The Moors ever regarded what architects hold to be the first principle of architecture—to decorate construction—never to construct decoration. In Moorish architecture, not only does the decoration arise naturally from the construction, but the constructive idea is carried out in every detail of the ornamentation of the surface. A superfluous, or useless ornament is never found in Moorish decoration; every ornament arises quietly and naturally from the surface decorated.
PLAN OF GENERAL CONSTRUCTION OF CENTRAL ORNAMENT OF CEILINGS.
The general forms were first cared for; these were sub-divided by general lines; the interstices were then filled in with ornament again to be sub-divided and enriched for closer inspection. The principle was carried out with the greatest refinement, and the harmony and beauty of all Moorish ornamentation derive success from its observance. The greatest distinction was thus obtained; the detail never interfering with the general form. When seen at a distance, the main lines strike the eye; on nearer approach, the detail comes into the composition; upon yet closer inspection, further detail is seen on the surface of the ornaments themselves.
To the builders of the Alhambra, harmony of form consisted in the proper balancing and contrast of the straight, the inclined, and the curved.
SECTION OF THE COLUMNS AND ARCHES OF GENERAL CONSTRUCTION IN THE PALACE.
As in colour, there can be no composition in which either of the three primary colours is wanting, so in form, whether structural or decorative, there can be no perfect composition in which either of the three primary figures is lacking; variety and harmony in composition and design depend on the pre-dominance and subordination of the three.
In his monumental work on the ornamentation of the Alhambra, the late Owen Jones, who spent many years at Granada in collaboration with his friend, M. Jules Goury, the eminent French architect, studying the Palace of the Western Caliphs, furnishes diagrams in support of this conclusion, which are here reproduced; and, furthermore, says: “In
