Tomb marker with three tiles, Iran (probably Kashan), about 1300.

Tomb marker made in three sections from moulded fritware, decorated under the glaze with cobalt blue and turquoise, and with lustre over the glaze.

An inscription records that it was made for the shrine of a great-great grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, one Husayn, son of ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Abidin. It would have been placed horizontally on top of his tomb. The design resembles a mihrab, and shows that the deceased was buried in accordance with Islamic law, with his head pointing towards the Ka’bah.

Throughout the nineteenth century works of art from tombs and other religious buildings were removed and traded on the art market in Iran. Lustre tilework was regarded as of exceptional quality and was particularly attractive to dealers and collectors. As a result, a good deal of it has ended up in museums in Iran and abroad.

Robert Murdoch Smith bought these tiles for the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) in Tehran in 1875. He paid £50 for them, a relatively high price at the time, and this reflected their size and importance. The vendor was a private collector called Jules Richard, who was employed at the court of Nasir al-Din Shah. Richard had been active as a collector for over 30 years and had displayed many of his acquisitions in his Tehran home. The tombs of descendants of the Prophet, and even sites that descendants of the Prophet were thought to have visited, were refurbished in a grand manner after the Mongol occupation of Iran in the 1250s, but they usually had only local significance in later centuries. Their consequent poverty may explain why the tiles were sold off.

The text within the arch commemorates a great-great-grandson of the Prophet Muhammad called Husayn ibn Zayn al-Abidin. The tiles would have been placed horizontally on top of his tomb. The design resembles a mihrab, and shows that the deceased was buried in accordance with Islamic law, facing towards the Ka’bah. The inscription around the niche is the Throne Verse from the Qur'an, which begins, 'God. There is no god but He - the Living, the Eternal.'

1821 to B-1876