Current Location: In storage
Maker(s)
Potter:
Unknown
Entities
Categories
Description
Fritware coated in a white glaze painted in blue and lustre
Fritware, mould made, coated in a white glaze painted in blue and lustre
Shape: roughly square tile with straight edges and decoration in relief.
Upper surface: on the upper edge a wide symmetrical frieze of dotted palmettes and split leaves are reserved on a lustred ground incised with spirals and commas. Painted in blue across the centre of the tile, a tri-lobed arch contains a verse from the Shahnama reserved on a lustred background containing dotted trefoils. In the spandrels and below the arch, further lustre split leaves are painted on a background of lustre scrolls. On bottom edge a narrow chevron pattern is painted in lustre. Turquoise is spotted at points on the surface; lustre decoration and glaze spill over onto the edges.
Lower surface: undecorated
Notes
History note: Possibly from the palace complex at Takht-i Sulayman; lent by Captain Hugh Calverley in June 1919; given by Mrs E.L. Calverley in December 1924.
Legal notes
Given Mrs E.L. Calverley
Measurements and weight
Depth: 1.8 cm
Height: 29.2 cm
Weight: 2722 g
Width: 30 cm
Acquisition and important dates
Method of acquisition: Given
(1924-12)
by
Calverley, E.L., Mrs
Dating
13th Century, Late
Circa
1280
CE
-
Circa
1289
CE
Note
On accession the tile was considered to have possibly adorned walls of the palace at Takht –i Sulayman. This is not now thought to have been the case, because its upper border has not been recorded on any of the known tiles from that site. The Arabic inscription is from the Shahnama by Abu'l-Qasim Firdausi.
School or Style
Il-Khanid
Components of the work
Upper Surface
composed of
oxide colours
( lustre)
pigment
( turquoise, blue)
glaze
( white)
Materials used in production
Fritware
Techniques used in production
Moulding
: Fritware, mould made, coated in a white glaze painted in blue and lustre
Inscription or legends present
Inscription present: moulded in relief and painted
- Location: Across the centre of the tile in an arch
- Method of creation: Painted in blue
- Type: Inscription
Inscription present: rectangular paper label is adhered to the lower surface
- Text: 'Given1924 / Loaned by Cpt Hugh Calverley, June 1919’
- Location: Lower surface
- Method of creation: Hand written in black
- Type: Label
References and bibliographic entries
Related exhibitions
Identification numbers
Accession number: C.43-1924
Primary reference Number: 17497
Stable URI
Audit data
Created: Saturday 6 August 2011
Updated: Monday 18 December 2023
Last processed: Tuesday 13 May 2025
Associated departments & institutions
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
