Tile Panel thumbnail 1
Tile Panel thumbnail 2
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This object consists of 6 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Tile Panel

ca. 1358 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

These tiles formed a section of an ornamental frieze set over the doorway to a magnificent tomb. The tiles were deeply carved with inscriptions and other ornament and covered with coloured glazes before the final firing. This impressive technique was used in Central Asia only for a brief period, from around 1350 to the early 15th century.

The tomb was that of Buyanquli Khan, a Muslim descendant of the great Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan. For a time he was the puppet ruler of parts of Central Asia. He was assassinated by a local warlord in 1358 when he tried to assert his own authority. Buyanquli's tomb was built in a cemetery on the outskirts of Bukhara in Uzbekistan. The entire building was covered in tiles, inside and out.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 6 parts.

  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
Materials and techniques
Earthenware, glazed and carved
Brief description
Panel of tiles, Carved and glazed earthenware from the tomb of Buyanquli Khan, Uzbekistan (Bukhara), Timurid period, ca. 1358
Physical description
Panel of tiles of rectangular form, deeply carved with interlacing star-shaped motifs around a central split palmettes pattern, decorated with with turquoise, white, lavender-blue and manganese-purple glazes, set within turquoise borders and mounted within modern wooden frames.
Dimensions
  • In frame height: 24.4 cm
  • In frame width: 36.1cm
  • In frame depth: 6.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
.
Object history
From the tomb of Bairam Khuli Khan at Fathabad, near Bokhara. Bought from the Myers Collection.
Production
register
Subjects depicted
Summary
These tiles formed a section of an ornamental frieze set over the doorway to a magnificent tomb. The tiles were deeply carved with inscriptions and other ornament and covered with coloured glazes before the final firing. This impressive technique was used in Central Asia only for a brief period, from around 1350 to the early 15th century.

The tomb was that of Buyanquli Khan, a Muslim descendant of the great Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan. For a time he was the puppet ruler of parts of Central Asia. He was assassinated by a local warlord in 1358 when he tried to assert his own authority. Buyanquli's tomb was built in a cemetery on the outskirts of Bukhara in Uzbekistan. The entire building was covered in tiles, inside and out.
Collection
Accession number
576 to E-1900

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Record createdMarch 19, 2009
Record URL
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