Tile

This eight-pointed star tile has a painted design of a phoenix in black, white, and red on a blue background. Details of the star are highlighted with cut gold leaf.

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Historical period(s)
Il-Khanid dynasty, 1270s
Medium
Stone-paste painted under and over turquoise (copper-tinted) glaze, with gold leaf
Dimensions
H x W x D: 20.9 x 21.3 x 2 cm (8 1/4 x 8 3/8 x 13/16 in)
Geography
Iran, Takht-i Sulayman
Credit Line
Gift of Osborne and Gratia Hauge
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1997.114
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Architectural Element, Ceramic
Type

Tile

Keywords
Hauge collection, Il-Khanid dynasty (1256 - 1353), Iran, phoenix
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

This eight-pointed star tile has a painted design of a phoenix in black, white, and red on a blue background. Details of the star are highlighted with cut gold leaf.

Label

The production of glazed tiles used in architecture reached new levels of refinement during the rule of the Mongol Il-khanids in Iran (1256-1353). This molded, eight-pointed star tile, turquoise, with gold leaf applied over glaze to lend a glistening effect, is associated with the fourteenth-century palace of Takht-i Sulayman, located in northwestern Iran. Its design of a soaring phoenix is inspired by Chinese models, which became an integral part of fourteenth-century Persian visual language.

Published References
  • Najmieh Batmanglij. From Persia to Napa: Wine at the Persian Table. Washington. p. 66.
  • Louise Allison Cort, Massumeh Farhad, Ann C. Gunter. Asian Traditions in Clay: The Hauge Gifts. Washington, 2000. cat. 44, pp. 67, 89.
  • Thomas Lawton, Thomas W. Lentz. Beyond the Legacy: Anniversary Acquisitions for the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. vol. 1 Washington, 1998. pp. 134-137, fig. 4.
  • Linda Komaroff, Stephano Carboni. The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353. Exh. cat. New York and New Haven. cat. 84, p. 263, fig. 101.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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