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Magazine
LIVING TRADITIONS
Where streets are galleries
JANARDHAN ROYE
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A legacy of the Arab Moors, almost every building in Lisbon has a façade of tiles, in a bewitching array of colours, designs and themes that have evolved over the centuries.
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With the great Portuguese voyages came influences from far and wide…With the fresh insights into the culture and mores of a distant world, they embarked upon a series of exotic and daring new themes with vivid colours and designs.
Photos: Janardhan Roye
Patchwork art: Decorative tiles on a bungalow on Avenue de India
On a recent early morning, when we called on a Bangalore friend, a pleasant surprise awaited us in her lovely garden. There, amidst flowers and other greenery, tiny picket fences and a miniature windmill, was a traditional, Portuguese hand-painted ce
ramic tile. On it were impressions of the Torre de Belem, the Discoverer’s Monument, Se Cathedral and Jeronimo Monastery — touristy spots that we had recently visited in Lisbon, Portugal. To be sure, such tiles, in a dazzling and bewildering array of designs and colours and themes, greet the visitor everywhere in the port city. They are on the facades of buildings, in public places, cathedral domes, in restaurants, shopping malls, and some railway stations have their floors, ceilings and walls plastered with them.
These earthenware tiles, known as Azulejos — from the Arabic word Al-Zuleiq, polished stone — are as pervasive in the Portuguese culture as the venerable spirit that creates them. They have been lining the walls of Iberian cities for centuries. Popularly, they depict ships, flowers and hunting. Whatever they carry, though, is “perfectly” ordered — each tile has an aesthetic and architectural logic and order. In addition, many years’ exposure to the sun, sea and the elements has vastly changed their appearance. Such time-ravaged pieces, funnily enough, acquire a quaint rugged beauty that makes them a collector’s delight.
Random art
In Lisbon, owners of buildings don’t always see them as such. To the owners, it is just another tile in the wall that requires early replacement. Often, that is done by choosing tiles that fit the niche rather than the design. For the ordinary citizen, tiles are functional adornments that primarily protect the structure from rain and water seepage, a cover against property damage. Then again, at a macro-level such haphazard and ad hoc replacements create a totally new and complex patchwork, “all the more beautiful for the story they tell”.
The Sunni Moors from North Africa are credited with introducing the Azulejos tile culture to Portugal. The Arabs, who, it is believed, learnt the art from the Persians, limited their designs and creativity to geometrical patterns — squares, triangles, and diamonds. They were careful not to venture into the faith forbidden territory of “organic images of living things”. Even though the Moors left the peninsula many hundreds of years ago, their imprint on Iberian culture and lifestyle lingers just as does their practice of white-washing walls.
Of course, the tiles of Lisbon have had other influences. In the 16th century, Spanish, Portuguese and Flemish artists produced a variety of dazzling designs using a range of colours to depict scenes from nature, history, fables and the scriptures. The more prosaic scenes of tilling in the sun and labouring in the fields are to be found in the exteriors of farm houses. Then, with the great Portuguese voyages came influences from far and wide, offering much fodder to local artists and architects. With the fresh insights into the culture and mores of a distant world, they embarked upon a series of exotic and complex and daring new themes with vivid colours and designs.
A century on, tile fashion went through yet another change. Multi-coloured made a quiet exit. The humble blue and white dominated the art. This shift in trend coincided with a more prosperous Portuguese society. As sea-faring men met with success abroad, and brought with them riches, enhanced trading opportunities and ideas, high society had money to throw on new luxuries such as exquisite Ming porcelain. Besides crockery and art de objets, the Chinese blue influenced and dominated the tile business.
Indian connection
From Goa, the capital of Portugal India, flowed design ideas brimming with buoyant colours and inspiration, brought on by the splendour of silk and gold and saffron. A more practical aspect to tiling came from South America. It was from Brazil that Iberia got the idea of encasing dwellings with tiles both on the inside and outside. After the great 1755 earthquake, Lisbon builders relied heavily on this concept to prevent water seepage and dampness and damage to structures. As a result, the tiling industry went through a boom. Today, despite advances in cementing and waterproofing techniques, the tiling tradition for protecting buildings continues to flourish.
With wider application, tile design went through many innovations to become a rich art form. Witness the spectacular tile art work in public places such as in Cascais, Sintra and Obidos. At the gateway to Port wine country, at the cavernous Porto’s Sao Bento railway station, right from the floor, wall and ceiling are embellished with gigantic murals. The tile murals depict dramatic historical events, and have been executed in the “romantic style” of Jorge Colaco (1868-1942). The artist is noted for his deft usage of oil painting techniques to ceramics.
A tiled square in the city of Cascais.
Today, this art form is widely incorporated into commercial buildings and advertising. The patronage of businesses and organisations such as the Lisboa Metropolitano subway has encouraged the art form to regenerate itself and become not just part of the country’s heritage but the essential fabric of modern Portugal.
While there are stunning examples of tile art all over the Iberian Peninsula, Lisbon’s national tile museum, Museu Nacional do Azulejo showcases the best that’s happened over the years. It has the “foremost collection” of Azulejos, including an endless patchwork of 1,300 blue and white tiles that portray Lisbon just before it was devastated by the great earthquake. The museum, located in a 1509 nunnery, Convento da Madre de Deus, is a unique blend of 17th century architecture and historical adornments making it “one of the most exuberantly Baroque structures” in the country.
The museum’s collection includes works of Jorge Martins, Paulo Rego and other leading Portuguese artists. Presently, there are some 70,000 items of tiles, ceramics, tools and images. Originally, the exhibits were brought from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga where many of the pieces were displayed in the section of ceramics. At the Museu, visitors get a chance to tour an ornate gilded convent and its rich historical church, cloisters and choir. The interior chapel is spacious, built in 17th century Baroque style and filled with massive paintings, many of which are framed in gold. The priceless ceramics are exhibited in halls that have walls adorning scenery executed in blue.
Problem of theft
But all is not well in this Eden of Tiles. Priceless pieces of Moorish legacy and other historical artefacts and fine examples of Iberian art form are disappearing right under the nose of the citizenry. Tile robbery has become rampant. Thieves target public walls, floors, ceilings, and whole buildings, museums and cultural centres, and even hospitals and educational institutions across the country. In the process of making away with the ceramic gems, many long standing heritage pieces get wrecked. The undamaged ones command fancy prices in the international black market for art.
Portuguese authorities are cracking down on the tile mafia. But it seems like a long haul. Putting his finger on the problem, Manuel Leitao, the head of Portugal’s Antique Dealer’s Association says, “People hardly pay attention when they walk past a wall full of tiles but if someone were to tell them that some tiles can be worth €10,000 apiece, may be some people would go back and steal them.”
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