Tile from an Inscriptional Frieze

Unknown

dated A.H. 734/1334 CE · Stonepaste; modeled, inglaze painted in blue, luster-painted on opaque white glaze · Islamic Art

Inscribed: "and the earth, in six d[ays]" from Qur'an 7:54 This tile and tile 40.181.5 once graced the Imamzada 'Ali ibn Ja'far tomb complex in the city of Qum. The associated mihrab, now in the National Museum of Iran, bears the date of Ramadan 734 / May 1334, and the signature of Yusuf ibn 'Ali Muhammad ibn Abi Tahir (active 1305–34). Yusuf was the fourth and last generation of the Abu Tahir family of potters from Kashan, and this tile represents one of the final examples of the family's long-lived tile-making tradition.

Artist

Unknown

Date

dated A.H. 734/1334 CE

Medium

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

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

H.O. Havemeyer Collection, Gift of Horace Havemeyer, 1940