Publication Date
In the year 1180 AH / 1766-67 AD
Publication Place
-
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Subject
Dry rope ceramic paste
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
114.9 × 105.4 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
M.73.5.4
Record ID
object;EPM;us;Mus21;45;ar
Library Location
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Date
In the year 1180 AH / 1766-67 AD
Notes
Buildings in Isfahan, the capital of the Safavid dynasty in the 17th century, were richly decorated with court work. An innovation of this period that was found in palaces and other secular structures was the use of individually painted square tiles that were combined to form a larger pictorial scene and the use of the dry rope technique. The dry rope technique was first developed in Iran in the late 14th century and was designed to produce decorative multicolored glazed tiles quickly, efficiently, and cheaply. To prevent the various glazes from running off during the (single) firing process, the decorative images were framed with a grease pigment that was burned in the firing, leaving behind a faint dark line. This tile panel is half of a pair of arched corners that were previously installed over an arched corridor in the luxurious pavilion known as Bahisht-e-Bheisht, which was completed in 1080 AH: 1669-70 AD. Here, in the middle of a peaceful, flowery scene filled with birds, there is a lion attacking a deer, a motif that can perhaps be interpreted as a display of the contemporary poetic metaphor of the arrival of spring. Other contemporary arches of Hasht Beheshet in the eastern façade include fighting animals, for example, a spotted leopard, a gazelle, a striped leopard, and a gazelle.
Sample Text
“Tile painting for corners of an arch/arch” within Discover Islamic Art Collections. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;us;Mus21;45;ar
