Name of Object:

Alhambra vase

Location:

Madrid, Spain

Holding Museum:

National Archaeological Museum

About National Archaeological Museum, Madrid

Original Owner:

Unknown, Cristóbal Bermúdez Plata

Date of Object:

Hegira 8th century / AD 14th century

Museum Inventory Number:

1930/67/1

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Ceramic, glazure, lustreware

Dimensions:

Height 126 cm, max. diameter 63 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Nasrid

Provenance:

Malaga, Spain.

Description:

This piece is one of the so-called 'Alhambra vases'. Formally, all of these are similar: a large egg-shaped body and a narrow, unglazed base from which two large, flat handles emerge, and an octagonal neck reinforced with vertical mouldings.
The decoration of pale gold on a white base is arranged horizontally in broad bands of different widths that are separated from one another by other smooth, narrower bands. The central, and widest, band contains vegetal motifs and an inscription in kufic characters in white on a golden background, in which the word 'forgiveness' is repeated several times. Both above and below the central band there are other similar bands decorated with plant arabesques and gold circles, all joined by a thread. The decoration of the main body is completed by another two bands, one on the lower part with small arches and another nearer the neck with a kufic inscription, now almost completely disappeared.
The neck, which has eight sides separated by mouldings, is decorated with stylised vegetal motifs. The handles, attached close to the body, are decorated with the hand of Fatima (hamsa) on each side.
The Alhambra vases constitute the most important examples of Nasrid ceramic production. These pieces became extremely well known for their delicate decoration and large size, and were exported to other places. The best-preserved examples are to be found in Palermo (Regional Museum of Sicily), St Petersburg (Hermitage), Stockholm (National Museum of Fine Arts) and Madrid (Institute of Valencia de D. Juan and the National Archaeological Museum). Some are decorated exclusively in gold and others in gold and cobalt-blue, always on a tin-glaze background.
Although its form derives from large storage vessels, its cumbersome size and the absence of any strengthening elements in the handles suggest a purely ornamental function.

The so-called ‘Alhambra vases’ were luxury items because of the technical complexity of their manufacture and the beauty of their decoration and lustrework. The intended use is not known, but their renown led them to be exported to Sicily and Mamluk Egypt.

How date and origin were established:

It is difficult to determine the date of manufacture of these vases. Nonetheless, all writers agree that, on the basis of the inscription, the oldest examples are those decorated solely with gold on white, which were produced from the last third of the 7th / 13th century and, in particular, during the 8th / 14th century.

How Object was obtained:

The piece was found by chance at the beginning of the 20th century during work to shore up vaults in the monastery of Santa María de la Defensión in Jerez de la Frontera (Cadiz). It was donated to the National Archaeological Museum on 29 July 1930.

How provenance was established:

Although all of these pieces are known generically as the Alhambra vases, they were produced in Malaga and exported. From the 7th / 13th century, Arab writers begin to mention Malaga as a large centre for the production and export of ceramics with gold or metallic highlights.

Selected bibliography:

Llubía, L. M., Cerámica medieval española, Barcelona: Nueva Colección Labor (2nd edition), 1973: 82–110.
Martínez Caviró, B., Cerámica hispanomusulmana: andalusí y mudéjar, Madrid: El Viso, 1991: 76–7.
Serrano García, C., “Los Jarrones de la Alhambra”, in Estudios dedicados a D. Jesús Bermúdez Pareja, Granada: Asociación Cultural de Amigos del Museo Hispanomusulmán, 1988: 127–62.
Torres Balbás, L., "Arte Almohade, Arte Nazarí, Arte Mudéjar", Ars Hispaniae, Vol. IV, Madrid: Plus Ultra, 1949: 217.
Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife (sel.), Los Jarrones de la Alhambra. Simbología y poder, Madrid: Junta de Andalucía, Patronato de La Alhambra y Generalife, 2006.

Citation of this web page:

Margarita Sánchez Llorente "Alhambra vase" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;es;Mus01;21;en

Prepared by: Margarita Sánchez LlorenteMargarita Sánchez Llorente

Margarita Sánchez Llorente cursó estudios de Historia del Arte y Psicología en la facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, obteniendo la licenciatura en 1974.Tras realizar numerosos cursos de posgrado en museología y documentación del patrimonio histórico-artístico y arqueológico, le fueron concedidas varias becas de investigación en museística. De 1989 a 2000 trabajó en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional, en la gestión y documentación de los proyectos de la Unión Europea: EMN (European Museum Network), RAMA (Remote Access to Museum Archives) y –como colaboradora del departamento de Antigüedades Egipcias y del Próximo Oriente– Champollion. Ha participado en numerosos coloquios y encuentros internacionales y publicado varios artículos sobre las nuevas tecnologías aplicadas a la documentación en los museos.
Copyedited by: Rosalía AllerRosalía Aller

Rosalía Aller Maisonnave, licenciada en Letras (Universidad Católica del Uruguay), y en Filología Hispánica y magíster en Gestión Cultural de Música, Teatro y Danza (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), ha obtenido becas de la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional y la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia de Madrid, así como el Diplôme de Langue Française (Alliance Française), el Certificate of Proficiency in English (University of Cambridge) y el Certificado Superior en inglés y francés (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Madrid). Profesora de Estética de la Poesía y Teoría Literaria en la Universidad Católica del Uruguay, actualmente es docente de Lengua Castellana y Literatura en institutos de Enseñanza Secundaria y formación del profesorado en Madrid. Desde 1983, ha realizado traducción y edición de textos en Automated Training Systems, Applied Learning International, Videobanco Formación y El Derecho Editores. Integra el equipo de Museo Sin Fronteras desde 1999 y ha colaborado en la revisión de los catálogos de “El Arte Islámico en el Mediterráneo”. Así mismo, ha realizado publicaciones sobre temas literarios y didácticos, ha dictado conferencias y ha participado en recitales poéticos.
Translation by: Laurence Nunny
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen

MWNF Working Number: SP 33