ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.
Listen "Azulejos for a Portuguese Church Altar (17th Century) "
Episode Synopsis
Dr. Céline Ventura Teixeira shines light on the fusion of Eastern motifs and European iconography, in a set of azulejos – or decorative tiles - produced for a church altar in 17th century imperial Portugal.
Azulejos – or decorative tiles – were the crowning glory of Portugal’s church altars. Known as ‘ceramic carpets’, they borrowed motifs from Indo-Persian and Oriental textiles, which flooded Lisbon’s markets with the expansion of the Portuguese Empire. More than mere mimics, the Portuguese tile-makers reinterpreted these symbols in line with existing European religious traditions. From pagodas to the camellia Japonica, these tiles fuse Oriental ornaments and European iconography, revealing a global network of associations.
PRESENTER: Dr. Céline Ventura Teixeira, associate professor of Modern Art History at Aix-Marseille Université.
ART: Frontal of a Three-Section Altar, Carmelite Convent in the Coimbra Region (17th Century).
IMAGE: ‘Frontal of a Three-Section Altar’.
SOUNDS: TRG Banks.
PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic.
Follow EMPIRE LINES at: twitter.com/jelsofron/status/1306563558063271936
Support EMPIRE LINES on Patreon: patreon.com/empirelines
Azulejos – or decorative tiles – were the crowning glory of Portugal’s church altars. Known as ‘ceramic carpets’, they borrowed motifs from Indo-Persian and Oriental textiles, which flooded Lisbon’s markets with the expansion of the Portuguese Empire. More than mere mimics, the Portuguese tile-makers reinterpreted these symbols in line with existing European religious traditions. From pagodas to the camellia Japonica, these tiles fuse Oriental ornaments and European iconography, revealing a global network of associations.
PRESENTER: Dr. Céline Ventura Teixeira, associate professor of Modern Art History at Aix-Marseille Université.
ART: Frontal of a Three-Section Altar, Carmelite Convent in the Coimbra Region (17th Century).
IMAGE: ‘Frontal of a Three-Section Altar’.
SOUNDS: TRG Banks.
PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic.
Follow EMPIRE LINES at: twitter.com/jelsofron/status/1306563558063271936
Support EMPIRE LINES on Patreon: patreon.com/empirelines
More episodes of the podcast EMPIRE LINES
Burial, Emilija Škarnulytė (2022) (EMPIRE LINES x Folkestone Triennial 2025, Tate St Ives)
02/10/2025
If They Survive, They are Refugees, Duong Thuy Nguyen (2024) (EMPIRE LINES Live at SLQS Gallery)
18/09/2025
It Should Not Be Forgotten, Elsa James (2025) (EMPIRE LINES Live at Firstsite Colchester)
21/08/2025
In God we trust