Azulejo panel with Islamic motifs

Between the late 15th century and the first half of the 16th, the use of azulejos as a wall revetment spread in Portugal. These first azulejos, called Hispano-Moresque, were mainly imported from Seville and showed a strong Moorish influence. The decorative motifs employed were mostly geometric and repeated, forming very rich patterns. This pattern of 2x2 azulejos, made at the workshop of Fernan Martinez Guijarro in Seville, was part of the original revetment in Coimbra Old Cathedral. It presents two centres with an ochre-yellow star that alternate and spread out into rays of blue and manganese, surrounded by circles of smaller stars. The use of different-sized stars suggestions movements of expansion and retraction articulated between them, creating a very dynamic visual effect.