Polychrome Luster Tile Fragment

9th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 451

This earthenware tile was covered with a white glaze, fired, painted with metallic pigments in three colors, re-fired, and then polished. Designers of Abbasid period put this new glazing technology, known as luster painting, to innovative use at Samarra to replicate the sheen and mottling of semiprecious stones using locally available materials.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Polychrome Luster Tile Fragment
Date: 9th century
Geography: Excavated in Iraq, Samarra
Medium: Earthenware; polychrome luster-painted on opaque white glaze
Dimensions: H. 4 1/4 in. (12.1 cm)
W. 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm)
Classification: Ceramics-Tiles
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1923
Object Number: 23.75.25
Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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