Iran
Probably Kashan
Tile with a Double-Arched Prayer Niche (Mihrab)
INV-7285
Iran
Probably KashanIlkhanid dynasty (1256–1353), 13th century
Tile with a Double-Arched Prayer Niche (Mihrab)
Iran Probably Kashan →Islamic (culture or style)earthenwareasian art
Date
Ilkhanid dynasty (1256–1353), 13th century
Medium
Lusterware, fritware with molded decoration and in-glaze painting in cobalt blue and turquoise, and overglaze painting in luster
Dimensions
50.8 × 32.5 × 3.4 cm (20 × 12 3/4 × 1 3/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Mary Jane Gunsaulus Collection
This luster tile is carefully decorated with dark blue calligraphy above and below the arches, as well as a cruder, luster-painted passage following the line of the arches. The inscriptions, all taken from different chapters in the Qur'an, discuss the transience of life on earth in contrast to the eternal existence of God. The religious nature of these inscriptions is appropriate for the tile's placement in a mosque, where it would have been used as a mihrab, or prayer niche, indicating the direction of Mecca for prayer.
Also notable
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