Tile section of a mihrabearly 14th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Ceramic mihrab-shaped tile panel with luster-glazed surface in cobalt blue, turquoise, and gold, decorated with raised Arabic calligraphy and arabesque scrollwork in relief

Ceramic mihrab niche tile with pointed arch form, decorated in cobalt blue, turquoise, and gold luster glaze. Central field features interlacing vine and floral scrollwork; borders contain Arabic script in angular Kufic and cursive styles on three sides.

Title: Tile section of a mihrab
Place Made: Iran, Kashan
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)
Credit Line: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number: M.73.5.1
Classification: Ceramics
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 represents only the upper central panel of what was undoubtedly a larger ensemble, which, based on extant examples, may have stood around twelve feet high and was assembled from dozens of individual tiles. The ensemble’s projected scale and the mihrab’s molded decoration—inglaze-painted in deep blue and turquoise, and overglaze-painted in the costly luster technique, which required a second firing using a close-kept process associated with the city of Kashan—suggest it was made for an important building. The central tile contains a leafy arabesque design. The four framing tiles are inscribed in blue kufic script with a passage from the Qur’an (15:45–47) that refers to Paradise, suggesting that it may have once graced a funerary monument.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.
Komaroff, Linda. Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2005.
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.
Egyptian, Roman, Western Asiatic & Islamic, Indian and Cambodian Antiquities: the Property of the Kevorkian Foundation. New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1970.

Tile section of a mihrabearly 14th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Title: Tile section of a mihrab
Place Made: Iran, Kashan
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)
Credit Line: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number: M.73.5.1
Classification: Ceramics
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 represents only the upper central panel of what was undoubtedly a larger ensemble, which, based on extant examples, may have stood around twelve feet high and was assembled from dozens of individual tiles. The ensemble’s projected scale and the mihrab’s molded decoration—inglaze-painted in deep blue and turquoise, and overglaze-painted in the costly luster technique, which required a second firing using a close-kept process associated with the city of Kashan—suggest it was made for an important building. The central tile contains a leafy arabesque design. The four framing tiles are inscribed in blue kufic script with a passage from the Qur’an (15:45–47) that refers to Paradise, suggesting that it may have once graced a funerary monument.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.
Komaroff, Linda. Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2005.
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.
Egyptian, Roman, Western Asiatic & Islamic, Indian and Cambodian Antiquities: the Property of the Kevorkian Foundation. New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1970.