The Pivot Poles at the entrance to the Cuarto

Museo of the Alhambra, room VII, every Saturday of the month at 12.00.

This pair of pivot-poles from the central arch of the Cuarto Dorado, together with the pole sockets (made of marble and still conserved in situ) performed the essential practical function of enabling the door to be opened towards the courtyard and closed again.

They were probably installed in the Cuarto Dorado during the time of Mu¬ammad V and remained in place until 1969, when it was decided that they be moved to the Museum of the Alhambra, where they now form part of the permanent exhibition.

It is important to understand how the Nasrid craftsmen managed to integrate purely decorative features, such as mocarabes (honeycomb designs) and an array of colours, into pieces with a clearly architectural or practical function.

During the Nasrid period the mocarabe became a typical feature of architectural structures such as cornices, arches, vaults etc. Various examples carved in wood survive today, including cubes, pineapples and cornices among others.

This technique involves arranging wooden prisms in a step formation and is based on a number of simple principles that experimented with the proportions of the decorative geometric patterns.

With the aid of various different teaching resources, Dr Gloria Aljazairi López will help those wishing to find out more about this technique to understand the simple craft recipes applied in the design, drafting and execution of this technique.

Time: Every Saturday of the month at 12.00.

Place: Room V, Museum of the Alhambra, Palace Charles V

INDICACIONES