DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.7431#0014
4
A DESCRIPTION OF ANTIQUITIES AT CORDOVA.
work of the roof is further covered with lead: and the whole
has been executed with such precision and taste, that it may
justly be pronounced a chef-d'oeuvre of art, both with respect
to the arrangement of its different parts, as well as to the
extent and solidity of the whole.
On a slight inspection of Plate V. it may perhaps strike
the observer, that the general effect would have been im-
proved, and the perspective heightened, by the introduction
of a little more light from above: but, had such a correction
been made, our engraving would not have been a faithful re-
presentation of the solemn and majestic interior of the Mosque
at Cordova. A " dim, religious light" is admitted into it,
by the doors on the sides, and from several small cupolas
above; which falls upon some parts of this immense edifice,
while others are left in awful darkness. Individuals, walking
through this forest of columns may, by an ardent imagination,
not unaptly be compared to wandering spirits;—their persons
may readily be distinguished, but their footsteps cannot be
heard.
PLATE VI.
elevation of the gate of the sanctuary of the koran.
By the several alterations and additions, which were made at
different times by the Spanish Arabs, they had divided the
mosque into four parts, marked out by two lines of clustered
pillars, crossing each other at right angles. Three of these
portions were allotted to the common people and to the women:
the fourth, which was in the south-east angle, was appro-
priated to the Imams or priests and great men. In this last
division was the great Kiblah or Sanctuary, better known by
the appellation of the Zancarron, in which the Koran was
deposited. Its door was in front of the great gate, at the end
of the principal aisle: and the architecture and ornaments of
this Sanctuary, as well as the throne of Almansur which faced
it, are very different from those employed in the other parts
of the edifice; all the skill and taste of the Moors appear to
have been lavished on it, in the richest profusion.
Two rows of columns, about six feet in height, rise one
above another, and support the screen before this Sanctuary.
The columns are chiefly of verd antique, or red marble veined
with white; the pilasters are of red or white marble; and
the capitals are of white marble, gilt in many places. The
arabesques and other ornaments of the timber-work of the
roof, as well as those of the pilasters, are very fine, and bear
a great resemblance to the sculptures in the Alhamra at
Granada.
The Gate of the Zancarron, of which our plate represents
the elevation, is indeed an assemblage of beauties rarely to
be equalled. As it very closely resembles the fine specimens
of Arabian architecture to be seen in Upper Egypt, and is
unquestionably in a different style from the rest of the Moorish
architecture, it was probably executed in imitation of the
palaces at Damascus and Baghdad: it certainly is the finest
specimen, in the whole edifice, of the first of the three periods,
into which the history of Arabian architecture is divided.
This gate is of white marble delicately sculptured, and orna-
mented with numerous columns of precious marble. The arch
itself is mosaic, with a blue ground, and the decorations su-
perbly gilt; and its intrados are gold, red, blue, and green
mosaics, of singular beauty. Unfortunately, the Arabic in-
scriptions are at present too much defaced, to be sufficiently
legible for the purpose of being transcribed and translated:
yet, from their imperfect remains we are justified in stating,
that the Cufic characters were distinguished by equal taste
and beauty. The two lines, which are at the top and on
either side of the arch, are in mosaic on a blue ground with
gold letters; and the single line, immediately over the arch,
is also in mosaic, on a gold ground with blue letters. The
contrast is exceedingly striking in its present comparatively
decaying state, and the whole is truly superb: but, when
illuminated, (especially on the last ten nights of the month
Ramazan) by the massive silver chandelier, which hung down
in its centre, the gorgeous beauty of the Zancarron must have
surpassed every thing that we can possibly conceive of splen-
dour or magnificence.
The interior of this Sanctuary is an octagon, only fifteen
feet in diameter, into which the light is with difficulty ad-
mitted ; its walls are covered with ornaments nearly similar
to those above described: and the cupola is composed of a
single block of marble, said to be eighteen feet in width;
which, as Mr. Swinburne has justly remarked, is not only
curious for its size and quality, but also for the ingenuity
of the architect, by whom it was placed in such a perfect
equilibrium, as to remain unshaken during the lapse of so
many ages.
The Zancarron is at present a chapel, dedicated to Saint
Peter, and formerly belonged to the Dukes of Alba: it contains
the tombs of several grandees of that family, and is now the
property of the Conde de Oropesa.
PLATE VII.
exterior angle of the mosque.
Each of the four fronts of this noble edifice presents walls of
uncommon solidity, crowned with engrailed battlements, and
supported by buttresses, which, at a distance, have the ap-
pearance of so many towers. Our plate gives a view of the
exterior south-west angle of the mosque : the walls are covered
with plaster of a greyish colour, which being decayed in
some parts, the stone-work becomes apparent; the massive
outside pier or buttress, is nine feet and a half in height from
the ground to the bottom of the engrailed battlement.
Such is the general character of the building ; but it is
worthy of remark, that each front differs from the other as to
its height and ornaments, in consequence of the Arabian
architect being obliged to accommodate the structure to the
A DESCRIPTION OF ANTIQUITIES AT CORDOVA.
work of the roof is further covered with lead: and the whole
has been executed with such precision and taste, that it may
justly be pronounced a chef-d'oeuvre of art, both with respect
to the arrangement of its different parts, as well as to the
extent and solidity of the whole.
On a slight inspection of Plate V. it may perhaps strike
the observer, that the general effect would have been im-
proved, and the perspective heightened, by the introduction
of a little more light from above: but, had such a correction
been made, our engraving would not have been a faithful re-
presentation of the solemn and majestic interior of the Mosque
at Cordova. A " dim, religious light" is admitted into it,
by the doors on the sides, and from several small cupolas
above; which falls upon some parts of this immense edifice,
while others are left in awful darkness. Individuals, walking
through this forest of columns may, by an ardent imagination,
not unaptly be compared to wandering spirits;—their persons
may readily be distinguished, but their footsteps cannot be
heard.
PLATE VI.
elevation of the gate of the sanctuary of the koran.
By the several alterations and additions, which were made at
different times by the Spanish Arabs, they had divided the
mosque into four parts, marked out by two lines of clustered
pillars, crossing each other at right angles. Three of these
portions were allotted to the common people and to the women:
the fourth, which was in the south-east angle, was appro-
priated to the Imams or priests and great men. In this last
division was the great Kiblah or Sanctuary, better known by
the appellation of the Zancarron, in which the Koran was
deposited. Its door was in front of the great gate, at the end
of the principal aisle: and the architecture and ornaments of
this Sanctuary, as well as the throne of Almansur which faced
it, are very different from those employed in the other parts
of the edifice; all the skill and taste of the Moors appear to
have been lavished on it, in the richest profusion.
Two rows of columns, about six feet in height, rise one
above another, and support the screen before this Sanctuary.
The columns are chiefly of verd antique, or red marble veined
with white; the pilasters are of red or white marble; and
the capitals are of white marble, gilt in many places. The
arabesques and other ornaments of the timber-work of the
roof, as well as those of the pilasters, are very fine, and bear
a great resemblance to the sculptures in the Alhamra at
Granada.
The Gate of the Zancarron, of which our plate represents
the elevation, is indeed an assemblage of beauties rarely to
be equalled. As it very closely resembles the fine specimens
of Arabian architecture to be seen in Upper Egypt, and is
unquestionably in a different style from the rest of the Moorish
architecture, it was probably executed in imitation of the
palaces at Damascus and Baghdad: it certainly is the finest
specimen, in the whole edifice, of the first of the three periods,
into which the history of Arabian architecture is divided.
This gate is of white marble delicately sculptured, and orna-
mented with numerous columns of precious marble. The arch
itself is mosaic, with a blue ground, and the decorations su-
perbly gilt; and its intrados are gold, red, blue, and green
mosaics, of singular beauty. Unfortunately, the Arabic in-
scriptions are at present too much defaced, to be sufficiently
legible for the purpose of being transcribed and translated:
yet, from their imperfect remains we are justified in stating,
that the Cufic characters were distinguished by equal taste
and beauty. The two lines, which are at the top and on
either side of the arch, are in mosaic on a blue ground with
gold letters; and the single line, immediately over the arch,
is also in mosaic, on a gold ground with blue letters. The
contrast is exceedingly striking in its present comparatively
decaying state, and the whole is truly superb: but, when
illuminated, (especially on the last ten nights of the month
Ramazan) by the massive silver chandelier, which hung down
in its centre, the gorgeous beauty of the Zancarron must have
surpassed every thing that we can possibly conceive of splen-
dour or magnificence.
The interior of this Sanctuary is an octagon, only fifteen
feet in diameter, into which the light is with difficulty ad-
mitted ; its walls are covered with ornaments nearly similar
to those above described: and the cupola is composed of a
single block of marble, said to be eighteen feet in width;
which, as Mr. Swinburne has justly remarked, is not only
curious for its size and quality, but also for the ingenuity
of the architect, by whom it was placed in such a perfect
equilibrium, as to remain unshaken during the lapse of so
many ages.
The Zancarron is at present a chapel, dedicated to Saint
Peter, and formerly belonged to the Dukes of Alba: it contains
the tombs of several grandees of that family, and is now the
property of the Conde de Oropesa.
PLATE VII.
exterior angle of the mosque.
Each of the four fronts of this noble edifice presents walls of
uncommon solidity, crowned with engrailed battlements, and
supported by buttresses, which, at a distance, have the ap-
pearance of so many towers. Our plate gives a view of the
exterior south-west angle of the mosque : the walls are covered
with plaster of a greyish colour, which being decayed in
some parts, the stone-work becomes apparent; the massive
outside pier or buttress, is nine feet and a half in height from
the ground to the bottom of the engrailed battlement.
Such is the general character of the building ; but it is
worthy of remark, that each front differs from the other as to
its height and ornaments, in consequence of the Arabian
architect being obliged to accommodate the structure to the