Furnaces at full blast: the demand for architectural ceramics for construction in the Alhambra (16th and 17th centuries)

Abstract

Although the Nasrid palaces and other buildings in the Alhambra are generally seen as the zenith of Andalusi architecture, the truth is that, to a large extent, what we see today is the result of construction and maintenance work undertaken after, and sometimes long after, the Castilian conquest. Even though the administrators of the fortress during the 16th and 17th centuries often tried to follow Nasrid aesthetic canons, the work carried out in some of the palatial spaces inevitably led to considerable changes in decoration. However, what is most interesting about this is that the written record related to these works reveals that a very significant proportion of the materials used in this maintenance work was produced in the Alhambra itself, and that this is probably the clearest piece of evidence to date as to the scale of industrial production in the early modern Alhambra, which is much greater than the extant archaeological remains on display for the visitors could suggest. This chapter aims to present data about Alhambra-based production of architectural ceramics and to provide some details about the administrative process involved in their purchase and some steps in the chaîne opératoire that brought them from the kiln to the walls and rooftops of the palaces. The so-called Palace of Comares will be used as a case study to thread through the narrative, although other spaces in the Alhambra will also be considered.