Note 30 — FURNITURE
Reading edition
A hall, says Ramírez de Arellano, would often be embellished by surrounding it with arches wrought of leather in relief and superposed on leather. As a rule the arches were gilt and silvered, and rested upon pilasters or columns. When pilasters were used, their centres would be ornamented with Italian devices such as flowers, trophies, imitated cameos, and foliage. Landscapes with a far horizon and no figures, known as boscaje or pintura verde were painted on the space between the arches, so that the general effect was that of a pavilion with arches on all sides, displaying everywhere a wide expanse of fertile country. The arches rested on a broad bordering of guadamecíes, and running round the lower part was a zócalo or socle, commonly made of tiling.
Such is the kind of decoration which was most in vogue in Spain throughout the latter half of the sixteenth century; that which was exported to Rome; and that which was commissioned by the Duke of Arcos.