Tile
1307-8 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This tile is from the tomb of Shaykh Abd al-Samad at Natanz in central Iran. It originally formed part of a frieze with a quotation from the Qur'an. The decoration includes nine small birds. Their presence was later seen as inappropriate, and their heads were chipped away to render them inanimate.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Fritware with opaque cobalt-blue glaze and lustre-painted decoration |
| Brief description | Frieze tile with inscription and nine small birds, Iran (probably Kashan), 1307-8. |
| Physical description | Fritware tile with cobalt and lustre decoration forming part of an inscription and originally including several birds, the heads of which were later defaced. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | [مذکو]راً إنّا خلقنا ا[لإنسن]
|
| Gallery label | Jameel Gallery
Tile with Beheaded Birds
Iran, probably Kashan
About 1308
This tile is from the tomb of Shaykh Abd al-Samad at Natanz in central Iran. It formed part of a frieze with a quotation from the Qur'an. The decoration includes nine small birds. Their presence was later seen as inappropriate, and they were rendered inanimate by chipping away their heads.
Moulded fritware, with colour in and lustre over the glaze
Museum no. 1485-1876(Jameel Gallery) |
| Historical context | From the shrine of Shaykh 'Abd al-Samad at Natanz. |
| Production | From the shrine of Shaykh 'Abd al-Samad at Natanz; another tile from the same frieze in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (no. 12.44) is dated 707 in the Muslim calendar, equivalent to 1307-8. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This tile is from the tomb of Shaykh Abd al-Samad at Natanz in central Iran. It originally formed part of a frieze with a quotation from the Qur'an. The decoration includes nine small birds. Their presence was later seen as inappropriate, and their heads were chipped away to render them inanimate. |
| Bibliographic reference | Watson, Oliver. Persian Lustre Ware. London: Faber and Faber, 1985. ISBN 0-571-13235-9. Plate 116, pp. 122, 140, 187, 195
Blair, Sheila. The Ilkhanid Shrine Complex at Natanz, Iran. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1986. ISBN 0-932885-02-0. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1485-1876 |
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| Record created | November 19, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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