tile
Tile
ca.1650 (made)
ca.1650 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This Mughal tile is one of a group acquired from Mr. Frederick H. Andrews in 1923. He had been living in Srinagar and wrote to the museum in 1922 offering to sell his collection before he left that year to return to the UK. All were acquired in Kashmir, and were stated to have come from the 'tomb of Madani' in Srinagar. The tomb is actually that of Sayyid Muhammad Hussain Madani whose mosque, dated 1444, is next to it. The tiles themselves are later, produced in the reign of the emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628-58), for a ceremonial gateway to the tomb and mosque probably constructed in about 1640. The gateway was originally richly embellished with polychrome tiles. Details of what little remained in the early 20th century were recorded in the Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India for 1908-1909. Their photographs show tiles set into the walls that are closely similar to the panel of four tiles in the V&A to which this example belongs.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | tile (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Earthenware covered in white slip and decorated in cuerda seca technique |
| Brief description | Architecture, glazed earthenware, Mughal, c. 1650 |
| Physical description | Tile which was formerly part of a panel. It is decorated with portions of floral sprays with yellow stems and leaves. Part of a spray of white blossom is seen on the lower part of the tile below portions of two other sprays of orange flowers on either side at the two top corners. The white blossoms are picked out in manganese purple, touches of which are also apparent in the orange flowers which have margins of the underlying white slip below. |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Credit line | Purchased from Mr. Frederick H. Andrews Esq. |
| Object history | This tile is one of a group 63 acquired from Mr. Frederick H. Andrews in 1923. He had been living in Srinagar and wrote to the museum in 1922 offering to sell his collection before he left that year to return to the UK. All were acquired in Kashmir and were said to have come from the tomb of Madin Saheb (ie the Mughal gateway in front of the 15th century mosque and tomb of Syed Mohammad Madani). Purchased from Mr. Frederick H. Andrews Esq., 12 Queensway, Raishia, Delhi, India. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. R.P. 23/2764 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This Mughal tile is one of a group acquired from Mr. Frederick H. Andrews in 1923. He had been living in Srinagar and wrote to the museum in 1922 offering to sell his collection before he left that year to return to the UK. All were acquired in Kashmir, and were stated to have come from the 'tomb of Madani' in Srinagar. The tomb is actually that of Sayyid Muhammad Hussain Madani whose mosque, dated 1444, is next to it. The tiles themselves are later, produced in the reign of the emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628-58), for a ceremonial gateway to the tomb and mosque probably constructed in about 1640. The gateway was originally richly embellished with polychrome tiles. Details of what little remained in the early 20th century were recorded in the Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India for 1908-1909. Their photographs show tiles set into the walls that are closely similar to the panel of four tiles in the V&A to which this example belongs. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Susan Stronge, ‘Tile Revetments in the Reign of Shah Jahan’, in Ebba Koch in collaboration with Ali Anooshahr, eds, The Mughal Empire from Jahangir to Shah Jahan. Art, Architecture, Politics, Law and Literature, Marg Publications, Mumbai 2019, pp 220-245. See plate 18, p. 236. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.1295-1923 |
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| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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