wood, leather and ivory
SPANISH, Granada, late 19th century
Measurements, sofa width 166 cm; chair 66 cm; table ht 48 cm, width 38 cm
Both sofa and chairs have light wooden frames inlaid with intricate mosaic motifs in ivory. Seats and backs are made of leather. Those of the sofa are decorated in embossed designs of alternating interlaces of foliage, each enclosing a blazon containing an Arabic inscription, and angular geometric motifs. Leather back also with blazons and rosettes. Each blazon has contains an Arabic inscription – la ghaliba illa Allah – Only God is Victorious. The table of octagonal shape has comparable decoration of radiating hexagons and rosettes.
Notes. The Arabic inscription is a copy of the Nasrid motto which is found all over the Alhambra.
The leather on the seat of the sofa was made in Cordoba. The leather on the chairs is a modern restoration.
