Tile with a Double-Arched Prayer Niche (Mihrab)

Art Institute of Chicago

Tile with a Double-Arched Prayer Niche (Mihrab)

IranLinkedCulture matchlcp-ee0faa853516

Date
Ilkhanid dynasty (1256–1353), 13th century
Medium
Lusterware, fritware with molded decoration and in-glaze painting in cobalt blue and turquoise, and overglaze painting in luster
Culture
Iran
Department
Arts of Asia
Institution
Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID
72855

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

This luster tile is carefully decorated with dark blue calligraphy above and below the arches, as well as a cruder, luster-painted passage following the line of the arches. The inscriptions, all taken from different chapters in the Qur'an, discuss the transience of life on earth in contrast to the eternal existence of God. The religious nature of these inscriptions is appropriate for the tile's placement in a mosque, where it would have been used as a mihrab, or prayer niche, indicating the direction of Mecca for prayer.

View at Art Institute of Chicago ↗

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Get printable QR codes

Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.

Open this page QR destination: https://linkedculture.org/q/q1.1w85kzC5iZ1kfuu1.CNgbGig838NoNoSeoAIHS3b_mGcXuEpx2HGSvnZRDAG0XxOlPNPkYYpaL28dzUTFtry2drNC48gdasN_VMu-zeQhZLjpl97CE0LrJH54LFBOM_EtCOg4OJTTLwlRoEKu3Mt2Ewr_iygR91zqbskFnxqJc0Yl3JBRUJfh8kgAAoGVoSHAnH4UtliyJoJRs3vOTnemQNtTiVsxr4UUtCnzfpcyxespJI-6wnkPvBCNKHAjAgm8QXGh7DyoDQz1b2ZWopM-L-VmPLgtKL2AFMRSxqezSee at Art Institute of Chicago QR destination: https://linkedculture.org/q/q1.v7jrrCHpxOjwbPIT.g26YCbellYe9yQPqFcjXkCuorDnWfcNclHa6TEUsmdvFcz4YauqTlQCHmGVI8jgae4mJdaX0hIkbRxqSVhjFlPpOk38gtupMV-C4Z_vlyzwjhaBHIHvtv0hHOi5InCxzHNVl1LShuzJ7iDFAUSCHgDEW4QwUyhps-OFUzhSyuh4Ta5BGZ-33iU6eFKOFHV523Ih-SMNeZFc_et6qFiNSIVZSWz6t2AhoUTFID_XJagDN4DNn_cEXmF-jt8l2Pn_A_nqGqKdabEy0yStCItDcTA
Open this page
See at Art Institute of Chicago

Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line
Mary Jane Gunsaulus Collection

Linked open data

Authority identifiers that link this record into the wider web of cultural data — stable references you can follow to the source.

Object type
AAT300190691

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

  • Representative object from the topic Islamic Architectural Ceramics
    Islamic Architectural Ceramics

    These objects are all ceramic tiles and architectural elements from Islamic cultures across the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa, featuring techniques like fritware, luster painting, and underglaze decoration

    60 objects from 5 institutions

Related across collections

Semantically similar works from Art Institute of Chicago and other institutions.