Panel Composed with Tiles in Shape of Eight-pointed Stars and Crosses

Unknown

1260–70 · Stonepaste; luster-painted on opaque white glaze under transparent glaze · Islamic Art

Panels composed of eight pointed stars and crosses commonly adorned walls of religious architectural sites in Iran during the Ilkhanid period. The intricate patterns on these tiles are luster-painted in a brownish-red on white opaque glaze. In this example, the cross-shaped tiles with a plain design were constructed in the twentieth century to replace missing ones when the panel was assembled. At the center of these tiles, we see abstract vegetal patterns, a motif that is consistent with ceramics and tiles from Iran during that period. In addition, there are figural depictions of fish in some of the tiles that have a deeper ontological significance. All of God’s creation such as animals, plants, and stones were believed to emanate from the same cause and therefore related on an ontological level.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1260–70

Medium

Stonepaste; luster-painted on opaque white glaze under transparent glaze

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

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