ALHAMBRA, an ancient castle and palace of the Mohammedan kings of Granada, is one of the storehouses for examples of the Arabesque species of ornament from time to time adopted in modern decorative art. In Mr. Owen Jones's splendid work on the Al hambra, we see how intricate are the patterns and how brilliant the colours of the decora tions with which the walls are adorned. A brief account of the existing state of the building may not be misplaced.
The Alhambra is situated on a hill, which ' runs out to the east of the town of Granada It is surrounded by a strong wall, flanked square towers, and enclosing an area of 2500 feet in length, and 650 in breadth. The walls follow all the windings of the mountain, and are constructed of 'tapia,' an artificial eon crete, consisting of pebbles, rubble, and put moist into a wooden frame. When the ' mortar was set, the frame was removed, and the portions were used successively in build ing the walls, which grew harder by time. The colour is reddish, and hence the name al-hainra," the red.' The exterior appearance of the Alhambra is simple and severe, and gives no indication of the gorgeous beauty which once distin guished the interior. The Torre de Justicia, so called because justice was dispensed there after the manner of the East, is a square tower, with a double entrance-gate, the horse shoe arch in front rising to half the height of the tower. Having passed through the double entrance gates, a narrow passage conducts to the Plaza do los Algihes, or 'Court of the Cisterns,' which are two, the largest 102 feet long and 56 feet wide, arched over, and enclosed by a wall six feet thick. On the east side of this Plaza is the Alcabaza, which is a palace built for Charles V. in the Cinquecento style, by the architect Alonso Berreguete. On the north is a very simple and unostentatious entrance to the Mesuar, or common bathing court, 150 feet in length and 56 in width. It is paved with white marble, and the walls covered with arabesques of admirable work manship. In the midst of this court is P. basin bordered with flowers. At the lower end of the Mesuar is an archway leading to the Patio de los Leones, or Court of the Lions.' It is open to the sky, measures 100 feet by 60, and is paved with white marble. In the centre of it is a large basin of alabaster, of twelve sides, resting on the backs of twelve lions, rudely carved. Over this basin a smaller one rises, from which a large body of water spouts into the air, and falling from one basin into the other is sent forth through the mouths of the lions. This court is surrounded
by a gallery supported by above 100 slender and elegant columns, 9 feet high, and 8i inches in diameter. These columns are very irregularly placed ; sometimes they are single, and sometimes in groups of two or three. The walls, up to the height of fifteen feet from the ground, are covered with blue and yellow mosaic filings. The columns and ceiling of the gallery are beautifully orna mented with arabesques and fret-work in the most exquisite taste. Around the upper face of the Fountain of the Lions are some Arabic verses, which describe, in a style of oriental hyperbole, the wonders and the beauty of the fountain. On each end of the court projects a portico, which is also supported by slender marble columns.
On the left side of the Court of the Lions is the Sala de los Abencerrages, and opposite to the Sala de los Abencerrages, on the other side of the Court of the Lions, is the Sala de las dos Henuanas, or Hall of the Two Sis ters,' so called from two huge flags of white marble, without a flaw or stain, which are in the pavement. On the upper end of the Mesuar stands the magnificent Tower of Comares. This massive tower rises above the rest of the building, and overhangs a deep ravine.
The Sala de los Ambajadores, which occu pies the whole of the interior of the Tower of Comares, still preserves traces of its past splendour. The walls are richly stuccoed and ornamented with arabesques of exquisite workmanship. The ceiling is of cedar-wood, inlaid with ivory, silver, and mother of pearl. The three sides of the hall are full of win dows, formed in the immense thickness of the wall, which thus allow a free circulation to the air, and admit a faint lightwhich produces a surprising effect. In the same manner all the halls of the Alhambra are lighted and ventilated. To the east of the Sala de Comares is the Tocador de la Reina, or Queen's Dress ing-room, and near it is the Garden of Linda raja, with its alabaster fountain, and groves of roses, myrtles, and orange-trees.
When we examine the halls of the Alham bra, we are no less surprised at the elegance, of their construction and the beauty of their ornaments than at the durability of a work of such a delicate nature ; the blue, the carmine, and the gold. still preserve all their brilliancy and freshness ; the slender columns and appa rently fragile filagree work have stood the vicissitudes of five centuries.