Star Tile

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Star Tile

Iran, Kashan, circa 1300
Ceramics
Fritware, overglaze luster-painted, with cobalt blue
Diameter: 8 1/4 in. (20.96 cm)
The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky (M.73.5.377)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

During the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, a chief duty of potters working in Kashan was to produce dazzling luster tile ensembles to cover the walls of newly constructed palaces and religi...
During the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, a chief duty of potters working in Kashan was to produce dazzling luster tile ensembles to cover the walls of newly constructed palaces and religious monuments. This star-shaped tile, depicting a horse cheerfully pausing in a landscape, may have originally formed part of one such assemblage, composed of dozens of interlocking pieces that featured various animal and human figures. The horse’s spots represent a convention of Kashan luster painting rather than an observation based on natural appearance.
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Bibliography

  • Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.

  • Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.
  • Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.

  • Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya, ed.  Islamic Art:  The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection.  Los Angeles:  Museum Associates, 1973.
  • Hess, Catherine. The Arts of Fire: Islamic Influences on Glass and Ceramics of the Italian Renaissance. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust, 2004.
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