of the Lions.
Each of the smaller rooms along the approach has painted ceilings,
depicting scenes of chivalry; they perhaps attest to the devotion of the
courtiers below. Artificially thick
walls that seem to emphasize the passage into a remarkable place surround the
court. The doorway to the court is given
little emphasis so that it forms a complete and inward looking world, the image
of
The metaphor of the night sky as heaven appears in
artistic forms throughout the Court of the Lions. We find, for example, in the Sala de la Barca
alcoves at either end covered in semi-domes decorated with stars. The windows of the Hall of the Abencerajes,
similarly, are oriented to capture nighttime constellations.[13] We even find an inscription in the Hall of
the Two Sisters comparing the chamber itself and the court opening from it to
the constellations, while the Hall of the Muqarnas is proclaimed to have
beauties both apparent and hidden. The
stars, say the verses, would prefer to remain here than in the heavens. The arches of the court “vault over columns,
adorned with light like the celestial spheres which are over the glowing pool
of the dawn.[14]”
Study of the inscription, or kasida, around the basin of the lion fountain supports our claim
that the court was intended to be an archetypal embodiment of pureness on
earth. It reads in part:
Blessed be He
who granted to Imam Muhammad mansions embellished with splendid adornments.—Is
not this garden perchance a work whose beauty God wished to remain without
equal?—Composed of tremulously resplendent pearls, it has pearls enough and to
spare to adorn its own base.—Liquid silver flows between its jewels, the beauty
of whose whiteness and brilliancy is without peer.—The liquid and the solid so
mingle before our eyes that we do now know what it is that flows.[15]
It
is interesting to note that the kasida
reflects the insubstantial dream-like air of the court sensed by modern
observers, and reveals that this was indeed the intention of its builders.
Little would one know from its
austere exterior that within lay colonnades, pools and fountains, and rich
decoration in stucco and tilework that combine to create the essence of heaven
on earth. Each
step through the Court of Lions, with the sonorous hum of falling water, the
ebb and flow of light and then shadow, the beckon of a soaring sky, draws the
visitor into the magic of its heavenly iconography. The pent ultimate goal of reaching the Divine
is thus brought one step closer—as the artists of Sultan Muhammad V invite his
guests to drink from the liquid silver that flows through his palace walls.
Bibliography
Bargebuhr, F.P. The
Grabar, Oleg. The
Hoag, John D. A History of World Architecture.
Olivares, Rogelio Perez. The
Peterson, Andrew. Dictionary of Islamic Architecture.
Rosengarten, M. A Handbook of Architectural Styles.
Sturgis, Russell. The Architecture Sourcebook.