Tile panel
- Place of origin:
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
Islamic Middle East, room 42, case WN10
- Order this image
This tile panel covered the lower part of a wall, probably in a palace in Isfahan. It is shaped to fit under a window or niche. Springtime scenes of outdoor meals or entertainments were popular in Safavid art and poetry. Here a young woman is the centre of attention, surrounded by her attendants. The blue-and-white vessels on the ground may be Chinese, or Iranian copies.
The Safavid dynasty was established in 1501 by Shah Isma’il. He was the young but charismatic leader of the dervish brotherhood founded by his ancestor, Shaykh Safi al-Din. Isma’il reunited Iran and made a branch of Islam known as Shi’ism the religion of the state.
Many of Shah Isma’il’s successors, including his son Tahmasp, were great patrons of the arts. They developed a dynastic style in which human figures played an important role. This was in strong contrast to their main rivals, the Sunni Ottomans, who generally avoided such motifs.
Physical description
Tile panel depicting figures (a lady and her attendants) enjoying wine and sweetmeats in an outdoor setting. The panel has been cut down and restored in a not entirely convincing manner.
Place of Origin
Isfahan (probably, made)
Date
17th century (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown
Materials and Techniques
Fritware
Dimensions
Height: 106.7 cm
Width: 226 cm
Depth: 9.1 cm
Weight: 97 kg
all measurements include frame of 1cm
Historical context note
Large-scale tile panels with figural decoration are not uncommon in seventeenth-century Iran, providing a dramatic contrast to the resolutely non-figural tilework made in contemporary Ottoman Turkey. This panel is thought to have come from the Chihil Sutun or "Forty Pillars" palace in Isfahan. It depicts a group of people gathered for a picnic in a garden. At the center, an aristocratic couple sit in flirtatious conversation, while around them others (possibly their attendants) bring bottles of wine and trays of sweetmeats. The blue-and-white vessels on the ground may be Chinese, or Iranian copies.
Descriptive line
Tile panel with picnic scene, Iran (probably Isfahan), 1600-1700.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Tim Stanley ed., with Mariam Rosser-Owen and Stephen Vernoit, Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Middle East, London, V&A Publications, 2004; pp. 64, 85, plate 71
Labels and date
Tile Panel with Picnic Scene
Iran, probably Isfahan
1600-1700
Springtime scenes of outdoor meals or entertainments were popular in Safavid art and poetry. Here a young woman is the centre of attention, surrounded by her attendants. The blue-and-white vessels on the ground may be Chinese, or Iranian copies. This tile panel covered the lower part of a wall, probably in a palace in Isfahan. It is shaped to fit under a window or niche.
Earthenware under coloured glazes
Museum no. 139-1891
Attribution Note
Said to have come from the Chihil Sutun ('Forty Columns') palace in Isfahan.
Materials
Fritware
Techniques
Cuerda seca
Subjects depicted
Garden; People; Wine bottles
Categories
Ceramics; Tiles; Islam
Collection code
MES
