- Title
- Tile section of a mihrab
- Date Made
- early 14th century
- Period
- Ilkhanid (1256-1335)
- Medium
- Fritware, overglaze luster-painted, with cobalt and turquoise
- Dimensions
- overall: 40 1/2 x 46 7/8 in. (102.87 x 119.0625 cm)
unspecified (unspecified): 40 1/2 x 46 7/8 in. (102.87 x 119.06 cm)
Weight: 270 lb. (122.5 kg)
- Accession Number
- M.73.5.1
- Collecting Area
- Art of the Middle East: Islamic
- Curatorial Notes
A mihrab is a characteristic architectural element in mosques and other places where Muslims worship. It serves to emphasize the direction of Mecca, toward which all prayer is oriented. Shaped like a niche, the mihrab is usually concave, but flat examples also occur, as here. This mihrab, which represents only the upper central panel of what was undoubtedly a larger ensemble, is inscribed with a passage from the Qur'an (15:45–47) that refers to Paradise, suggesting that it may have once graced a funerary monument.
