Partial Niche-Form Tile

Luster mihrab tile


The column in relief on the right side of this tile indicates its position on the lower central part of a mihrab. Usually a complete mihrab formed by luster tiles consists of a few large square or rectangular tiles mounted so that they form a rectangular central section surrounded by a few layers of inscriptional friezes. This central section is in the shape of a pointed arch made of an inscriptional band in relief and supported by two half-columns. The pentagonal field enclosed by the arch is filled with vegetal scrolls. The space between the two half-columns usually contains a second pointed arch, two half-columns, and a surrounding inscriptional frieze in a reduced scale; sometimes this unit is duplicated in a further reduced scale between the two smaller half-columns, thus giving the idea of several mihrabs inside mihrabs. The present tile constitutes one of these smaller units of a mihrab. The original color of the luster was probably close to the one on the tiles from Varamin (cat. no. 10 in this volume, MMA nos. 91.1.100 and 08.169.4); the abstract pattern on the half-column is almost the same as that on no. 08.169.4, datable to about 1262; the use of lotus flowers is recorded after the middle of the thirteenth century when Chinese motifs were brought to Persia. Therefore, this tile also can be dated from the second half of the thirteenth century. There are four Qur'anic inscriptional bands: at the top in large letters is 59:22; in the border running at a right angle beneath it is 59:21; in the inner stepped border is 9:109; a small inscription sandwiched between the first and the second band is 59:22 and 24.

[Carboni and Masuya 1993]

Inscription: Four Qur'anic inscriptional bands:
At the top in large letters: sura 59:22
In the border running at a right angle beneath it: sura 59:21
In the inner stepped border: sura 9:109
Small inscription sandwiched between the first and second band: sura 59:22 and 24

William Milne Grinnell, New York (until d. 1920; bequeathed to MMA)

Bloomington. Indiana University. "Islamic Art Across the World," June 18, 1970–October 1, 1970, no. 220.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Hagop Kevorkian Fund Special Exhibitions Gallery. "Persian Tiles," May 4, 1993–January 2, 1994, no. 15.

Bowie, Theodore Robert. "An Exhibition Prepared by Theodore Bowie." In Islamic Art Across the World. Vol. no. 1970/3. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Art Museum, June 17 to Oct. 1, 1970. no. 220.

Breck, Joseph. "The William Milne Grinell Bequest." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, o.s., vol. XV (1920). pp. 273–75.

Carboni, Stefano, and Tomoko Masuya. Persian Tiles. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. no. 15, p. 20, ill. (b/w).