of the period such as the Alhambra palaces of the Nasrids, the mosques of Tlemcen, and the Marinid madrasas of Fez, Meknes, and Salé. It is also found in some Christian Spanish palaces of the same period who employed Muslim or Mudéjar craftsmen, most notably the Alcazar of Seville, whose 14th-century sections are contemporary with the Alhambra and contain zellij tilework in the same style, although of slightly lesser sophistication. Among the most exceptional surviving examples of Nasrid zellij art are the dadoes of the Mirador de Lindaraja and the Torre de la Cautiva in the Alhambra, both from the 14th century. Whereas Arabic epigraphy was usually carved in stucco or painted on larger square tiles, these two examples contain very fine Arabic inscriptions in Naskhi script that are made from the assembly of coloured tile pieces cut in the form of the letters themselves and set into a white background. The tiles of the Torre de la Cautiva are further distinguished by the use of a purple colour which is unique in architectural zellij decoration. The dado of the Mirador of Lindaraja also contains a particularly advanced geometric composition with very fine mosaic pieces below the level of the inscription. Some of the tile pieces in this composition measure as little as 2 millimeters in width. In addition to zellij work further west, a somewhat distinctive style of zellij with brightly coloured pieces, often in floral patterns of palmettes and scrollwork, developed among the craftsmen of Tlemcen. The most important early example of this style was the decoration of the Tashfiniya Madrasa (no longer extant), founded by Abu Tashfin I (r. 1318–1337). This type subsequently appeared in later monuments of this era, mainly in Tlemcen (such as the Mosque and madrasa of Abu Madyan) but also further afield in the Marinid madrasa of Chellah, suggesting that the same workshop of craftsmen may have been employed by the Marinids around this time. The use of zellij decoration on entrance portals, otherwise not common in the rest of the Maghreb, was also most characteristic of the architecture of Tlemcen. Today, the archaeological museum of Tlemcen contains many remains of panels and fragments of zellij from various medieval monuments dating back to the Zayyanid dynasty. The epigraphic friezes in Marinid tilework, which typically topped the main mosaic dadoes, were made through a different technique known more widely as sgraffito (from the Italian