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It illustrates superbly a number of architectural

concerns occasionally documented in literary references:
the contrast between an unassuming exterior and a richly
decorated interior to achieve an effect of secluded or private
brilliance; the constant presence of water, either as a
single, static basin or as a dynamic fountain; the inclusion
of oratories and baths; the lack of an overall plan (the units
are simply attached to each other).
The architectural decoration of the Alhambra was
mostly of stucco. Some of it is flat, but the extraordinarily
complex cupolas of muqarnas, such as in the Hall of
the Two Sisters, appear as huge multifaceted diadems.
The decoration of the Alhambra becomes a sort of paradox
as well as a tour de force. Weighty, elaborately
decorated ceilings, for example, are supported by frail
columns or by walls pierced with many windows (light
permeates almost every part of the large, domed halls).
Much of the design and decoration of the Alhambra is
symbolically oriented. The poems that adorn the
Alhambra as calligraphic ornamentation celebrate its
cupolas as domes of heaven rotating around the prince
sitting under them. Islamic art as such ceased to be produced
in Spain after 1492, when Granada, the last
Moorish kingdom in Spain, fell to the Christians.
Most of the best known monuments of western Islamic
art are buildings, although a very original calligraphy was
developed. The other arts cannot be compared in wealth
and importance either with what occurred elsewhere in
Islam at the same time or with earlier objects created in
Spain. There are some important examples of metalwork,
wood inlaid with ivory, and a lustre-glaze pottery known as
Hispano-Moresque ware. The fact that the latter was made
in Valencia or Mlaga after the termination of Muslim rule
demonstrates that Islamic traditions in the decorative arts
continued to be adhered to, if only partially. The term
Mudjar, therefore, is used to refer to all the things made
in a Muslim style but under Christian rule. Numerous
examples of Mudjar art exist in ceramics and textiles, as
well as in architectural monuments such as the synagogues
of Toledo and the Alcazba in Sevilla (Seville), where even
the name of the ruling Christian prince, Don Pedro, was
written in Arabic letters. The Mudjar spirit, in fact, permeated
most of Spanish architectural ornament and
decorative arts for centuries, and its influence can even be
found in Spanish America.
Mudjar art must be carefully distinguished from
Mozarabic art: the art of Christians under Muslim
rule. Mozarabic art primarily flourished in Spain during

the earlier periods of Muslim rule. Its major manifestations

are architectural decorations, decorative objects,
and illuminated manuscripts