‘Textile Architecture’ in the Cuarto Dorado

The integrated aesthetic articulated in chapter 3 grounds a new approach to the Patio of Comares and its enigmatic façade. The chapter begins with a historical overview of poetic inscriptions on Islamic luxury textiles, which points to an intersection between a specific type of Nasrid textiles and an ingenious Andalusian poetic genre, both designated by the term muwashshaḥāt. Shared constitutive features allow those textiles to inform the understanding of the poetry and the reverse, and, moreover, their interrelationship further serves to illuminate architecture. The theoretical argument, reinforced by Ibn al-Haytham's optics discussed in chapter 1, leads to a historical hypothesis: the use of textiles to design inter-medial spaces in the Alhambra, belied by the absence of furnishings in situ today. Supporting evidence from other Islamic sites is adduced. A comparative analysis of the Façade of Comares and the Nasrid textiles known as "Alhambra silks" exemplifies the concept of visual harmony as a design principle. The conclusion proposes a further dimension of the inter-medial relationship through the concept of "textile architecture," that is the temporary deployment of large-scale textiles with architectural functions, in order to reframe the ceremonial use of the Patio of Comares.