Islamic Span stucco 1313-1354, Alhambra Palace. Probably mounted with Circ.81-1938 and Circ.82-1938

Description
The panel comes from one of the interior wall of the Torre de comares in the Alhambra Palace. It probably dates from 1313-1354 when the king Abu l-Hayyay Yusuf the first extended this palace.
This object is a fragment of a round panel of gypsum plasterwork. The front of the panel depicts cursive inscriptions in relief over another layer of relief at a lower level consisting of vegetal decoration of typical Nasrid palm leaves scrolling and opening in different directions. The panel presents a border of strapwork on the surviving edges of the panel.
The front of the panel has been treated with a paint layer of a general white layer covering the whole of the decoration, and on top of this blue are covering the vegetal decoration, and red the inscriptions and strapwork.

Technical Description
Gypsum mortar
The gypsum mortar seems very white and refine under microscope, it presents very little traces of impurities. What is interesting is the amount of small bubbles that can be seen in the mortar as a result of the casting process, these bubbles were not observed in any other panel so far.

The back of the object has been coated with shellac, probably some old Museum intervention in order to consolidate the mortar, which has changed the colour of this area to appear yellowish. Otherwise the back of the panel seems to be the original surface, it appears very flat and uniform just with some transversal scarring or key marks made on purpose once the panel was produced in order to provide with an appropriate surface so the panel could be applied on a plaster wall and grip to the mortar. On these key marks there are traces of the original black gypsum that probably attached the panel to the wall. The remains of this black gypsum are very coarse with many and big impurities of quartz, clay, pyrite and soot particles.
The entire back has tool marks from a modern intervention when the whole back of the panel was filed down to make it flat and probably removed most traces from the black gypsum that probably were adhere to it after it was removed from its original location.

The remaining original edges of this small roundel seem to keep remains of an orange layer without any traces of paint on top which could indicate that this roundel was cast by itself from an individual round mould. The edges are bevelled and are not completely uniform.

The paint layer.
In general the panel presents the typical characteristics of the nasrid plaster paint technique. There are traces of the orange releasing agent right on top of the plaster, this has been covered by a uniform layer of white as a priming layer for successive layers of reds and blues in the different areas of the decoration. This white layer was probably applied rather thick, the brush marks can still be visible.
Reds
There are very faint traces of red pigment on the front of the panel, although almost lost there are still remains associated just with the epigraphic inscriptions and the strapwork closing the roundel at the edge. The pigment just remains on the side of these decorative elements where it mixes slightly with the blues of the vegetal decoration of the background.
After careful examination it could be identified that there were two different by identical red layers: one red layer could be seen under the blue layers so that could be identified as the original red; The second red layer overlaps the blue top layer which probably indicates that there has been a second application of read on the inscriptions and the border strapwork.
These observations could lead to believe that there has been two different applications of blue and red at different times and following different sequence of application.
The sequence of application of the colours would mean that originally when this panel was applied to the wall in times of Yusuf the first the red was applied first on the inscriptions and strapwork and the blue for the background was applied last. The latter application maybe dating from the Muhammad the first intervention indicates the opposite order of application, the blue was applied first to the background and the reds where applied last to the inscriptions overlapping slightly the blue in areas of contact.
There are also traces of white overpaint on some of the reds (not on the blues) which could mean that just the reds suffered a restoration, probably because they are far more fugitive than the blue pigment.
Blues
There are clearly two different layers of blues on the front of the panel which are associated to the vegetal decoration on the background of the panel.
On top of the white priming layer there is a very fine layer of blue which appears brownish and dirty.
On top of that first layer there is a much thicker and coarser blue pigment layer which is clogging up and disfiguring the decoration, the particles look almost like smalt under the microscope.

Given in memory of A. R. Verschoyle

History Object
This fragment was donated by Miranda Jupe, with address in 34 Wilbury road, Hove 3 Sussex, to the V&A. The donation took place in 1938 together with another 2 fragments of plasterwork said to be from the Alhambra.
Apparently this 3 fragments were collected by Mr. A. R. Verschoyles grandparents in their travels to Granada in Victorian times.
These three fragments would become part of the Circulation Department, which would imply that this panel together with the other two donated fragments Circ.81 & 82-1938 would have gone to art schools in Britain as examples of Islamic design.


We don’t know when this object left the wall of the Hall of Comares and Granada but probably was related to one of the numerous restoration interventions that this building has suffered through the years.


Comparative Study
Dates from 1313-1354 when the king Abu l-Hayyay Yusuf the first. He extended the Hall of Comares where this panel comes from.
Between 1498 and 1599 important works where carried out in the Alhambra by the Catholic Kings; some of these works affected the Hall of Comares.; Juan Castro and Jorge Fernandez painted some new “retretes” for the price of 18.000 maravedies. The oratory in Comares was also limewashed by Martín de Guybara and then painted by Juan Vizcaino, Juan de Castro and Jorge Fernandez. The painters got for this work 5.362 maravedies. Although by what can be seen in the accountancy books the entirety of this amounts where rarely paid in full, never more than half.
There are important interventions carried out in Comares during the period of management by the “pagador” Gaspar de Leon (1584-1596).
In 1584 is when the plaster work of some of the walls in Comares was reconstructed with Gypsum espejuelo (or alabaster gypsum).
In 1585 is mentioned that pigments like Albayalde, cardenillo (verdigri) and azarcon (lead oxide) together with varnish are used.
In 1587 numerous interventions take place:
Antonio Tenorio was paid one real (34 maravedies) for clay to be used to take moulds for the works to be carried out in Comares
Around this time:
Carrasco was paid 476 maravedies for four pounds of wax and sulphur for doing a mould to produce plasterwork for the Royal houses.
Eloy of Zucarela was paid 119 maravedies for two irons for carving plasterwork.
Antonio Tenorio was paid 204 maravedies for three loads of gorse (2 reales each) to cook espejuelo gypsum.
Juan Rodriguez was paid 1.003 maravedies for 19 measurements of canvas to protect (aderezar) the plasterwork in Comares.
Two cart drivers were paid 2.5550 maravedies for five cart loads of gypsum from the quarry of Santa Pudia.
Gaspar Hernandez was paid 16maravedies for two pots for the “yeseros” or plasterers.
It seems they are interveeneeing on the ceiling as the plasterwork is protected with large measures of canvases that are sawn together. Juan Rodriguez was paid 5.015 maravedies for 59 measurements of canvas to protect the paints in the corridors of Comares.
The painters were provided with materials like: cardenillo (vedigri), Linseed oil, Alcora (possibly hematite based pigment, , carmine (crimson lake), white wax clay to do moulds fro the plasterwork, and containers for the gypsum plaster. even candles for the yeseros 24 maravedies per pound so they could see when high up.
Certainly this year there are big orders of gypsum espejuelo for the works in Comares
In 1588, Gaspar Lopez was paid for the nails for scaffoldings built in Comares to work in the plasterwork, plus more loads of gypsum espejuelo kept been bought to Juan de Añora, Diego Hernandez, etc.
In 1589 this year the works carries on; the records detail how the gypsum was cooked (cocido) with the help of aulagas (gorse) and later was poured on the clay moulds. The resulting cast plasterwork was secured in place with gypsum, followed up by the cleaning of the surface with small brooms, and then washed with fine canvas and finally oil was apply to make the plaster shine. Seems that is this year when the work of the painting and guilding in the hall of the throne in Comares is finished by Damián del Pino for a total price of 166 ducados.
In 1590 there was a great fire and explosion in an arsenal nearby with disastrous consequences for the Alhambra and Comares.
After this year there are records that the plasterwork had to be repaired, Alonso de Santiago been paid for 24 fanegas (55 litres=fanega) of gypsum, and Juan Ruiz was paid for one measurement of canvas to wash and polish plasterwork.
In 1595 Francisco Ruiz, from Granada worked on the new stained glass windows and painted four fragments of white plasterwork repaired recently.

Certainly between 1584 and 1595 there are very important interventions in the hall of Comares some of which might be represented in this object Circ.83-1938, either relating to his overpaints or to the fact that the panel was detached from the wall.
Obviously some of the plasterwork seem to be done by Christian hands and although probably aimed to follow Islamic traditions the same quality or technique was never achieved An example of this phenomenon could be another V&a panel number A9-1913, a fragment from plasterwork of the oratory of Comares which presents traditional materials but very odd technique.

The adjacent Hall of the boat or Sala de La Barca was fully restored in 1910, but we don’t know exactly the extension of that intervention to comprehend if this fragment could have been removed at the time from the hall of Comares during some sort of intervention in the walls.

CIRC.83-1938