The Torrijos ceiling: Manufacturing peculiarities of the V&A ceiling

The Torrijos Ceiling at the V&A is a unique example of Spanish art from the fifteenth century, a good representative of ceiling woodwork or carpintería de lo blanco, a compendium of design, carpentry, and artistic techniques from a period of cultural transition in Spanish art, when Islamic traditions are still very much present and in vogue but interestingly blending with more European artistic influences. The ceiling was conserved and reconstructed for the new V&A East Storehouse, an open storage developed by the V&A in the East End of London. The conservation was guided by the condition of the different components of the ceiling but most importantly by the complexities of its construction and materiality. It was key to survey and comprehend how the different parts were put together and why. The complexity of its decoration and the Islamic influence of its ornamentation principles made it particularly challenging but also a unique case study. The ceiling also presented the additional challenge of evident interventions and alterations, some of which contemporary to the ceiling itself but others more modern relating to its dismantling, transport to England and reconstruction at the V&A in the early tewentieth century. This paper highlights the technical peculiarities, oddities and slight mysteries of its construction. It provides an insight on how the craftsmen behind the creation of this ceiling might have worked, introducing us to a type of Spanish art that represents cultural diversity and inclusion, a type of Spanish art not yet well understood by British audiences.