Könen, who had obtained permission from the Spanish Government to
explore the site of old Numancia, filled four large cases with the
Celtiberian pottery they extracted from the ruins. These cases were
forwarded to the University of Göttingen. I understand, however, that
they have been returned, or are to be returned immediately, to Spain.
Long before the Christian era, Greek colonies existed on the Spanish
coast at Rhodas, Denia, Emporium (Ampurias), Saguntum (Murviedro), and
elsewhere. Pottery of good design and workmanship was manufactured at
these towns, and strongly influenced native art. Bowls and other objects
showing such an influence were discovered by M. Bonsor in his recent
excavations. Another powerful influence was that of Rome. Roman
potteries existed in the suburb of Seville called Triana, and in the
provinces of Cáceres and Badajoz. Mérida was also an important centre of
this industry, and vessels which were used in sacred rites, such as the
_aquiminarium_, the _prefericulum_, the _simpulum_, and the _urnula_,
were discovered here not long ago. The name "Saguntine ware" was given
by the Romans to a kind of pottery which seems to have been made along
the Spanish littoral extending southward from Saguntum. Fragments of
this pottery, which closely resembles the Arezzo ware,[61] are found in
shoals upon the sites of Roman towns, particularly Tarragona. These
_barros saguntinos_, or (as Hübner prefers to call them) _barros
tarraconenses_, have been divided into four classes, namely, white,
grey, red (covered with a dark red varnish),[62] and yellow striped with
red. This ware is commonly adorned with garlands, animals,
hunting-scenes, divinities, games, or religious ceremonies, and also
bears, in nearly every case, the potter's name or mark; _e.g._ ALBINVS F
("Albinus fecit") or OF. ALBIN ("officina Albini"). More than two
hundred marks have been discovered which were used by potters of
Ampurias alone.
[61] "A ware exactly like that of Arezzo, called by some the red Roman
ware, and by others Samian, distinguished by its close grain
composed of a fine clay, and presenting, when broken, edges of an
opaque light red colour, whilst the inner and outer surfaces are
quite smooth, and of a brighter and darker red, is found in all
places of the ancient world to which the Roman arms or civilisation
reached. It is distinguished from the Aretine by its darker tone,
stronger glaze, and coarser ornamentation. Possibly, the whole
passage of Pliny in which he speaks of the earthenware of his day
refers to this red ware. Thus, for dishes he praises the Samian
and the Aretine ware; for cups, that of Surrentum, Asta and
Pollentia, Saguntum and Pergamus. Tralles and Mutina had their
manufactories. Cos was most esteemed; Hadria produced the hardest
ware. That one of these, that of Saguntum, was a red ware, is
clear; that of Cumæ was also of the same colour.... That the red
ware is found amidst the dense forests of Germany and on the
distant shores of Britain, is a remarkable fact in the civilisation
of the old world. It was apparently an importation, being exactly
identical wherever discovered, and is readily distinguished from
the local pottery."--Birch, _History of Ancient Pottery_,
pp. 560, 561.
[62] "It belongs to the class of tender lustrous pottery, consisting of
a bright red paste like sealing-wax, breaking with a close texture,
and covered with a siliceous, or, according to some, a metallic
glaze. This glaze is exceedingly thin, transparent, and equally
laid upon the whole surface, only slightly augmenting the colour
of the clay."--Birch, p. 561.
There seems to be no doubt that Saguntum and Emporium were principal
centres of this industry, and possibly, since these towns were old Greek
settlements, the _barros saguntinos_ were of Grecian origin. Pella y
Forgas, describing in his _History of the Ampurdan_ the fine red ware of
this locality, says that parts of the decoration were fashioned on the
wheel, others directly by the potter's hand, and others from a mould,
while the ornament of dotted lines was made by the wheeled _roulette_.
Among the commoner objects dating from this time are amphoræ and small
earthen lamps (Pl. xlvii.). These lamps have been discovered in great
numbers, and, owing to the dryness of the Spanish soil, in excellent
preservation. They measure about the size of the hand, and have two
holes, one in the spout or beak, to hold the wick, and the other at the
top, for pouring in the oil. The top, which as a rule is slightly
concave, is often ornamented with devices in relief, such as a chariot
and its driver, or the emblem of a deity.
[Illustration: XLVII
AMPHORAIC VASES AND OTHER POTTERY
(_Museum of Tarragona_)]
The typical amphora was a long, narrow vessel (usually of earthenware;
less frequently of brass or glass), with an elongated handle at either
side of the neck, and tapering nearly to a point. It served for
storing honey, oil, or wine, and in order to keep it upright the pointed
lower end was stuck into the soil, or rested on a perforated wooden
stand. In the spring of 1893 some fishermen drew up in their nets, just
off the coast of Alicante, three large intact amphoræ thickly cased with
shells, and sold them for eight dollars each. Other fine amphoræ, now in
the collection of the Marquis of Cerralbo, were washed upon the beach at
Torrevieja, and many more are in museums. Vessels of this kind are known
to have been made at Rhodas (Rosas) and Saguntum, and their use
continued in Spain until the downfall of the second empire.
HISPANO-MORESQUE NON-LUSTRED POTTERY
The statements of Saint Isidore, confirmed by one or two discoveries in
southern Spain, prove that the pottery in use among the Visigoths was
principally Roman. Probably in this, as in so many of her arts, the
Moorish conquest brought about a radical and rapid change. Remains of
pottery dating from this period are extremely rare. The provincial
museum of Granada contains some bowls and plates, all more or less
imperfect, which are ascribed by experts to about the year 1000. These
objects, which were dug up in 1878 on the slopes of the Sierra Elvira, a
few miles from Granada, are coloured black and green upon a white or
whitish ground. The most important is a dish which measures fourteen
inches in diameter, and is decorated with a falcon on a horse's back
(Plate xlviii.).[63] All of this pottery shows the double influence of
Byzantium and the East. Among the designs upon the other pieces are
hares and stags surrounded by a bordering of primitive arabesques. Riaño
remarks that "it is almost impossible to assert whether this pottery was
made in or imported into Spain." Nevertheless, Persians are stated to
have settled in this region early in the days of Muslim rule, while
these dilapidated specimens of ancient ware are greatly similar in
colouring and substance to the common dishes and _barreños_ which are
still produced throughout the province of Granada.
[63] The falcon is one of the commonest devices on all Persian pottery,
and was, in fact, the national emblem of the chase. Its importance
for the purpose of pursuing and securing game is well described in
Sir John Malcolm's _Sketches in Persia_.
Moorish potteries producing lustred or non-lustred ware existed from
an early date at Málaga, Valencia, Toledo, Calatayud, Murviedro, Murcia,
and Barcelona. Another centre of this craft was probably Granada; for
though she is not mentioned in this sense by any of the Moorish authors,
the late Señor Contreras discovered here the vestiges of two ancient
potteries, while one of the old entrances was known as Bab Alfajjarin,
or "the potters' gate."
[Illustration: XLVIII
DISH
(_About A.D. 1000. Museum of Granada_)]
The Ordinances of Granada contain provisions which were evidently copied
from the Spanish Moors, relating to the _almadraveros_ or tilemakers,
the _tinajeros_ or makers of _tinajas_, and the _olleros_ or potters
generally. The Ordinances which concern the tilemakers are dated between
1528 and 1540. The restrictions imposed upon these craftsmen were
irksome, foolish, and unnecessary. All bricks and tiles were to be
stamped in three places with the city mark, and were only permitted to
be made between the first of April and the thirty-first of October in
each year, "since what is made at other seasons is not good or perfect,
owing to the rain, and cold, and frost."
Another Ordinance, illustrating the lawlessness prevailing at Granada in
the times succeeding the reconquest, complains that "many persons,
including labourers and hodmen, go forth into the roads and streets,
and seize the tiles and bricks by violence from those who are conveying
them, and bear them to their houses, or to the work which they are paid
to do."
A picturesque, though cheap and unluxurious, vessel of a thoroughly
eastern character, and which was very largely manufactured by the
Spanish Moors, is the terra-cotta _tinaja_ or gigantic jar for storing
wine, or olive oil, or grain (Plate xlix.). The use of these receptacles
extended through the whole Peninsula, and has continued undiminished to
this day. The principal centres of _tinaja_-making were Toledo, Seville,
and Granada. The Ordinances of the latter town embody Moorish rules
relating to this branch of pottery. These laws, revived in 1526, provide
that all _tinajas_ must contain two kinds of earth, one red, the other
white, thoroughly compounded in a trough of water. Before the potter
removes the clay from the trough, he must call the city supervisor or
_veedor_ to look into the quality and mixing of the mass. The vessel as
it leaves the oven must be white; otherwise, even although it have no
flaw, the inspector is to break it. The potter is forbidden to coat his
_tinajas_ with a glaze composed of eggs, blood, chalk, and other
strange ingredients; nor may he fire the glaze with torches, "because
the smell of the smoke clings to the _tinaja_, and the wine or stum
deposited therein grows redolent of it, and it stays within the jar
perpetually."
[Illustration: XLIX
HISPANO-MORESQUE _TINAJA_]
Owing doubtless to their plain, domestic purpose and their trifling
market cost, early _tinajas_ are not often met with. A fine example in
excellent preservation is at South Kensington, and is described by Riaño
as "a wine jar, amphora-shaped, and ornamented with an incised pattern
of vine leaves, and stamped diaper of a Gothic character." Several good
_tinajas_ have been discovered of late years at Seville. Gestoso
mentions six, five of which are glazed. The first of these was found in
1893, and has a bright green glaze upon a ground of reddish earth. Both
handles and nearly all the neck are wanting. The decoration consists of
various bands or _fajas_ round the body of the jar, a series of
archways, another of leaves, and a central band of stars, three deep,
strongly imprinted from a mould. In every ninth arch are stamped
symbolic hands, such as we see upon the Gate of Justice of the Alhambra.
The second _tinaja_ is similar to the one just mentioned, except that
it has the neck. It was discovered in 1895, and is now in Seville
museum.
The third _tinaja_ is also in this museum, and was discovered in 1901.
It is in a very poor condition, and Gestoso believes that it was
originally covered with a honey-coloured glaze.
The fourth _tinaja_ was found in a drain, in the same year as the
preceding one, and is inscribed with words, including _Blessing_ and
_Felicity_, in Cufic characters. Gestoso is unable to decide whether
this vessel was made at Seville or elsewhere.
The fifth _tinaja_ is in the collection of Don José Morón, and possesses
greater interest than the others, both because it is in excellent
condition, and also because the decoration is entirely in the
Spanish-Christian style, without a trace of Saracenic ornament. Small
Gothic-looking shields surround the body of this vessel, which is
stamped with pomegranates, and with the arms and emblems of the Ponce de
León and other families. Between each pair of shields is an oval-shaped
medallion containing human figures.
The sixth _tinaja_ is unglazed. It was found in June of 1893, and is
adorned with repetitions of the words _Prosperity_ and _Blessing_, as
well as with a series of deer and other animals in the act of running;
some of them with birds upon their backs. These designs are very
uncommon, and Gestoso has seen no other _tinaja_, proceeding from this
region, similarly decorated.
_Tinajas_ are still made in large quantities at Toboso, Lucena, Colmenar
de Oreja, and other Spanish towns and villages.
Other large objects of a thoroughly oriental character were earthenware
glazed _brocales_ or brims of wells, which, like the _tinajas_, were
largely manufactured at Seville and Toledo. Specimens of these
_brocales_ exist in the museums of Toledo and Cordova. Riaño describes
one which is at South Kensington. "It was bought at Toledo for three
guineas at a shoemaker's shop. It is made of glazed white and green
earthenware, with ornamental Cufic characters in high relief all round,
which appear to be of the fourteenth century. The inscription, which is
repeated, is imperfect, and all that I can decipher are the words 'the
power, the excellence, and the peace.'"
Gestoso describes two _brocales_ and the fragments of a third. All these
objects were found at Seville. The two which are intact, or nearly so,
are cylindrical, and of a white ware. One of them has a simple leaf
decoration, and seems to have been covered with a green glaze. The
other, which was discovered in 1894, is surrounded by a triple band of
inscription in African characters which are illegible.
Gestoso also describes some interesting baptismal fonts, a class of
object which he pronounces to have been the most important of all that
were produced in the potteries of Triana, by reason both of their large
dimensions and of their elaborate ornamentation. He states that three
methods were employed to decorate these fonts. The first consisted in
attaching to their surface small moulded plates which bore the likeness
of a saint, flowers, monograms, or other devices. By the second method
the decoration was moulded directly on the font; while the third method
consisted in a combination of the other two.
Splendid examples of these Spanish fonts exist in various churches of
Andalusia and in private collections. One of the finest is in the parish
church of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, at Laguna, Tenerife. It is
suggested by Gestoso that this _pila_ of Laguna was made at Seville and
sent to the Canaries in the year 1479, when orders were issued by
Ferdinand and Isabella for the completion of the monasteries in those
islands.
_Pilas_ were also manufactured at Toledo, although Gestoso says that the
workmanship of those produced at Seville was in every way superior.
Nevertheless, he has only found the maker's name upon a single font,
which is inscribed with that of Juan Sanchez Vachero, and is now
preserved in the church of San Pedro at Carmona. Another remarkable
_pila_ is that of the hospital of San Lázaro at Seville.
In course of time the Spanish Church forbade the use of _pilas_ made of
glazed earthenware, and ordered their substitution by fonts of stone or
marble. One of these dispositions, included among the _Constituciones
Sinodales_ of the bishopric of Málaga, and dated 1671, is quoted by
Gestoso. It enacts that the _pila_ be of stone and not of earthenware,
and that if any of this latter class remain, they are to be "consumed"
(_i.e._ destroyed) within two months.
Returning to the Ordinances of Granada, those which concern the potters
or _olleros_ generally are dated 1530, and inform us of the price of
glazed and unglazed articles in common use, such as _ollas_ or pots
(with and without glaze), _cazuelas_ or earthen vessels for cooking
meat, plates of many colours and dimensions, _jarros_ (jugs), _alcuzas_
(vials), _cantaros castellanos_ (Castilian water-pitchers), _cantaros
moriscos_ (Moorish water-pitchers[64]), _morteros_ (mortars),
_lebrillos_ (earthen tubs), _candiles_ (lamps with a green, white or
yellow glaze), _orzas_ (gally pots), _botijas_ (narrow-necked jars), and
_salseras_ (saucers).
[64] The watersellers' Ordinance of 1516 enacts that each of these
vendors shall carry a minimum load of six _cántaros_, and that the
cántaros themselves shall be "of the round shape, and not the
Moorish ones, as these have long spouts; each _cántaro_ to be
closed with a cork." The latter is the typical pitcher of Morocco.
"As we were talking, neighbours dropped in, in the familiar Eastern
way, and sat quiet and self-contained, occasionally drinking from
one of the two long-necked and porous water-jars, known as
'Baradas' or the 'coolers,' which stand, their wooden stoppers tied
to them with a palmetto cord, on each side the divan."--Cunninghame
Graham, _Mogreb-el-Acksa_, p. 88.
The shape and colouring of many of these common articles have been
continued till to-day, especially in Andalusia. I reproduce a photograph
of some (Plate l.), in which the influence of the East is unmistakable.
The smaller of the two unglazed jars is used for carrying and cooling
water, and is made at Loja. The other, which is often used for storing
honey, is from Guadalajara. The spherical vessel is a kind of bottle for
_aguardiente_. It is glazed a brightish green, and is made in various
parts of Andalusia, as are the gourd-shaped _calabazas_, which have a
yellow glaze. The smallest vessel, or that which has a funnel-shaped and
bulging mouth, is coated with a coarse metallic glaze coloured in white
and blue, and proceeds from Granada.
[Illustration: L
COARSE SPANISH POTTERY
(_Modern_)]
So is the influence of the Spanish Moors, linking the present intimately
to the past, and handed down by early craftsmen to the moderns, and from
Mussulmans to Christian Spaniards, maintained and kept alive, not only
by the city ordinances I have quoted, but also by the more occult yet no
less permanent and cogent force of local and unchronicled tradition. In
the historic quarter of Granada which is called the Albaycin, survive a
few _alfarerías_ to this hour (Plate lxix.). Here, on the potter's wheel
or ranged about his yard, may yet be seen the red Granada earth that is
believed to have inspired the vase of the Alhambra, applied to-day to
common crockery that notwithstanding has a subtle, unfamiliar charm. And
towards the time of sundown, when the master turns indoors to supper and
his workmen have gone home, when the last of the red light is colouring
the ancient city wall until it too looks like a mammoth monument of the
potter's art of old Granada, it is a strange experience to wander
through these desolate yards, among the files of ruddy Granadino ware
kindling with vivid memories of the vanished Mussulmans of Spain, and
bringing back to us that spirited old poet of the East who also sang of
pottery:--
"Listen again. One Evening at the Close
Of Ramazan, ere the better Moon arose,
In that old Potter's Shop I stood alone
With the clay Population round in Rows.
And strange to tell, among that Earthen Lot
Some could articulate, while others not:
And suddenly one more impatient cried--
'Who _is_ the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?'
Then said another--'Surely not in vain
My substance from the common Earth was ta'en,
That He who subtly wrought me into Shape
Should stamp me back to common Earth again.'"
MOSAIC-WORK AND TILES
The art of colouring and glazing earthenware was practised by various
peoples of the ancient eastern world, and passed, in course of time,
through Egypt to Ph[oe]nicia, Greece, and Rome, and, later still, to
Mussulman peoples of north-western Africa.
Glazed earthenware was possibly produced in Roman Spain, although the
specimens of it which have been discovered are singularly and, indeed,
significantly few. Their colour is commonly green or lightish yellow.
Gestoso makes particular mention of a small jar now preserved in the
museum of Seville, describing it as "of an ordinary shape, but finely
made." He admits, however, that no trace of glaze exists in any of the
broken Visigothic vessels (copied, as Saint Isidore tells us, from the
Roman-Spanish pottery) that were found some years ago among the ruins of
Italica. Thus it is not decided whether the Spanish potters learned to
glaze, or whether this development of their craft remained familiar to
the Spaniards of that period through imported objects merely.
As with glazed earthenware, the origin of mosaic must be looked for in
the East. Greece, who had doubtless borrowed it from Egypt, communicated
it to Rome at least two centuries before the Christian era, and from
this time the Romans used it freely in the decoration of their
buildings. The Greek mosaic was composed exclusively of stone. The
Romans modified this usage by the introduction of diminutive cubes of
clay, painted and baked like porcelain; and later, in the reign of
Claudius, dyed these cubes with various colours.
Roman mosaic-work (commonly in the tessellated style and not the _opus
sectile_) has been unearthed in many parts of the Peninsula. Such are
the two "mosaics of the Muses," discovered at Italica on December 12th,
1799, and June 12th, 1839;[65] other mosaics, to the number of some
thirty, discovered from time to time among the same ruins; another,
discovered at Majorca in 1833; that of the Calle Batitales at Lugo (the
Roman _Lucus Augusti_), discovered in 1842; those of Palencia, Gerona,
Merida, Milla del Rio (near León), Rielves (near Toledo), Duratón,
Aguilafuente, and Paradinas (near Segovia), and Carabanchel, three miles
from Madrid. The mosaic found at Lugo is believed to have formed part of
a temple dedicated to Diana. The decoration is partly geometrical, and
consists of the head of a man between two dolphins, with other fishes
swimming along the border. Laborde describes another mosaic which
existed, early in the nineteenth century, in a hall of the archbishop's
palace at Valencia. "The pavement of this hall demands particular
attention; it is formed of antique pavements, discovered in the month of
February, 1777, three hundred paces north-east of the town of Puch,
between Valencia and Murviedro; some were entire, others were only
fragments. They were separated with care, and placed on the floor of
this hall, where they are carefully preserved. They are different
mosaics, formed by little stones of three or four lines in diameter,
curiously enchased. They are distributed into seven squares in each of
which medallions and divers designs have been drawn: their compartments
are of blue on a white ground. We observe in one of these squares an
imitation of the pavement of Bacchus, discovered at Murviedro, and of
which there remained but very few vestiges; it was copied in a
drawing-book which a priest of this town had preserved; it is executed
with such art and exactness, that no difference can be observed between
this modern work and that of the Romans. In another we see Neptune
seated in a car, in one hand holding a whip, and in the other a trident
and the reins of the horses by which his car is drawn: these appear to
be galloping."
[65] The latter, which was the finer of the two, was dug out by Don Ivo
de la Cortina. It has subsequently been allowed to go to pieces,
but a coloured plate depicting it will be found in the first volume
of the _Museo Español de Antigüedades_.
"In the same hall are also seen other pavements, of which only fragments
could be preserved. Some serve for borders and ornaments to the
preceding pavements. On these are represented a tiger, fishes, birds,
houses, flowers, and garlands, well executed. There are particularly
five stuck on wood and shut up in a closet; on these are birds, fruits,
and flowers, figured in different colours, the execution of which is
very curious; they are perhaps the most precious of the whole."