Tile from a Mihrab
maker
Unknown
Dateabout 1215
Place MadeKashan, Isfahan province, Iran, Middle East
MediumCeramic with cobalt and luster glazes
Dimensions47 x 44 cm (18 1/2 x 17 5/16 in.)
ClassificationsArchitectural Elements
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberC7w4
eMuseum ID720285
EmbARK ObjectID11346
TMS Source ID573
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis beautiful tile formed part of the frieze in a prayer niche of a mosque. Called a mihrab, this niche or arch in a wall marks the direction towards Mecca, toward which worshippers face during prayer. The inscription, in large dark blue script, is a verse from the Koran. The rich decoration consists of intertwining foliage and a patterned band at the top. Various blue glazes are balanced by copper luster glaze. Two other tiles from the frieze are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 163.
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 163.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 52. (as Persian (Sultanabad), 14th or 15th century)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 115-16, no. 51. (as Persian (Kashan), 13th century)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p.163, ill. (as Iranian (Kashan), 1200s)
Nathaniel Silver, "Isabella and the Hispanic Society," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 13 October 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/isabella-and-hispanic-society
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 115-16, no. 51. (as Persian (Kashan), 13th century)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p.163, ill. (as Iranian (Kashan), 1200s)
Nathaniel Silver, "Isabella and the Hispanic Society," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 13 October 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/isabella-and-hispanic-society
MarksNotesInscribed (in thuluth script) ...with intelligence for those who remember A[llah]... (fragment of a koranic inscription; Koran 3:118-19)
ProvenanceNotesSaid to have come from a mosque in Mashhad, Iran. Three tiles from the same mihrab are now housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (museum nos. 1481-1876, 1481A-1876, 1481B-1876).
Probably entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection by about 1897.
Probably entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection by about 1897.
