The art of damascening metals was, as the name itself implies, of Syrian origin, and was practised as early as the twelfth century. In its application to arms and armor the Moorish artificers of Spain had no superiors. Exquisite specimens of their skill have descended to our time, not only in helmets and cuirasses,—trophies of many a bloody field,—but in the suits eagerly sought after in intervals of peace by the knights of Christian Europe. The arms forged upon the Tagus, whose waters, it was supposed, possessed some peculiar property that imparted an unrivalled temper to blades of steel, were famous even during the Visigothic domination. Under the Moors, however, the weapons that issued from the armories of that ancient city attained their greatest excellence and reputation. Toledo did not by any means enjoy a monopoly of this manufacture, which was carried on with great success in many other towns; the swords of Seville especially enjoyed a wide and deserved celebrity. This chosen weapon of the Arab was cherished with peculiar pride and fondness. Upon its hilt and scabbard were lavished the finest efforts of the enameller’s and the jeweller’s art. The temper of its blade was of such perfection that an iron rod could be easily cloven without its edge exhibiting the slightest blemish. Broad and heavy, as was required by the rough usage they were destined to undergo, these weapons were curiously wrought with gold and silver tracery, alternating with quaint or pious inscriptions. No nation excelled the Spanish Moslems in the costly and exquisite adornment of their arms. The hilts were not infrequently of massy gold enriched with many colored enamels and set with gems. The scabbards, of purple or scarlet velvet, glittered with filigreed and jewelled mountings. Of most capricious forms were the guards, sometimes representing the heads of elephants or dragons, at others carved in ovals, globes, and crosses; always inlaid with arabesques of the precious metals, representing floral designs and intricate geometrical figures, with the omnipresent legend, suggestive of the unquenchable fervor of the Moslem faith.
The peculiar veneration with which the Hispano-Arab regarded his favorite weapon is thus disclosed by the beauty and excellence of its form and materials and by the sacred texts inscribed upon its blade. Many considerations contributed to invest the sword with a religious character, and to enhance its moral influence as well as its material value. Its adoption was intimately connected with the most cherished associations of the Arab race. Its use was derived from the Hebrews, that nation of common ancestry, mode of life, and historical traditions. It was carried by the cherubim who guarded the gates of Paradise. The Khalif Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed, whose valor was proverbial, rejoiced in the appellation of the “Sword of God.” Although not a weapon adapted to the desultory warfare of a nomadic people, it had won the victories of Islam from the Pyrenees to the Himalayas, from the Oxus to the equator. It had established the prowess of the champion of the tribe in many a chivalric encounter before the camel’s-hair tents grouped in the unbroken solitude of the Desert. Its manufacture, perfected at Damascus, had travelled to the Spanish Peninsula in the train of the Ommeyade partisans, who sought protection and honor under the beneficent rule of that famous dynasty; and it was in Syria that Biblical and Koranic tradition placed the forge of Tubal-Cain, the first of smiths and armorers. Popular superstition imputed to it many mysterious and talismanic attributes, such as the emission of peculiar odors and the utterance of a groan at the death of the owner. In the Arabic language, as already stated, a thousand different names are used to designate the sword, a fact which indicates the significance attaching to this weapon, ever in the hand of the warrior, as well as the infinite capacity of the idiom in which its varieties and its qualities are expressed.
The last epoch of Moslem civilization was especially remarkable for the ingenious processes and exquisite workmanship developed in the fabrication of vitreous mosaics and filigree jewelry. The Moorish craftsmen understood the difficult art of encrusting metals with various crystals and artificial stones; their enamels were of every color and of exceeding fineness; their goldsmiths had acquired such dexterity that they could make a single grain of that metal, beaten into a sheet, cover a space of fifty-six square inches. Their wares, originally Byzantine in style, kept pace with the progress of other branches of artistic industry, and, before the close of their domination, were not inferior in any respect to those made in Italy and Germany four centuries afterwards.
In the glyptic art, as developed by the Spanish Arabs, the inclination to the mysterious and the supernatural, common to all members of the Semitic race, found full expression. The traditional seal of Solomon, whose wonderful power made the forces of nature and the genii of the spirit world alike subservient to his will, confirmed the hereditary belief of the Moslem in amulets, charms, and talismans. The device of that famous ring is variously supposed to have been the ineffable name of God, or a star formed by the combination of two equilateral triangles. Be this as it may, its magical virtues were a part of the creed of every uneducated Arab, in whose mind the idolatrous and superstitious practices of Paganism seemed ineradicable. The imaginary talismanic qualities of certain stones—such as the carnelian, the garnet, and the onyx—had far more connection with their popular use than any passion for ornament or love of display. Many were regarded as specifics for various ailments, others were efficacious in averting the malign influences of sorcery. The engraving of gems conformed to the general principles and characteristics of the arts as pursued by the Arabs. The process of the cameo does not seem to have been adopted by them, but the word itself, which does not exist in the vocabularies of antiquity, would seem to be derived from the Arabic kamh, meaning “hump” or “projection.” The name or monogram of the owner, a verse of the Koran, a wreath of entwined foliage, a complex design of geometric lines and curves, these were the sole objects upon which the talents of the artist might be legitimately exercised. As in ancient Egypt, when the name of Deity appeared in the inscription, it was placed on the highest part of the stone; and this concession to celestial dignity was observed even in the signets of the proudest of sovereigns. Here also artistic skill was greatly hampered by the prohibition relating to the representation of animal life, but no example of its violation in this department of the arts is known to exist. The engraved stones of the Spanish Mohammedan period are notable for the sharpness of their lines, the harmony of their patterns, and the grace and delicacy of their ornamentation. Signets formed the greater number, but amulets constituted no small part of the productions of the Moorish lapidary. The hand, symbolic of the five cardinal precepts of Islam, and the heart, whose mystic influence is still tacitly recognized even by Christian nations, were the favorite forms in which objects of this kind were carved. These two were considered as especially efficacious in counteracting the dreaded power of the evil-eye. The inscription of the signet was not only a mark of the individuality of the owner, but indicated his piety by its formulas from the Koran, a love of ostentation too frequently a trait of the Arab character, and hardly reconcilable with the constantly inculcated spirit of religious humility. On the other hand, the more devout Moslems were always accustomed to remove their rings during the hour of prayer.
In none of the countries of Europe did the ceramic art attain such excellence in materials, design, and execution as in Mohammedan Spain. The conquest of Africa was the first signal for its development, and from that time its progress was steady and rapid. The fragments of porcelain dating from the khalifate, while showing Byzantine features, reveal the germs of that perfection of form and style which characterize the vases of the latest period, when the products of the potteries of Valencia and Malaga were exported to the utmost limits of the commercial world. Even the shattered specimens of unglazed clay that have come down to us are remarkable for the symmetry of their lines, and suggest the finest models of Grecian and Roman origin. The influence of Persia—whose colonists settled at Granada, and whose traditions exerted such a marked effect upon the civilization of the Peninsula—is plainly discernible in all the most elaborate efforts of the potter’s skill. Besides the island of Majorca, whose towns were noted for their ceramic wares, eight cities of Moorish Spain were engaged in this lucrative and artistic branch of industry. Of these Malaga ranked first; the extraordinary lustre by which her ceramics were distinguished defied imitation. The peculiarity of this pottery consisted in the brilliancy of the enamels, into which one or more metals were introduced in such a manner as not to interfere with its transparency and yet to retain all the beautiful reflection to be obtained from a metallic surface. This unique appearance has been supposed by some writers to have been produced by alloys of different kinds, laid in a stratum of almost inconceivable thinness upon the bisque. By this means a play of colors, iridescent in character, was obtained, whose brilliancy or softness was dependent upon the predominance of one or the other of the metals employed. The glaze was effected by the application of silicates. In this method of decoration silver and copper were most frequently used, along with those gorgeous colors whose harmonious adaptation to ornament of every description was so thoroughly understood by the Moorish artist. When the copper was united with silver the latter diminished the intensity of lustre, and produced the most superb effects. The combinations of different metals exhibited an indefinite variety of beautiful hues, whose exquisite delicacy could only be compared to the iris-like refraction of mother-of-pearl. This singular process imparted the double quality of transparency and distinctness of coloring in a very high degree, for, examined at an angle and in a strong light, the sheen of the metallic ingredients could be readily discerned, while at the same time the tints which formed the base of the ornamentation appeared with undiminished brilliancy through the shining and transparent enamel. It is scarcely necessary to observe that the finishing operations of these works of art demanded the greatest skill and experience.
The forms of the Hispano-Arab vases were suggestive of those of the classic amphoræ. Largest above the centre, and tapering rapidly towards the base, they were designed to be placed in metallic stands or upon hollow wooden pedestals. Their curves were exceedingly graceful, their decorations most profuse and elaborate. The handles were large and massive; in some instances covered with arabesques, in others representing hands grasping human eyes,—talismans against demoniac influence. The designs of the latter were often radically different in the same vase, yet they harmonized so perfectly with the work as a whole that the closest inspection was required to detect any want of resemblance. The colors most affected by the Arab potter were blue, white, black, brown, and yellow, and their dexterous and exquisite combinations afford convincing proof of his remarkable proficiency.
While this industry—probably originally derived from Assyria and Egypt—was improved by the Etruscans and brought to perfection by Greece and Rome, it disappeared with the influx of the barbarians, who trampled in the dust every token of European civilization. Revived during the early years of the khalifate, its history is a record of continued improvement.
The traditions of the Orient, the models of antiquity, the absorbing passion of the Persian for flowers, were all adopted and perpetuated in Mohammedan Spain. The beauties of the rose and the tulip were celebrated alike by the poets of Andalusia and Cashmere; and the national predilection for the blossom of the latter is recalled by its appearance upon the magnificent and unique vase of the Alhambra. The Moorish potters did not restrict themselves to the more brilliant colors; they possessed also neutral tints, and, by the skilful blending of both, succeeded in producing that perfect harmony of design and tone which is perhaps the greatest charm of their artistic efforts. They anticipated by three hundred years the methods rediscovered by Palissy, which wrought such a revolution in the manufacture of porcelain. The Moorish secret of metallic enamelling is now completely lost, along with the pre-eminence once enjoyed by Spain in every department of the ceramic art, and few specimens of pottery of undoubted Arabic origin remain. The royal ordinances published by Ferdinand IV. and Charles V., at the instance of the Inquisition, prohibited the possession of articles of Moorish manufacture, and were, no doubt, directly instrumental in causing the destruction of innumerable objects of priceless value, whose discovery might result in the confiscation of property and a lingering death by torture.
The mosaics which were such a prominent factor of the architectural decoration of the Mohammedan period constituted a notable branch of this important industry. The use of vitrified materials in building is an art of high antiquity. It was familiar to India, China, Assyria, long anterior to the dawn of historical narration. Glazed tiles were used in the palaces of Chaldea twenty-three hundred years before the Christian era. They covered the interior walls of the pyramid of Sakkarah, the oldest in Egypt. The fragmentary specimens found in the ruins of Assyrian cities are identical in color with those preferred by the Arabs. The Greeks employed them in the embellishment of the temple of Theseus. They were adopted by the Arabs in the construction of the tomb of Mohammed. Among the Moors of Spain, the process reached its greatest development, and the permanent character which distinguishes it has preserved for the admiration of modern times some of the most original artistic effects wrought by the prolific genius of Hispano-Arab civilization. Suggested by the Byzantine mosaics, from which, however, it differed essentially in material and design, it was never able to rival them in splendor, although in durability it far surpassed those rich and brilliant productions of the artists of Constantinople. The patterns of the latter were floral, those of the former geometrical. In the one, the effects were produced by colors seen through minute cubes of glass; in the other, by intricate combinations of opaque pieces of porcelain.
Like all articles manufactured in the Moorish potteries of Spain, mosaics were subjected to a long and tedious method of preparation. They underwent a threefold baking process before and after painting and when glazed. Metals were used in their composition, and in rare instances the peculiar iridescent decoration for which Malaga was renowned was employed. The evident costliness of this must have prevented its adoption, except in edifices of the greatest importance, for no example of it exists even in the Alhambra.