Star-Shaped Tile

Unknown

13th–14th century · Stonepaste; inglaze painted in blue and turquoise and luster-painted on opaque white glaze · Islamic Art

This eight-pointed star tile was once part of a panel of star- and cross-shaped tiles adorning the walls of an Ilkhanid building. Likely produced in the ceramic center of Kashan, it depicts the waq-waq design of a plant whose tendrils develop into the heads of animals, a feature which came into Iran during the Seljuq period. The Persian text running along the border of the tile is an excerpt from the Shahnama in which Rustam, one of the tale’s great heroes, is engaged in battle.

Artist

Unknown

Date

13th–14th century

Medium

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

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

H.O. Havemeyer Collection, Gift of Horace Havemeyer, 1941