Star Tile with Vegetal Motifs and Inscription

Gallery Text

Perhaps the most important contribution of Muslim potters, the application of luster to a ceramic surface was not limited to vessels. As early as the ninth century, this costly technique was applied to wall tiles to distinguish parts of buildings. In the eastern Islamic lands during the medieval era, the use of colored tiles — decorated with luster but with other techniques as well — increased in complexity and scope. In both religious and secular buildings, large surface areas came to be sheathed in brilliant ceramic revetments. The use of glazed ceramics for architectural decoration continued into the early modern era, culminating in the great monuments of the Safavid and Ottoman Empires.

The luster tiles gathered here would have been integrated into the decoration of buildings of the Seljuk-Atabeg (1037–c. 1220) and Ilkhanid (1256–1335) periods. Although the star tiles bear self-contained designs, they were intended to interlock with cruciform tiles in a grid. Three of the tiles feature inscriptions. The two large stars, which were probably intended for the interior of a religious shrine, reproduce verses from the Qurʾan in Arabic. The tile with figural imagery bears fragments of poetry in Persian, demonstrating the revival of Persian as a literary language in the medieval era.

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1931.127
Title: Star Tile with Vegetal Motifs and Inscription
Classification: Architectural Elements
Work Type: architectural element
Date: 1261-1262
Places: Creation Place: Middle East, Iran, Kashan
Period: Ilkhanid period
Culture: Persian
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/216476

Location

Location: Level 2, Room 2550, Art from Islamic Lands, The Middle East and North Africa

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Physical Descriptions

Medium: Composite body, underglaze painted with overglaze luster
Technique: Lusterware
Dimensions: Diam. 31 x 1.5 cm (12 3/16 x 9/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History: Denman Waldo Ross, Cambridge, MA, (by 1931), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1931.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Denman W. Ross
Accession Year: 1931
Object Number: 1931.127
Division: Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact: am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions: The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Description: The tile is from the Imamzada Yahya shrine in Varamin. The inscriptions begin with the Basmala followed by Qurʾan 17:78-81. The date 660 H. (1261-1262) is inscribed on tile 1931.128.

Exhibition History

Islamic Art From the Collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 08/01/1974
Enter Ye the Garden: Prayer Rugs of Islam, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/26/1989 - 08/20/1989
Islamic Art: The Power of Pattern, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 09/23/1989 - 01/17/1990
Pattern and Purpose. Decorative Arts of Islam., Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/19/1994 - 07/03/1994
32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

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1931.127: Star Tile with Vegetal Motifs and Inscription