Al Andalus

(or Al-Andalus; AlAndalus, pronounced 'al-an-da-loose') This is the name given to Spain by the Moors who conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula, beginning in 711 AD and lasting until 1492. The origins of the name remain unclear to this day. The most common interpretation is that it derives in some way from the Vandals who controlled Iberia before the arrival of the Moors or from their name for the lands they inhabited. The Moors' Al-Andalus encompassed all of the Iberian Peninsula except for the extreme north-west. As their territory shrank over the centuries, the name was retained and the last area of Moorish occupation became Andalucía. We offer for your enjoyment the following legend: According to Moslem legend, when Allah was creating the earth and dealing out good and bad, each place was given five wishes. The land of Al-Andalus asked for a clear sky, a beautiful sea full of fishes, ripe fruit and fair women. All these were granted, but a fifth wish ? for good government ? was not granted because to have done so would have created heaven on earth.
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Andalus

Albarello

(pronounced 'al-bah-rayo') Spanish and Italian apothecary jar of the 13th to 18th Centuries. They have very interesting proportions: usually a slightly concave cylinder with smaller neck and foot. Collection

Alpujarra

(pronounced 'Al-poo-hah-rah') Region south of Granada, Spain, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, famously noted for their hand woven 'jarapas' or rugs.

Amphora

(pronounced 'am-fo-rah') An amphora (plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of ceramic vase with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body. Collection

Learn more about Amphorae

Arabé

(pronounced 'ah-rah-bay')Our collection of 15th Century reproductions of a very well-known geometric and stylised floral pattern in yellow-gold and blue. This design is typical of Andalucia and of Sevilla in particular. Collection

Bisque

(pronounced ‘bisk’) A fired piece of unglazed clay.  More usually, this term refers to fired objects before they are decorated and glazed.

Califal

Our collection of exact, detailed reproductions of the stunning Moorish ceramics produced in Cordoba during the 15th Century and often copied in the Granada region in later years. Collection

Carafe

Flask, decanter, bottle. A carafe is generally considered to be a container for serving drinks: a container with a wide cylindrical base, a narrow neck, and a flared open top, usually made of glass or ceramic and used to serve liquids, especially wine or water at the table. In our collections, the term 'carafe' is used to refer to this shape. Collection

Carpet

Any loom-woven, felted textile or grass floor covering. The term was historically also used for table and wall coverings, as carpets were not commonly used on the floor in European interiors until the 18th century. Carpet-making was introduced to Spain in the 10th Century by the Moors. The Crusades later brought Turkish carpets to all of Europe, where they were primarily hung on walls or used on tables. Only with the opening of trade routes in the 17th Century were significant numbers of Persian rugs introduced to Western Europe.

The words carpet and rug are often used interchangeably. Historically, however, there has been a distinction between carpet and rug based on size (the former being larger) or use (carpets on floors, rugs on beds or on the hearth). In the real estate and home improvement industries a distinction is made between carpet (or carpeting) and rug. The former indicates a covering that is affixed to a floor and the latter a floor covering that is loose-laid, most often for decorative purposes. (see also rug)

Ceramics

Can refer to: Ceramic, a type of material; Ceramics (art), a fine art and; Pottery not rising to the level of art. At Al Andalus we refer to all our collections as fine art.

The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word keramikos. The term covers inorganic non-metallic materials whose formation is due to the action of heat. Up until the 1950s or so, the most important of these were the traditional clays, made into pottery, bricks, tiles and the like, along with cements and glass. (See also: pottery)

Dish

For our purposes, we consider a dish to be an intermediate shape between a plate and a bowl and as such, can be used as either one.  Traditionally, dinner plates were more dish shaped and deeper than they are currently.  Our ceramics reflect this traditional design, as exemplified by our ‘Fez’ dishes, as compared with the plates of our ‘Sgraffito’ collection.

Egg Icon

Our exquisite limited collection of hand painted canvas images decorated with 24Kt gold damascene assembled in a natural emu or goose egg shell.

Firing

The method by which raw clay articles are baked in a kiln (oven) to harden them and thus preserve their shape and decoration.

Fez

(pronounced 'Fets') A city in northern Morocco, famous for its markets and for its distinctive ceramic production. In honour of its rich ceramic craft history, we have named our collection of ceramics decorated with extremely intricate and readily identifiable stylized geometric patterns after this beautiful city. Collection

Flamenco

Flamenco refers to the traditional song and dance of the Gitanos (Gypsies) of Andalucía in southern Spain. In reality this term refers to an entire sub-culture in Andalucía surrounding the songs and dances which includes clothing, decorations, posters, etc. Collection

Flamenco is one of the great European nonacademic musical genres. More than simply a type of folk music, flamenco embodies a complex musical and cultural tradition. Although considered part of the culture of Spain in general, flamenco is really original from one region ?Andalusia. However, other areas, mainly Extremadura and Murcia, have contributed to the development of several flamenco musical forms, and a great number of outstanding flamenco artists have been born in other territories of the state. There are many questions remaining about the roots of flamenco, but it is generally acknowledged that flamenco grew out of the unique interplay of native Andalusian, Islamic, Sephardic, and Gypsy cultures that existed in Andalusia prior to and after the Reconquest. Latin American and especially Cuban influences have also been important to shape several flamenco musical forms. Once the seeds of flamenco were planted in Andalusia, it grew as a separate subculture, first centered in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and part of Málaga ?the area known as Baja Andalucía (Lower Andalusia)? but soon spreading to the rest of Andalusia, incorporating and transforming local folk music forms. As the popularity of flamenco extended to other areas, other local Spanish musical traditions (i.e. the Castilian traditional music) would also influence, and be influenced by, the traditional flamenco styles.

Learn More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco

Food warmer

Ceramic pot to place in oven to keep food warm and whose lid allows steam or vapour to escape so food remains fresh and crisp. Our food warmers are traditionally referred to in Spain as 'tallin' (pronounced 'tai-yeen'). Collection

Fretwork

Unglazed, polished ceramics with intricate patterns achieved by removing clay from the shaped object to accomplish a 'basket work' or open fretwork design. Collection

Granada

Our truly beautiful ceramic collection comprising a variety of shapes decorated with unique brightly coloured stylised floral designs. Collection

Herbal

Floral design developed exclusively by Julia, the creator of the Arabé, Herbal and Mediaeval ceramic collections and based upon traditional Spanish patterns. Collection

Icon

A painted image of a religious figure or event, especially a painted panel that is characteristic of the Eastern Christian church. The term icon is derived from the Greek eikenai, ?to resemble,? and refers to an image believed to be sacred in itself that can aid in contacting the represented figure. Collection

Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icon

Jarapa

(pronounced 'hah-rah-pah') Spanish term for the hand-woven cotton rugs or throws, most famously made by artisans in the Alpujarran region of southern Spain in the Sierra Nevada Mountains south of Granada. Learn more.

Kiln

A kiln is an oven, for the firing or baking of ceramics and pottery. Traditionally, pottery or ceramic kilns were fired by a wide variety of natural materials, most importantly wood and coal. Present day ceramic studios rely mainly on electricity for a smoothly regulated process, although wood is still used in some circumstances, such as reduction firing.

Marquetry

Common term for a veriety of inlaid wood products from boxes to furniture. Marquetry is more commonly referred to in Spain as Taracea

Mediaeval

Our collection of reproductions of famous Spanish historical scenes, in turn based on Moorish designs from previous ages. Collection

Moors

The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including present day Spain and Portugal as well as the Maghreb and western Africa), whose culture is often called Moorish. The ancestry of the successive waves of invaders is a varied one, with the earlier incursions coming from the region of present day Syria and Turkey, while later conquerors were from northwestern Africa, present day Algereia and Morocco. Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors

Moroccan Metallic

This is our term for our collection of pieces highlighting the very unique decorative method whereby copper and bronze shaped and decorated pieces are added directly to the finished ceramic between the first and second firings. Collection

Mural

A design achieved by placing two or more decorative tiles together, with each tile having a part of the overall pattern. Ceramic murals can be as simple as two tiles with a pattern or scene or entire buildings covered by thousands of tiles to create one, unified pattern or scene. Collection

 

Nasari Lustreware

Known in Spain as the 'technique of the metallic gleam', Nasari Lustreware had its origin in Malaga in the Kingdom of Granada during the 14th and 15th Centuries. Reported by Muslim writers as peerless in beauty, this 'golden' ware was admired in the Moorish Kingdom of Granada, as well as shipped to Sicily, Egypt and outlying regions of the Hispanic Peninsula. England imported Malaga lustre as early as 1303. Collection

Lustre is metallic decoration in golds, silvers and reflective reds on the surface of ceramic forms or tiles. These pieces are decorated twice, once with the profiles in Cobalt blue and a second time with the golden inlays, which are obtained through the application of copper during the third firing. This technique requires three firings and is so difficult and requires such hard work and attention to detail and care, that these lusterware pieces achieve a particular singularity and thus extremely high value and recognition.
Learn more: http://www.caiger-smith.co.uk/...

Navaja

(pronounced 'nah-bah-hah') Spanish name for pocket knife; pen knife. Collection

 

Pirula

(pronounced 'pi-roo-lah') Spanish term for carafe. This is the term we prefer to use, simply because of the beauty of the word itself. These are containers with a variety of shapes, but all with very narrow necks, a pouringt spout and a handle. Our pirula shapes are perennial favourites in our collection.

Pitcher

A single-handled jug: a container for liquids with a single handle, generally a wide neck and a lip or spout for pouring its contents. Collection

An interesting side note: Pitch was traditionally used to help caulk the seams of wooden sailing vessels. It was heated, and then put into a container with a very long spout. The word 'pitcher' is said to derive from this long spouted container used to pour hot pitch. Several phrases in popular use today date to this maritime usage. The term 'the devil to pay' is said to derive from this usage. The full phrase was "the devil to pay, and no pitch hot". The "devil" in question, being the most outward plank, the most difficult one to caulk.

Pottery

1. Objects made of baked clay: objects that are made by moulding or shaping moist clay and hardening it by heating in a kiln, e.g. vases, pots, plates, or sculptured articles.

2. The making of pottery: the art, craft, or occupation of making pottery.

3. The place where pottery is made: a workshop, factory, or other location.

Pottery production is a process by which a body, clay mixed with other minerals, is shaped and allowed to dry. The shaped clay body, or piece, ware or article may be "bisque or biscuit fired" in a kiln to induce permanent changes that result in increased mechanical strength, and then fired a second time after adding a glaze or a piece may be once fired by applying appropriate glaze to the dry unfired body and firing in one cycle. It is common for different clays and minerals to be mixed to produce clay bodies suited to specific purposes |°C]] range, which does not vitrify in the kiln but remains slightly porous is often called earthenware or terra cotta. Clay bodies formulated to be fired at higher temperatures, which is partially vitrified is called stoneware. Fine earthenware with a white tin glaze is known as faience. Porcelain is a very refined, smooth, white body that, when fired to vitrification, can have translucent qualities

Traditionally, different regions of the world have produced different types of clay, sometimes mixed with other minerals, to produce regionally distinctive pottery. This has proven interesting, as many areas in Spain have, in the past, traditionally relied on local sources of clay, for instance the rich clay beds of the Guadalquivir River through Sevilla. However, as artistic demands and the need for a cleaner, grit-free clay increases, traditional ceramic areas such as Sevilla are now importing clay from other regions.

With mass production techniques having replaced the traditional, studio potters have focused more on the aesthetic than the utilitarian. Although the terms pottery and ceramic are often used interchangeably, we prefer the term ceramic with its connotations of art as opposed to pure utility.
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottery

Reduction Firing

(or reduction atmosphere) is a condition created in a kiln in order to produce specific effects on the ceramic wares being fired. A reduction atmosphere is produced in a fuel fired kiln by reducing the draft and depriving the kiln of oxygen. This reduced level of oxygen causes incomplete combustion of the fuel and raises the level of carbon inside the kiln.  At high temperatures the carbon will bond with and remove the oxygen in the metal oxides used as colorants in the glazes. This loss of oxygen results in a change in the color of the glazes because it allows the metals in the glaze to be seen in an unoxidized form.  A reduction atmosphere can also affect the color of the clay body. If iron is present in the clay body then it will be affected by the reduction atmosphere as well.

Retablo

Spanish ‘retablos’, like their icons, are painted directly onto a wood surface or are painted onto cloth or paper and then mounted on a wood surface.  Retablos are generally displayed behind the altar or in some cases above doorways or facades. Collection

Rug

Any loom-woven, felted textile or grass floor covering (see also: carpet). The words carpet and rug are often used interchangeably. Historically, however, there has been a distinction between carpet and rug based on size (the former being larger) or use (carpets on floors, rugs on beds or on the hearth). In the real estate and home improvement industries a distinction is made between carpet (or carpeting) and rug. The former indicates a covering that is affixed to a floor and the latter a floor covering that is loose-laid, most often for decorative purposes. At Al Andalus, we use the term rug to refer to our fine collection of 'Alpujarran' hand woven textiles or 'Jarapas' due to their tremendous versatility, recommended as throws, wall hangings, floor coverings, bed spreads and even beach blankets. They are ideal for the cottage. Learn more

Sgraffito

(pronounced 'sgra-fee-toh') The technique of scratching or incising decoration directly into the clay material of the ceramic before firing. It is the most ancient of decorative methods and at the same time the simplest. However, 'sgraffito' decoration, by expert hands can achieve extremely high levels of intricacy and sophistication. The most common method of sgraffito involves covering the material of the object with a slip (see below) of a different colour, usually white, so that when the design is incised into the object the base material is revealed. So, for instance, scratching through the white slip will reveal the red clay beneath. Our 'sgraffito' collection embodies this simple but powerful decoration in combination with hand painted highlights and various coloured glazes.

Slip

A solution of watery clay which is used to cover a ceramic surface to give it a different appearance, usually a white slip or slurry of clay over a red-bodied clay object.  Most commonly, clay objects are dipped in vats or basins of ‘slip’. Once the slip has dried on the clay surface, the object is ready for painting or for coloured glazing.

Statue

In our collection this term refers to miniature replica statuettes of Spanish knights and figures of history, handcrafted from various metals. Both Toledo and Albacete are renowned throughout the world not only for their knives and swords, but also for their painstakingly detailed suits of armour and 'miniature' replicas.

 

Spice Bottle

Small square or rectangular container with a neck which is narrower than the body and having a 'mouth'. Usually has some form of stopper.

Tallin

(pronounced 'tai-yeen') Ceramic pot to place in oven to keep food warm and whose lid allows steam or vapour to escape so food remains fresh and crisp. Our food warmers are traditionally referred to in Spain as 'tallin' (pronounced taiyeen, originally an Arabic name later adopted by the Spanish).

Taracea

(pronounced 'tah-rah-say-ah' or 'tah-rah-thay-ah') The Spanish term for Marquetry and the one we use in our collection simply because of the beauty of the word. Taracea employs thin pieces of richly grained or coloured woods, glued in sheets or numerous tiny pieces to the surfaces of inferior woods. Taracea makes use of many beautiful and expensive woods, feasible because many sheets of veneer may be derived from a piece of wood that would serve for only a single structural board; some veneers are cut as thin as an ordinary sheet of paper and thus require very small amounts of wood stock. In actual fact, most modern artisans create their taracea pieces using 'discards' or wood which could not be used for other purposes. Other materials may also be utilised, such as bone, shell, mother-of-pearl and metals such as brass and pewter. Taracea is used to create objects such as boxes, furniture, clocks frames, etc. as well as for decorating existing surfaces such as floors, walls and stairways.

For the detailed piece work, materials such as wood, shell, bone, etc. are cut into small shapes that are then fitted into a support until the decorative design is complete. It is very demanding application work. Between one piece and the next there is a contrast effect that depends on the color and the material characteristics used. There can be many combinations of different kinds and colors of materials. In taracea, the bed of the base between a piece of inlay and another is not seen, as opposed to the effect observed in mosaics. It is known that taracea was made during the Sumerian epoch in Mesopotamia (3000 years BC) and during the Ming dynasty of China (1368-1644). The technique was spread across Minor Asia (currently Turkey) and later the Romans adopted it when they entered in contact with the Hellenistic word. At this time, the art of taracea was known as 'incrustatio' or 'loricatito'. Pliny the Elder made an extensive description of the technique in his work Natural History. He called the pieces used in the incrustations, 'crustae'.

In Spain the tradition of taracea is the strongest in Granada, another legacy from the Arabic culture of Al-Andalus in the 14th Century and it has been continuously improved through the centuries. Learn more and then learn even more: http://www.marquetry.co.uk/...

Terra Cotta

A fired piece of unglazed clay.  Usually this term refers to a fired object that will not be glazed, such as most flower pots, for example. Terra Cotta is thus distinguished from bisque which is waiting to be glazed and/or decorated.

 

Triptych

(pronounced 'trip-tick') A triptych, from the Greek tri- "three" + ptyche "fold", is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together so that, when the smaller outer panels are folded, the middle part is entirely covered. The central panel is the most important one, and this is flanked on either side by two lesser but related paintings. The whole is intended to be greater than the sum of the parts.

The triptych form arises from early Christian art, and was the standard format for altar paintings from the middle Ages onwards. Altarpieces in churches and cathedrals since the Gothic period, both in Europe and elsewhere, were often in triptych-form. Its geographical range was from the eastern Byzantine churches through to the English Celtic church in the west. Renaissance painters and sculptors such as Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch used the form. The word arose into the medieval period from the name for an Ancient Roman writing tablet, which had two hinged panels flanking a central one.

Urn

An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered and without handles that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. Funerary urns (also called cinerary urns) were used by many civilizations. After death, a body would be cremated and the ashes were typically collected in an urn (for example, the Greek lekythos). Romans placed the urns in a niche in a collective tomb called a "columbarium" (literally, "dovecote": the interior of a dovecote is usually covered in rows of niches to house doves). Urns are also a common form of architectural detail and garden ornament.

Vase

The vase is an open container, often used to hold cut flowers. It can be made from a number of materials including porcelain, ceramics and glass. The vase is often decorated and thus used to extend the beauty of its contents.

Vases are defined as having a certain anatomy. Lowest is the foot, a distinguishable base to the piece. Next, is the body, which forms the main and often largest portion of the piece. Resting atop the body is the shoulder, where the body curves inward. Then is the neck, where the vase is given more height. Lastly, is the lip, where the vase flares back out at the top. Many vases are also given handles. Today, the shapes of vases have evolved from the conventional ones to modern designs and shapes. The vase has also developed as an art medium unto itself. The ancient Greeks famously used vases to depict scenes.