Tile

Expand

IIIFView PDF

Tile

Place of OriginTehran, Persia

Date1860-1890

Dimensions10 13/16 × 11 1/16 × 7/8 in. (27.5 × 28.1 × 2.2 cm)

Mediumenamel glazed earthenware

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LineGift of Florence Scott Libbey

Object number

1912.501

Not on View

DescriptionA fine-art tile showing a princely figure seated between two attendants amidst floral sprays, flowers and decorative bands. Navy blue ground with details in yellow, turquoise and purple.

Label TextThough made in the mid-to-late 19th century, this tile looks back at earlier medieval Persian traditions of courtly scenes. It shows a princely figure seated against a cushion in a garden between two attendants. Glazed tiles were used in Iran for both exterior and interior architectural embellishment, but there was also a thriving market for such tiles in Europe and America and many were made specifically for export.Published ReferencesLane, Arthur, Later Islamic Pottery, Persia, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, London, 1957, p. 86, pl. 63.