The so-called 'Alhambra' vases

The last Muslim rulers of Spain during the Nasrid dynasty (1238-1492) had a prestigious court, as evidenced by the Alhambra palace in Granada. Among the most stunning relics of the Nasrid factories are a series of large vases painted in luster, some cobalt blue. Only eight have survived intact. However, shards found in the Alhambra suggest that many more existed. They are known today as the 'Alhambra vases' and owe their name to where they belonged (and still belong) or their decorative motifs[1].

The vases are like traditional tinajas (large wine jars made in the tenth and eleventh centuries in Andalusia and North Africa). The grooved cylindrical base swells into a broad pear shape and a long ribbed neck opens into a protruding lip ; two wing-shaped handles, some decorated, join the body to the neck. The vases are impressive by their size (some are as high as 1.70 m) and by their intricate, mainly horizontal decoration, with the words al-mulk l’illah ('Power is with God'), often shortened to al-mulk inscribed repeatedly in kufic script. Plain borders, arabesques, chevrons and geometric friezes cover the surface of the vases. Two of them[2] have a talisman  khams on the handles ("sacred hand"). Others[3] have animal motifs.

Only two of these 'Alhambra' vases were actually found in Granada. Their name is therefore more a reflection of romantic legend than historical fact. Most scholars attribute their provenance to the city of Malaga, one of the kingdom's major ports and a cultural and artistic centre. Lusterware production is supported by archaeological finds and contemporary literature. Luster pottery was exported from Malaga round the Mediterranean and as far as Northern Europe to the princely courts. A 1289 Portsmouth harbour inventory mentions Malaga ceramics "with strange glints" destined for Eleonor of Castile, wife of Edward I of England.

Many experts have tried to put the vases into chronological order on the basis of their form and decoration. The oldest of them, possibly dating back to the early fourteenth century, are relatively squat in shape, merely lustered, and adorned with much epigraphic detail[4]. A second series, attributed to the early fifteenth century, is more slender in shape, with cobalt highlights and more figurative motifs[5].

The function of these vases is another riddle – their size, weight and fragility would exclude any functional use. They seem to have been originally placed in large alcoves, as found in the Nasrid royal residences[6], as some bear poetic inscriptions about water jars. This mention of  water and some of the motifs (e.g. gazelles depicted round a tree of life) endow the vases (and by implication the palaces they decorated) with connotations of Paradise. Their imposing presence and lavish decoration represent princely grandeur and divine perfection.

Rediscovered in the eighteenth century, these vases were extremely popular with collectors. Their rarity encouraged some artists to produce imitations, some of which have found their way into museums. J.-T. Deck and Baron J.-C. Davillier produced an copy of the gazelle vase for the 1862 Universal Exhibition which was purchased by London's Victoria and Albert Museum.  The Alhambra vases and their decorative repertoire also inspired some original artistic creations. One example is the astonishing gold and silver incrusted vase metal signed by Placido Zuloaga and dated 1881. It was put up for sale at Sotheby’s in April 2006, testifying to the fascination the Alhambra and its artistic heritage still holds for today's ? collectors. 

[1] The Osma vase in the Instituto de Valencia de Don Juan in Madrid ; the Simonetti vase and the gazelle vase in the Museo Nacional de Arte Hispano-musulmán in Granada ; a vase in the Museo Nazionale in Palermo ; the Jerez vase and the Hornos vase in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional in Madrid ; a vase in the Ermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg ; a vase in the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm ; the Heilbronner vase, lost in a fire in Irún, Spain in 1936 ; the vase with the Nasrid crown seen only in an C18 engraving. The Museum für Islamische Kunst in Berlin and the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington possess two incomplete vases. Smaller fragments are preserved in various other collections,, notably in Granada and in the’Hispanic Society of  America in New York.

[2] Jerez and Saint Pétersburg.

[3] The gazelle vase, the Freer Gallery vase.

[4] Vases from Osma, Simonetti, in Palermo, Jerez, Saint Petersburg and Stockholm.

[5] The gazelle vase, fragments in the Freer Gallery and Berlin.