Title

Tile from a ceramic set from the Alcázar of Segovia

Vera, Juan de (Documented in Toledo between 1578 and 1595)

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Object history

This tile is one of a set of twenty-eight preserved by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, all of them from the Alcázar of Segovia. The acquisition and departure from Spain of this ceramic repertoire took place after the voracious fire suffered by the monument in March 1862, which destroyed the sumptuous rooms, decorated according to a taste very typical of the courtly Mudejar style. It is necessary to appeal to written and graphic references in order to intuit what the rich rooms of the building must have been like before such destruction. In this sense, the descriptions of Joaquín de Góngora and the drawings of José María de Avrial, because they predate the flames, are key to imagining what these halls were like, which had rich wood coverings, plasterwork friezes and ceramic fronts. Based on these clues, and thanks to the preserved documentation alluding to the reforms that the Habsburg dynasty carried out in the Alcázar of Segovia, and, singularly, to the notes bequeathed by John Charles Robinson, purchasing agent in Spain for the South Kensington Museum (today the Victoria & Albert Museum), it is possible to recognize the provenance of these works in the Segovian monument, as well as to assign their manufacture to the ceramist who settled in Toledo at the end of the 16th century: Juan de Vera.

The documentation preserved in the Victoria & Albert Museum allows us to identify the time and place of acquisition of the pieces. It was during one of John Charles Robinson's trips to Spain, as a purchasing agent for the institution. The museum's entry register lists the set as a panel of 16th century tiles, acquired in Segovia on July 22, 1863, and received in the storage of the British institution, then South Kensington Museum, on February 11, 1864:"Square Panel, composed of 28 tiles of enamelled earthenware "azulejos" ornamented with blue arabesque pattern, from the ancient castle of Segovia. Spanish 2nd. half of 16th century". In addition, the information provided by John Charles Robinson is collected in this regard: "These tiles were obtained in November 1863 from the dado or living of the lower part of the walls of the chapel and adjoining hall in the ancient alcazar or Castle of Segovia in Spain burns down a year or two previously. Tiles of the same design and doubtleses of the same date and manufacture (tempose Philip 2nd) second half of 16th century decorate the various dadoes etc of the palace of the Escorial which isnor far distant from Segovia" (V&A.Archive Museum Register nº. 2. Science & Art Department 302 to 575. MA30/36. fol. 66. 367-64). As we can see, Robinson states that they were purchased in the Alcázar, which were part of the chapel and immediate room. In addition, he emphasizes the value they offer from the historical and artistic point of view, as they are tiles made in the time of Philip II and similar to those preserved in El Escorial.

Indeed, during the reign of Philip II the old pavements were replaced by other tiles. In 1571 Diego de Vargas was paid to lay tiles in the Sala de los Alabastros under the supervision of Gaspar de Vega. Joaquín de Góngora pointed out "Of the third repair of the Alcázar in the time of Philip II, accounts are preserved in his Archive with all kinds of craftsmen from the year 1570 to 96" (Joaquín de Góngora, p. 169, Cf. Merino de Cáceres, 2010).

These ceramic pieces evoke the influence of the creations of the master Juan Flores (Jan Floris, 1520-1567) destined for other royal sites, as can be seen today in the Monastery of El Escorial. We know, in this sense, that Flores carried out, at the request of Philip II, tile decoration work in the province of Segovia as well, presumably in the palace of Valsaín, at least so it has been estimated the allusive quotation to the royal house "of the forest of Segovia". According to Céan Bermúdez: "Flores (Juan) master of tile painting. He came from Flanders to Spain, and settled in Plasencia: from this city he went to Madrid, in whose castle he worked, in the royal house of El Pardo and in the forest of Segovia. Philip II ordered to pay him 1100 reals on account of what he had ordered him to do in those royal works. Finally, by decree given in Madrid on March 20, 1563, the king named him his servant and master of tiles with the salary of 12 plates a day, each one worth ten maravedís, beginning to enjoy it from the day of S. Juan of June 62. De obr. y bosq." (Ceán Bermúdez, Diccionario histórico de los más ilustres profesores de las Bellas Artes en España: tomo segundo p. 128-129).

Now, we know that in the time of Philip II, the chapel of the Alcázar of Segovia was renovated and adorned with Talavera tile plinths, with the purpose of dignifying the space, first to host the celebration of the wedding of Philip II and Anne of Austria, "the brick pavement was renewed and the walls, the steps and the altar were veneered with ribbons and tiles of Talavera", the material was purchased from the potter Juan de Vera. (Real Biblioteca del Monasterio del Escorial, Letter III-99, 1574. Cf.: Martínez-Falero del Pozo, Ubaldo, Egaña Casariego, Francisco and Martín Pérez, Pompeyo, 2016, p. 287).

Other sources point to this same tilemaker from Toledo: Juan de Vera. In a letter from the latter addressed to fray Antonio de Villacastín, director of the works of the Escorial monastery, dated October 7, 1593, along with a shipment of "370 round rope tiles" and 100 "crowns" destined for the Escorial, the ceramist cited the large number of tiles sent to the Alcázar of Segovia. Of which, there is evidence of payments between 1578 and 1595. In another letter, dated October 15, 1593, he referred again to the tiles of the Alcázar of Segovia, among which he included 1070 "crowns of Don Hernando", this one was accompanied by another missive, written by Bartolomé García, who carried Vera's power of attorney, in order to accept the payments due on his behalf (Ray, 302; Malo Cerro, pp. 142-143):

"El otro día escrevi a vuestra merced acerca de los azulejos que yo Ju(an) de Vera yze para la obra de su majestad para Segovia y los llevaron a XXIIIIII del pasado y enbye por los dineros de ellos a bartolome garzia que es el que ora va y fueron nueve mil y dozientos y zinquenta y cinco azulejos mándame vuestra merced enbyase gratificazion del señor corregidor a ora la lleva en lo lo que del precio suplico a vuestra merced que me aga merced que atento que todas las cosas son al doble que solia se me aga vuestra merced de hablar al señor conde de Chinchon que no esta echo el precio dellos que sea lo que vustra merced y el mandaren a ora two years e los pagaron para la capilla del alcazar XIII maravedís de todo como dicho tengo sea lo que vuestra merced y su señoria mandaren de toledo a VII de octubre mdxciii años / llevan los iiilxx azulejos que querdas rredondos y zien coronas estas si mandare vuestra merced serán a xii maravedises y los rredondos a qºthey go at ii seras ii reales y mº costaron sea dios con vuestra merced Juan de Vera y le guarde muchos años questa esto de llevar xxxii reales mandarlos a bartolome garzia que es el portados desta / los demás yran el lunes (al margen) pagose 34 reales del porte y los serones en 7 reales y no se an pagado estos azulejos" (Ray, A. 1992, pp. 145-148).

Juan de Vera was awaiting payment for the commission for the Alcazar of Segovia, for the chapel, for 9,255 that he sent to Segovia; he was strapped for cash, mainly because the price of the materials had risen since he entered into the contract up to that moment. He had received 13 mrs. for the round tiles and 12 mrs. for the crowns. In any case, in the margin of the letter, it is pointed out that the tiles are paid at 7 mrs. and the crowns at 10 mrs. In the letters exchanged, reference is also made to the difficulty of finding personnel and carts to transport the tiles (which was more difficult during the grape harvest), which also had an impact on the expenses that Juan de Vega had to face. The tiles sent to Segovia, in 1591 (for the chapel) and in 1593, allude to motifs of "fleurons" and "ropes" (Ray, A.1992, pp. 145-148).

Juan de Vera was probably a native of La Vera, near Plasencia, where in the mid-sixteenth century Juan Flores (Jan Floris) settled upon his arrival from Flanders and carried out various commissions for King Philip II. Juan de Vera also worked to decorate the interiors of the Escorial Monastery. Hence the similarities between Vera's work and that of Flores (Ray, A., 1992, pp. 145-148).

Vera was one of the tilemakers who replaced Juan Fernandez as responsible for the ceramic decoration of the Escorial, as well as the rest of the royal residences. According to Malo Cerro, all the tile wainscoting of the Alcázar of Segovia were lost in the fire of 1862, and only a few remains survived, which have made it possible to record the motif used. For the aforementioned author, the fact that Juan de Vera lived in Toledo was illustrative of the fact that the Toledo tilework did not disappear with the technique of arista, but rather evolved towards the new tastes and prevailing trends (Mónica Malo Cerro, 2001, pp. 56-57).

In the report of the restoration project of the Alcazar of 1864, the military engineers Ildefonso Sierra and Andrés Cayuela pointed out that the chapel was one of the areas least damaged during the fire, since the vault, walls and lights were preserved "in good condition". Although during the restoration works, in 1883, the architect restorer Antonio Bermejo, dispensed with some of its parts (Martínez-Falero del Pozo, Ubaldo, Egaña Casariego, Francisco and Martín Pérez, Pompeyo, 2016, p. 283). The sale of these tiles to the representative of the South Kensington Museum (now Victoria & Albert Museum) is evidence that not everything was lost in the fire, but that some vestiges were also sold after the unfortunate episode that would eventually lead to a comprehensive restoration of the ensemble in order to return it to its past splendor.

Today this ceramic ensemble, consisting of 28 tiles, is preserved at the V&A Museum in London: V&A East Storehouse, inaugurated in 2025. These are the pieces with the following inventory numbers: 367:1-1864; 367:6-1864; 367:11-1864; 367:2-1864; 367:7-1864; 367:12-1864; 367:3-1864; 367:8-1864; 367:13-1864;367:4-1864; 367:9-1864; 367:14-1864; 367:5-1864; 367:10-1864; 367:15-1864; 367:16-1864; 367:21-1864; 367:25-1864; 367:17-1864; 367:22-1864;  367:26-1864; 367:18-1864; 367:23-1864; 367:27-1864; 367:19-1864; 367:24-1864; 367:28-1864; 367:20-1864. 

Description

Glazed tile, polychromed in blue and white, representative of Toledo ceramics of the late 16th century. It would be part of a plinth in which motifs of fleurons and frieze of strings would be composed, as can be seen in the set of 28 tiles preserved by the V&A Museum of the same set from the Alcázar of Segovia. It maintains great similarities with the scarce vestiges preserved in the Segovian monument of its ancient ceramic decoration, as well as those made at the same time for the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Locations

• 1863

  palace

  Alcazar of Segovia, Segovia (Spain)

• 1863

  dealer/antiquarian

  Sir John Charles Robinson, London (United Kingdom) *

• 1864 - 2025

  museum

  Victoria & Albert Museum, London (United Kingdom)