Lot Essay
The wooden coffered ceiling is characteristic of the Islamic and Mudejar architecture of Spain. The ceiling of this lot is of the vaulted variety which was used to cover square and rectangular areas. The construction itself, produced in al-Andalus, dates from the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Each panel comprises beams forming skeletal frames arranged in polygonal figures. Wooden panels are nailed to the beck of these frames, filling the interstices. In some small areas angles have been filled with wooden panels to a shallower depth, creating three levels of decoration in all. The ceiling can be compared to the square vault in the Torre del Portal in the Alhambra, Granada, which dates from the fourteenth century. The rectangular vault in the interior of the North Pavilion of the Patio de la Acqua in the Generalife, Granada, also of the fourteenth century, is also very similar.
A more elaborate version of the cupola ceiling is that which originally was in the Torre de Damas in the Alhambra and which is now in the Islamic Museum, Berlin (Dodds, J.D. (ed.): Al-Andalus, the Art of Islamic Spain, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1992, no.116, pp.368-9). It is dated to the thirteenth or fourteenth century in that catalogue although in the Berlin Museum's own 1980 guide it is dated to circa 1320.
The interlace designs of these with their parallel lines radiating from eight-pointed stars appear to have a relatively simple geometry. Close examination shows it to be anything but. The horizontal double bend near the exterior is purposefully not straight across each of the segments, giving the impression of slight concavity. Lines are conceived, when the ceiling is viewed straight on, as in the illustration, to run straight across angled joins. The craftsmanship involved is superb.
Originally the painted decoration would probably have been more extensive. An unpublished example of a similar ceiling in the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco has considerable gilding. It is also probable that there has, at some stage long in the past, been some restoration of the painting. There appears to be no noticeable difference between the painted decoration of the panels with adzed backs and those with sawn which are, presumably, replacements. It is certain however that the painting around the base of the central cupola is original. This is clearly a contemporary naskh inscription in gold on a blue ground. It is unfortunately too damaged to be decipherable.
William Randolph Hearst was known to buy complete buildings in Europe, ship their various parts to America and there store them in various warehouses until such time as he needed them. He bought a number of Spanish ceilings. Some of these reputedly came from monasteries in Southern Spain built by mudejar craftsmen. The ceiling in San Francisco is one such, while another massive ceiling at present in a private collection in the Americas also has a Hearst provenance.
A more elaborate version of the cupola ceiling is that which originally was in the Torre de Damas in the Alhambra and which is now in the Islamic Museum, Berlin (Dodds, J.D. (ed.): Al-Andalus, the Art of Islamic Spain, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1992, no.116, pp.368-9). It is dated to the thirteenth or fourteenth century in that catalogue although in the Berlin Museum's own 1980 guide it is dated to circa 1320.
The interlace designs of these with their parallel lines radiating from eight-pointed stars appear to have a relatively simple geometry. Close examination shows it to be anything but. The horizontal double bend near the exterior is purposefully not straight across each of the segments, giving the impression of slight concavity. Lines are conceived, when the ceiling is viewed straight on, as in the illustration, to run straight across angled joins. The craftsmanship involved is superb.
Originally the painted decoration would probably have been more extensive. An unpublished example of a similar ceiling in the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco has considerable gilding. It is also probable that there has, at some stage long in the past, been some restoration of the painting. There appears to be no noticeable difference between the painted decoration of the panels with adzed backs and those with sawn which are, presumably, replacements. It is certain however that the painting around the base of the central cupola is original. This is clearly a contemporary naskh inscription in gold on a blue ground. It is unfortunately too damaged to be decipherable.
William Randolph Hearst was known to buy complete buildings in Europe, ship their various parts to America and there store them in various warehouses until such time as he needed them. He bought a number of Spanish ceilings. Some of these reputedly came from monasteries in Southern Spain built by mudejar craftsmen. The ceiling in San Francisco is one such, while another massive ceiling at present in a private collection in the Americas also has a Hearst provenance.