Tile with Niche Design

Nusrat al-Din Muhammad

dated A.H. 860/1455–56 CE · Stonepaste; inglaze painted in blue, luster-painted on opaque white glaze · Islamic Art

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.

Artist

Nusrat al-Din Muhammad

Date

dated A.H. 860/1455–56 CE

Medium

Stonepaste; inglaze painted in blue, luster-painted on opaque white glaze

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915