Torrijos Ceiling

Above you in the gallery is an ornate carved ceiling from a palace in Torrijos, revealing the Islamic influence on craft practices in medieval Spain. The ceiling was built about 1490 using strapwork, an Islamic construction technique that creates patterns from interlacing strips of wood.

An Arabic phrase is repeated in the white plaster. It reads رورسلانم نوبرشت و, which means 'you drink from happiness', suggesting that the original room below the ceiling was used for entertainment. By the 1890s, the palace was in poor condition and the owners sold the intact parts. The V&A bought this ceiling in 1905.