Cross-Shaped Tile

second half 13th–early 14th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 455

This cross-shaped tile was decorated using a technique called lajvardina, a term that reference lapis lazuli, a deep blue colored stone containing gold particles. After an initial firing to establish the dark blue and turquoise background, the tile underwent a second firing to set the overglazed details and the carefully cut and placed specks of gold leaf that create a glimmering surface. A nearly symmetrical vine pattern, once covered in gold leaf, is surrounded by gold and black decoration that occupies the background of this tile, which would have been an element in a star-and-cross panel adorning the walls of an Ilkhanid palace, mosque, or mausoleum.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Cross-Shaped Tile
Date: second half 13th–early 14th century
Geography: Made in Iran
Medium: Stonepaste; overglaze painted and leaf gilded (lajvardina)
Dimensions: H. 8 3/8 in. (21.3 cm)
D. 5/8 in (1.6 cm)
Classification: Ceramics-Tiles
Credit Line: Purchase, Ehsan Yarshater and Margaret Mushekian Gifts, 1975
Object Number: 1975.30
Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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Turquoise Bowl with Lute Player and Audience, Stonepaste; glazed (opaque monochrome), in-glaze- and overglaze-painted, gilded — Turquoise Bowl with Lute Player and Audience
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dated 612 AH/1215–16 CE

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