Interesting Places I've Photographed
Court of the Lions
Alhambra
Granada, Spain
Topic: Fountains
GPS: N37° 10.621; W003° 35.356
Quick Description:
The Court of the Lions
gets its name from the famous fountain at the Alhambra that has an interesting
history.
Long Description:
The Court of Lions is
in the center of the Alhambra. It was commissioned by Emirate of Granada, Sultan
Muhammed V of the Nasrid dynasty and built sometime between 1362 and 1391
AD.
The Court of the Lions, is unusual because it has both Moorish and foreign influences. In the center of the court is the Fountain of the Lions. Twelve figures of lions support a basin which contains the fountain. This seemingly violates the Muslim prohibition on displaying of images of animals and people. Originally, the lions were created by Jews not Muslims. They were part of the Naghrela Palace taken over by the Muslims after 1066. Their re-use in the Alhambra was justified since they were not crafted by Muslims.
The fountain is modeled after the Fountain of the Temple of Solomon, described in the Old Testament Books of Chronicles, with lions replacing the bulls.
2 Chronicles 4
The Temple’s Furnishings
1 He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.
2 He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it.
3 Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit. The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.
The Court of the Lions, is unusual because it has both Moorish and foreign influences. In the center of the court is the Fountain of the Lions. Twelve figures of lions support a basin which contains the fountain. This seemingly violates the Muslim prohibition on displaying of images of animals and people. Originally, the lions were created by Jews not Muslims. They were part of the Naghrela Palace taken over by the Muslims after 1066. Their re-use in the Alhambra was justified since they were not crafted by Muslims.
The fountain is modeled after the Fountain of the Temple of Solomon, described in the Old Testament Books of Chronicles, with lions replacing the bulls.
2 Chronicles 4
The Temple’s Furnishings
1 He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.
2 He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it.
3 Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit. The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.
No comments:
Post a Comment