Tile with Niche Design
Arabic Inscription: "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. The building of this structure was ordered by the supreme Sultan Abu Anbiyya al-Muzaffar A[bu] Sa'id Bahadur Khan, May God perpetuate his kingdom. Nusrat al-Din Muhammad wrote this in the year 860/1455–56."
Along with two calligraphic frieze tiles in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum displaying similar floral designs, this luster tile once adorned an as‑yet‑unidentified building commissioned by Abu Sa'id (1424–69), great‑grandson of Timur. From the inscription on this small tile, we learn not only the name of the patron, and the date of the building’s construction, but also the name of the tile’s calligrapher—Nusrat al‑Din Muhammad.
Along with two calligraphic frieze tiles in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum displaying similar floral designs, this luster tile once adorned an as‑yet‑unidentified building commissioned by Abu Sa'id (1424–69), great‑grandson of Timur. From the inscription on this small tile, we learn not only the name of the patron, and the date of the building’s construction, but also the name of the tile’s calligrapher—Nusrat al‑Din Muhammad.
Artwork Details
- Title: Tile with Niche Design
- Calligrapher: Nusrat al-Din Muhammad
- Date: dated 860 AH/1455–56 CE
- Geography: Attributed to Iran
- Medium: Stonepaste; inglaze painted in blue, luster-painted on opaque white glaze
- Dimensions: H. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm)
W. 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm)
D. 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm) - Classification: Ceramics-Tiles
- Credit Line: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915
- Object Number: 30.95.26
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
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15th century
late 15th century
16th century
16th century
second half 15th century
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