What is inlay and what is its history?
Have you ever admired the intricate designs of the wooden furniture and objects that adorn the palaces and houses of Granada? Behind this beauty hides a millenary art: inlay work. This artisan technique consists of the creation of small inlays of different materials on a wooden surface, giving rise to decorative elements of unparalleled exquisiteness.
WHAT IS GRENADINE INLAY?
One of the best known artistic and craft techniques that come from the province, is the Granada inlay. But if you have never been to the city and do not know what is the inlay, you should know that etymologically its meaning is inlay.
The word“inlay” comes from Arabic and means“inlay“. This technique, which reached its maximum expansion during the Nasrid period, became a symbol of luxury and sophistication, being used to decorate everyday objects that, thanks to this laborious technique, became noble pieces worthy of the wealthy classes. It is an ornamental technique that consists of setting pieces of a practically tiny size. These pieces can be made of a wide variety of materials such as wood, bone, ivory, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl or even metallic elements such as silver. All this on a carefully traced geometric design and on which the previously cut pieces are fixed.
INLAY TECHNIQUE
This technique, such as the Granada inlay, allows to obtain compositions with polygonal and geometric shapes that provide any surface with a coating of great beauty. Thanks to this additional ornamentation so colorful, any everyday object such as chests, furniture or boards, became pieces worthy of the wealthiest classes of society.
To create the decorative design, craftsmen use precision-cut pieces of various wood materials such as ebony, walnut or mahogany, as well as mother-of-pearl, ivory and metals. These pieces are painstakingly assembled on the base wood, creating very common decorative motifs such as geometric, floral or calligraphic motifs. The result is a unique work of art, where decoration in the form of intricate designs comes to life.
The origins of Granada inlay can be found during the time of the Caliphate of Cordoba. In which, according to the documentation found, this inlay technique emerged, specifically in the cabinetmaking workshops. Of the most outstanding and well-known pieces that were created during this period, it is worth mentioning the mobile mimbar. It was commissioned to be placed in the mosque of Cordoba.
However, although it emerged during the Caliphate as we have said, it was rather in the Nasrid period when the technique of Granada inlay reached its full splendor. In fact, in the Museum of the Alhambra, at present, we can find many of these pieces that decorated the rooms of the Nasrid monument. Of all these pieces on display, the most important and best known is the jamuga. This piece of furniture is covered by the technique of inlay for which materials such as fine woods, silver and ivory were used. Knowing these pieces in the museum will allow you, after your visit to the Alhambra in Granada, to imagine how these pieces of furniture would look in each of the rooms and halls of the palace.
WHAT IS TARACEA
Another of the most important pieces that we should pay attention to as visitors to the museum is a chessboard. Elaborated during the XIV and XV centuries, it has inlaid ornamentation on its sides with three large stars in eight. Finally, other pieces of inlaid wood from Granada are the doors of a cupboard from the Casa de los Infantes. These doors were made of cypress wood and ornamented with this technique using different designs on each of their faces.
Knowing what inlay is and which are the best known pieces, another detail worth knowing is that there were Moorish workshops scattered throughout the peninsula. And that they were dedicated to working with this technique. This indicates that this art was not limited to the Hispano-Muslim sphere. It is also confirmed that it continued to be developed in the Christian kingdoms. In whose royal inventories the existence of multiple pieces made using the inlay technique is recorded. After the conquest of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, inlay continued to exist, although influenced by Renaissance art.
Today, Grenadian inlay is still a highly valued and appreciated craft all over the world. Its decorative elements adorn everything from furniture and boxes to musical instruments and decorative objects. However, this technique, which combines tradition and creativity, faces the challenge of modernity and technology. Despite this, the artisans of Granada continue to transmit this legacy from generation to generation, keeping alive one of the most beautiful and sophisticated artistic expressions of Andalusia.
