Glazed Tiles with Kufic Inscription

12th century
Not on view
The six tiles composing this frieze entered the collection in 1910 in a different composition: assembled into a panel with three rows of two pieces each, with no regard for the inscriptions—to the point that one was placed upside down. The restorer who had joined them either could not read the Arabic script or assumed that the owner would not be able to do so. In 1975 museum conservators remounted the tiles as a horizontal frieze, a solution that is likely closer to the original format.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Glazed Tiles with Kufic Inscription
  • Date: 12th century
  • Geography: Said to be from Syria, Raqqa
  • Medium: Stonepaste; carved, turquoise glaze
  • Dimensions: L. 67 in. (170.2 cm)
    H. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
    D. 1 in. (2.5 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics-Tiles
  • Credit Line: Gift of Otto H. Kahn, 1910
  • Object Number: 10.56.1
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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