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Takht-i Sulayman and Tile Work in the Ilkhanid Period

• 
  Tile frieze, Ilkhanid period (1206–1353), second half of 13th century
  Iran, Kashan
  Stonepast; molded, in-glaze painted in blue and turquoise, luster painted on an opaque white glaze; H. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm), W. 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm), D. 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm)
  Gift of George Blumenthal, 1910 (10.9.1)

• 
  Tile with an image of a phoenix, Ilkhanid period (1206–1353) late 13th century
  Iran, probably Takht-i Sulaiman
  Stonepaste; modeled, underglaze painted in blue and turquoise, luster painted on opaque white ground

  H. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm), W. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1912 (12.49.4)

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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.

Related

Cited Works of Art or Images (5)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Timelines (3)

• China, 1000–1400 A.D.
• Iran, 1000–1400 A.D.
• Iraq, 1000–1400 A.D.

Primary Thematic Essays (4)

• The Art of the Ilkhanid Period (1256–1353)
• Calligraphy in Islamic Art
• Figural Representation in Islamic Art
• Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art

Other Thematic Essays (14)

• A New Visual Language Transmitted Across Asia
• The Art of the Book in the Ilkhanid Period
• The Arts of Iran, 1600–1800
• Byzantine Art under Islam
• Constantinople after 1261
• 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
• List of Rulers of the Islamic World
• The Mongolian Tent in the Ilkhanid Period
• Mosaic Glass from Islamic Lands
• The Religious Arts under the Ilkhanids
• Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368)

Maps (2)

• West Asia, 1000–1400 a.d.
• World, 1000–1400 a.d.

Index Terms (6)

Art Movement/Style

• Ilkhanid Art in the Islamic Medieval Period

Geography/Place

• Iran
• Islamic World

Material and Technique

• Ceramic from West Asia
• Glazed Ceramic from West Asia

Subject Matter/Theme

• Hunting

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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.

Stefano Carboni Department of Islamic Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Qamar Adamjee Department of Islamic Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation

Carboni, Stefano, and Qamar Adamjee. "Takht-i Sulayman and Tile Work in the Ilkhanid Period". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/khan7/hd_khan7.htm (October 2003)

Further Reading

Carboni, Stefano, and Komaroff, Linda, eds. The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256–1353. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002.

Masuya, Tomoko. "The Ilkhanid Phase of Takht-i Sulaiman." Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1997.

Watson, Oliver. Persian Lustre Ware. London: Faber and Faber, 1985.

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