Lot 309
- 309
An impressive Kashan lustre mihrab tile panel, Persia, early 14th century
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
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Description
- ceramic
moulded with a central cobalt blue calligraphic arch enclosing an arabesque of split-palmettes with an opacified tin glaze enhanced with turquoise and cobalt blue, on a ground of spiralling floral tendrils, the spandrels with moulded split-leaf palmettes
Provenance
Ex-collection Edwin Goar
Exhibited
Exposition d'Art Persan, Cairo, January-February 1935, no.C158
Literature
Album de l'Exposition d'Art Persan, Société des amis de l'art, Cairo, 1935, pl.34
Condition
Large area of panel, notably along sides reconstructed and restored, with associated overpainting and reconstructed undecipherable text, some restoration also to base, small cracks, chips and pitting associated with age, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
inscriptions
Qur'an, surah Al 'Umran (III), parts of verse 18:
'Allah bears witness that there is no God but He, and so do the angels and the men of learning. He upholds Justice. There is no God but He, the Mighty, the Wise.'
This tile would have probably been the central section from a larger mihrab panel. Stylistically it relates to a number of other mihrab tiles from the early fourteenth century including the mihrab by Yusuf Ibn 'Ali Muhammad Ibn Taher from the Imamzada 'Ali Ibn Ja'far at Qom, dated to 734 AH/1334 AD, and now in the Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran (see Watson 1985, p.143, fig.120). There are two similar mihrabs by 'Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn 'Ali al-Husayni in the Victoria & Albert Museum (ibid., p.147, fig.125, and col. pl. N).
Kashan mihrabs of this period are particularly impressive due to their size, variance in thickness and the unstable nature of the firing process at this time with pieces of this magnitude. The even lustre that can be seen on this tile is particularly remarkable given the difficulties in controlling the passage of air throughout the kiln.
Forming part of the exhibition Exposition d'Art Persan in Cairo in 1935, this tile panel would have played an important educational role in the growing interest in Islamic and Persian art, notably ten years after the important exhibition of Islamic Art (Exposition d'Art Musulman) organised in Alexandria in 1925.
Qur'an, surah Al 'Umran (III), parts of verse 18:
'Allah bears witness that there is no God but He, and so do the angels and the men of learning. He upholds Justice. There is no God but He, the Mighty, the Wise.'
This tile would have probably been the central section from a larger mihrab panel. Stylistically it relates to a number of other mihrab tiles from the early fourteenth century including the mihrab by Yusuf Ibn 'Ali Muhammad Ibn Taher from the Imamzada 'Ali Ibn Ja'far at Qom, dated to 734 AH/1334 AD, and now in the Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran (see Watson 1985, p.143, fig.120). There are two similar mihrabs by 'Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn 'Ali al-Husayni in the Victoria & Albert Museum (ibid., p.147, fig.125, and col. pl. N).
Kashan mihrabs of this period are particularly impressive due to their size, variance in thickness and the unstable nature of the firing process at this time with pieces of this magnitude. The even lustre that can be seen on this tile is particularly remarkable given the difficulties in controlling the passage of air throughout the kiln.
Forming part of the exhibition Exposition d'Art Persan in Cairo in 1935, this tile panel would have played an important educational role in the growing interest in Islamic and Persian art, notably ten years after the important exhibition of Islamic Art (Exposition d'Art Musulman) organised in Alexandria in 1925.