- Title
- Star Tile
- Date Made
- circa 1300
- Medium
- Fritware, overglaze luster-painted, with cobalt blue
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 8 1/4 in. (20.96 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.73.5.377
- Collecting Area
- Art of the Middle East: Islamic
- Curatorial 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 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.
