Tile Panel thumbnail 1
Tile Panel thumbnail 2
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Tile Panel

1262 (made)
Artist/Maker
Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abi Tahir (decorator)
Place of origin
Kashan (made)

Many innovations originated in the Islamic Middle East. Decorating glazed ceramics with metallic lustre was one of them. This difficult technique was invented in Iraq in the 9th century. It spread over an area stretching from Spain to Iran, where these tiles were made.

Museum Numbers:
1837&A, C, E, F-1876
1487-1876
1489-1876
1838&C, E-1876
1077-1892
1099&A-1892
1100&A-1892

The tiles are from the tomb of a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad at Varamin near Tehran. The designs, each subtly different, are surrounded by quotations from the Qur’an.

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Object details

Categories
Islam
Ceramics
Tiles
Lustre Ware
Object type
Tile panel
Parts
This object consists of 15 parts.

  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
Materials and techniques
Fritware with overglaze lustre decoration
Fritware
Brief description
Panel of lustre tiles from a tomb in Varamin (near Tehran). Iran (probably Kashan), 1262.
Physical description
Panel of fifteen star and cross tiles, from the shrine of Imamzadeh Yahya in Varamin (south of Tehran). Fritware ceramic with lustre decoration, Iran, probably Kashan, dated 1262, and attributable to Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Tahir.
Dimensions
  • Overall width: 121.1cm
  • Weight: 45kg
Width of each tile: 28 to 31cm
Style
Kashan
Gallery label
(Old label)
PANEL OF STAR AND CROSS TILES
Fritware painted in lustre
PERSIA (Kashan); dated 660-1 A. H./October to December 1262
These tiles once covered the inside walls of the Tomb of Yahya, a distant descendant of the Prophet Muhammed, in Veramin in central Persia. They were made in Kashan by the potter Ali ibn Muhammed ibn Abi Tahir.
(2006)
Jameel Gallery

Lustre Tiles
(right)
Iran, probably Kashan
1262

Many innovations originated in the Islamic Middle East. Decorating glazed ceramics with metallic lustre was one of them. This difficult technique was invented in Iraq in the 9th century. It spread over an area stretching from Spain to Iran, where these tiles were made.

The tiles are from the tomb of a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad at Varamin near Tehran. The designs, each subtly different, are surrounded by quotations from the Qur’an.

Fritware painted in lustre over transparent glaze

Museum nos. 1487, 1489, 1837&A, C, E, F, 1838&C, E-1876; 1077, 1099&A, 1100&A-1892
Object history
In the three months Dhu'l-Hijja 660 to Safar 661 (October to December 1262) were made a large number of star and cross tiles that decorated the dado of the Imamzada Yahya in Veramin. Over 150 examples are recorded in some 24 collections. (Watson, Persian Lustre Ware, p. 191)
Production
Attributed to Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Tahir
Summary
Many innovations originated in the Islamic Middle East. Decorating glazed ceramics with metallic lustre was one of them. This difficult technique was invented in Iraq in the 9th century. It spread over an area stretching from Spain to Iran, where these tiles were made.

Museum Numbers:
1837&A, C, E, F-1876
1487-1876
1489-1876
1838&C, E-1876
1077-1892
1099&A-1892
1100&A-1892

The tiles are from the tomb of a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad at Varamin near Tehran. The designs, each subtly different, are surrounded by quotations from the Qur’an.
Bibliographic references
  • Oliver Watson, Persian Lustre Ware, London: Faber and Faber, 1985, colour plate K, pp. 122-3, 132, 134, 186, 191.
  • 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.28, 51, 122
Collection
Middle East Section
Accession number
1837&A, C, E, F-1876, 1487-1876, 1489-1876, 1838&C, E-1876, 1077-1892, 1099&A-1892, 1100&A-1892

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Record createdJanuary 15, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O89590/tile-panel-ali-ibn-muhammad/
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