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Tile: OC.173-1946

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Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Pottery: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Frtiware coated in a white glaze painted in blue and in red lustre

Fritware, mould made, glazed in white and painted in blue and in red lustre.
Shape: roughly square with slightly bevelled edges and decoration in relief
Upper surface: in a linear frieze on the upper edge and covering almost the remaining entire surface, floral sprays with pointed petals and leaves are reserved against a red lustre ground. Painted in blue and in relief, an inscription dominates the central section. On the lower edge a narrow band of dotted circles is reserved in lustre.
Lower surface: undecorated

Notes

History note: Purchased from Sassoon in 1921

Legal notes

Bequeathed by Oscar Raphael

Measurements and weight

Depth: 4 cm
Height: 30.5 cm
Weight: 4513 g
Width: 31.5 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1946) by Raphael, Oscar C.

Dating

15th Century, Mid
Production date: circa AD 1455

Note

Near identical tiles now in the V&A were made for an unidentified building sponsored by the Timurid ruler Abu Sa`id (d.1469)

School or Style

Timurid

Components of the work

Upper Surface composed of pigment ( blue) oxide colours ( red lustre) glaze ( white)

Materials used in production

Fritware

Techniques used in production

Moulding : Fritware, mould made, glazed in white and painted in blue and in red lustre

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: Persian inscription, probably designed by the calligrapher Nusratuddin Muhammad, moulded in original production of tile

  • Text: thuluth script
  • Location: Upper surface, central area
  • Method of creation: Moulded in relief and painted in blue
  • Type: Inscription

Inscription present: rectangular paper label adhered to the lower surface

  • Text: border (printed in blue), 'Mr Arthur Lane of the V&A museum is doubtful as to this tile being genuine' (hand written in black)
  • Location: Lower surface
  • Method of creation: Printed, hand written in black
  • Type: Label

Inscription present: rectangular paper label adhered to the lower surface

  • Text: ‘Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge/Bequeathed by’ (printed), ‘Oscar Raphael Esq. / 1941 / Raphael Catalogue No. 40’ (hand written in black), ‘173-1946’ (hand written in pencil)
  • Location: Lower surface
  • Method of creation: Printed, hand written in black and pencil
  • Type: Label

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: OC.173-1946
Primary reference Number: 77613

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 25 March 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Tile" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/77613 Accessed: 2025-12-05 11:30:50

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/77613 |title=Tile |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 11:30:50|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-77613

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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Tile</figcaption>
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