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Takht-i Sulayman and Tile Work in the Ilkhanid Period
Frieze tile with two hunters [Iran (probably Takht-i Sulayman)] Frieze tile with phoenix [Iran (probably Takht-i Sulayman)]


Ruins of the summer palace at Takht-i Sulayman

Ruins of the summer palace at Takht-i Sulayman, ca. 1275.



Star and cross tiles
 Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Two star tiles and two cross tiles, 1270s
Iran, probably Takht-i Sulayman
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Frieze tile with inscription from the Shahnama
 Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection
Frieze tile with calligraphy, 1270s
Iran (Takht-i Sulayman)
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 Excavations have revealed that the architectural complex of Takht-i Sulayman (ca. 1270), the summer royal palace of the Ilkhanid ruler Abakha (r. 1265–82) located in northwestern Iran, was lavishly decorated with tile revetments that covered both the exterior and interior walls of many of its buildings. Exterior tiles, made to better withstand weather conditions, have a simple monochrome glaze and show a combination of interlocking hexagons and stars. Combinations for the interior walls were mostly based on star- and cross-shaped tiles and hexagonal, double-pentagonal, and star tiles. These geometric panels filled the lower part of the walls and were crowned by a single frieze of large square or rectangular tiles. In some cases, the friezes at Takht-i Sulayman included tiles with inscriptions taken from the Shahnama as well as more generic hunting scenes (10.9.1). The tiles of Takht-i Sulayman were most likely produced in situ, as confirmed by a mold found during excavations.

The great majority of tiles for the interiors of other Ilkhanid buildings were decorated in the rich luster technique (12.49.4), which made the walls glitter, reflecting the sunlight entering through the windows or the dim glow of oil lamps. Luster painting on tiles had a well-established pre-Mongol tradition in the Iranian city of Kashan. This technique consists of overglaze painting with metallic pigments that, when fired in a reduced-oxygen atmosphere, acquire a lustrous golden or brownish appearance. Panels of star and cross luster-painted tiles covered the walls of many Ilkhanid buildings, mainly in northern Iran. The presence of human figures, animals, and inscriptions quoting Persian poetry suggests that the tiles were employed in leisure palaces and abodes erected for affluent members of the Ilkhanid elite following the example of royal palaces like Takht-i Sulayman.


Tile, West Asia, Iran, Ceramic, Glazed, Ceramic, Glazed, West Asia

Department of Islamic Art, Department of Islamic Art

The Art of the Book in the Ilkhanid Period, Ilkhanid Period, Courtly Art of the Ilkhanids, Folios from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings), Folios from the Jami' al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles), The Legacy of Genghis Khan, The Mongolian Tent in the Ilkhanid Period, A New Visual Language Transmitted Across Asia, The Religious Arts under the Ilkhanids, Yuan Dynasty, The Arts of Iran, 1600-1800, Abridged List of Rulers: Islamic World, Mosaic Glass from Islamic Lands,

China, 1000-1400 A.D., Iran, 1000-1400 A.D., Iraq, 1000-1400 A.D.,

West Asia, 1000-1400 A.D.