Harvard Art Museums > 1955.89: Plaque with mihrab motif framed by inscription in relief Architectural Elements Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Plaque with mihrab motif framed by inscription in relief , 1955.89,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 18, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/216877. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1955.89 Title Plaque with mihrab motif framed by inscription in relief Other Titles Alternate Title: Commemorative Plaque Classification Architectural Elements Work Type architectural element Date 13th century Places Creation Place: Middle East, Iran Period Seljuk-Atabeg period Culture Persian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/216877 Location Location Level 2, Room 2550, Art from Islamic Lands, The Middle East and North Africa View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Turquoise overglaze fritware Technique Glazed-monochrome Dimensions 34 x 25.7 x 3.8 cm (13 3/8 x 10 1/8 x 1 1/2 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Francis Lee Friedman Accession Year 1955 Object Number 1955.89 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 niche in the center of this turquoise plaque references a mihrab—the marker within a mosque that signals the qibla, that is, the direction toward the city of Mecca. Muslims are required to turn toward Mecca in prayer. The representation of the mihrab on this ceramic plaque—depicting a sanctuary lamp suspended from chains— evokes sacred text without literally reproducing it, for it calls to mind a well-known verse from the Qur’an (24:35) that begins: "God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His light is as a niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is, as it were, a shining star.…" Inscribed (Arabic): He is God, the One, the Only God,the Eternal, the Absolute. He begetteth not, nor is Hebegotten. And there is none like unto Him. (Qur’an, 112) Commentary Label text from exhibition “Re-View,” an overview of objects drawn from the collections of Harvard Art Museums, 26 April 2008 – 1 July 2013; label text written by Mary McWilliams, Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art: Plaque in the Form of a Mihrab Iran or Syria, Saljuq-Atabeg era, 12th–13th century Fritware with molded decoration under glaze Inscribed (Arabic) Say: He is God, the One, the Only God,the Eternal, the Absolute. He begetteth not, nor is Hebegotten. And there is none like unto Him. (Qur’an, 112) Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Francis Lee Friedman, 1955.89 The niches in the center of both this turquoise plaque and the adjacent tombstone reference a mihrab—the marker within a mosque that signals the qibla, that is, the direc¬tion toward the city of Mecca. Muslims are required to turn toward Mecca in prayer, and Muslim burial practices cus¬tomarily align the body with the qibla. The representation of the mihrab on the ceramic plaque—depicting a sanctuary lamp suspended from chains—is more pictorial than that on the tombstone. This imagery evokes sacred text without lit¬erally reproducing it, for it calls to mind a well-known verse from the Qur’an (24:35) that begins: “God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His light is as a niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is, as it were, a shining star.…” Publication History Mary McWilliams, "Islamic Ceramic Traditions", The Studio Potter, ed. Gerry Williams (New Hampshire, December 2002), vol. 31, no.1, pp44, fig.2 Mary McWilliams, Baraka: Blessings in Clay, The Studio Potter, Mary Barringer (Shelburne Falls, MA, 2007), Vol. 35, No. 2, p 14-19, p. 17, fig. 4 Exhibition History The Best Workmanship, the Finest Materials: Prayer Carpets of the Islamic World, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/03/2002 - 12/15/2002 Overlapping Realms: Arts of the Islamic World and India, 900-1900, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 12/02/2006 - 03/23/2008 Re-View: Arts of India & the Islamic Lands, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/26/2008 - 06/01/2013 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/06/2019 - 01/01/2050 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/10/2016 - 02/22/2016 Subjects and Contexts Google Art Project Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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
