Scholars have proposed that this large three-piece mihrab-shaped panel once adorned the tomb of the Sufi shaikh 'Abd al-Samad in Natanz. In addition to its selection of Qur'anic verses, the panel includes an inscription describing itself as the work of Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Ahmad Babavaih, a known fourteenth-century tilemaker from Kashan. Indicative of the collaborative nature of this type of work, this piece also contains the signature of the calligrapher who wrote the inscription - 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Fadl Allah.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Tile Panel in the form of an Architectural Niche
Maker:Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Ahmad Babavaih
Date:first half 14th century
Geography:Made in Iran, Kashan. Found Iran, Natanz
Medium:Stonepaste; inglaze painted in blue, luster-painted on opaque white glaze, modeled
Dimensions:H. 48 1/2 in. (123.2 cm) W. 23 1/2 in. (59.7 cm)
Classification:Ceramics
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1909
Object Number:09.87
Tile Panel
This set of three molded luster tiles comes from the tomb of 'Abd al-Samad in Natanz (see also MMA 12.44, cat. 114 in this volume).[1] The tiles form a panel representing a mihrab (or niche indicating the direction of prayer) composed of colonnettes supporting a trilobed arch from which hangs a mosque lamp. The end of Koran verse 2:136 ("And God will suffice you against them and He is the Listener, the Omniscient") forms the arch itself and fills part of the archway. The arch is made from the compound word FASAYAKFIKAHUM ("And He will suffice them against them").[2] Another verse, Koran 2:225, frames the arch and fills the spaces between the colonnettes.[3]
An inscription in the spandrels identifies the panel as the work of Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Ahmad Babavaih, a tile maker from Kashan, who was responsible for the decoration of the interior of the tomb of Natanz.[4] The outermost band of inscription includes short passages from Koran suras 1, 97, 100, and 112–14; the date, most likely Shawwal [70]3 (March 1310); and the signature of the scribe who "wrote" the inscriptions: 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Fadl Allah.[5]
[Komaroff and Carboni 2002]
Footnotes:
1. Watson, Oliver. Persian Lustre Ware. Faber Monographs on Pottery and Porcelain. London: Faber and Faber, 1985, pp. 122, 142, 180, pl. 126; Blair, Sheila S. The Ilkhanid Shrine Complex at Natanz, Iran. Harvard Middle East Papers, Classical Series, 1. Cambridge, Mass.: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, 1986, pl. 54;. Blair, Sheila S. "A Medieval Persian Builder." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 45 (December 1986), pp. 389–95, fig. I; Jenkins [Madina], Marilyn. "Islamic Pottery: A Brief History." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 40, no. 4 (Spring 1983), p. 28, fig. 29.
2. M. Jenkins, 1983 (see note 1), p. 28.
3. Blair, Sheila S. The Ilkhanid Shrine Complex at Natanz, Iran. Harvard Middle East Papers, Classical Series, 1. Cambridge, Mass.: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, 1986, pl. 65
4. Ibid., p. 35.
5. Blair, Sheila S. "A Medieval Persian Builder." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 45 (December 1986), p. 394. This dating is further supported by the panel's similarity to a mihrab in the Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, dated 710 (1310), as noted by M. Jenkins 1983 (see note 1), p. 28.
Tile Panel
From the tomb of 'Abd al-Samad in Natanz, this set of three molded luster tiles forms a panel representing a mihrab composed of colonettes supporting an arch from which hangs a mosque lamp. An inscription in the spandrels indicates the panel is the work of Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Ahmad Babavaih, who was repsonsible for the decoration of the interior of the Sufi's tomb. The outermost band of inscription includes the date AH Shawwal [70]9/March 1310 and the signature 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Fadl Allah, the scribe who "wrote" the inscriptions.[1] The tiles likely once served as revetment of the tomb's cenotaph above the burial place of the Sufi shaykh.
Linda Komaroff in [Komaroff 2011]
Footnotes:
1. Blair, Sheila S. "A Medieval Persian Builder." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 45 (December 1986), p. 394; Blair, Sheila S. The Ilkhanid Shrine Complex at Natanz, Iran. Harvard Middle East Papers, Classical Series, 1. Cambridge, Mass.: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, 1986, p. 65.
Inscription: On white border of panel in handwritten naskh: Inscription starts from bottom right with Surah Al-Hamd (Surah 1); Surah Al-Qadr (Surah 97); Surah Al-Nasr (Surah 110); Surah Al-Ikhlas (Surah 112); Surah Al-Falaq (Surah 113); Surah Al-Naas (Surah 114); Surah Al-Fil (Surah 105); Surah Al- Ma'un (Surah 107) and then continues:
صدق الله العظیم و صدق الرسول الکریم و نحن علی ذلک من الشاهدین. فی سنه تسع و ... بخط العبد الضعیف علی بن محمد بن فضل الله ... God Almighty and his messenger have spoken the truth and we are among the witnesses to that. [Made] in year nine and … calligrapher is weak worshiper [to Allah] ʿAli son of Muhammad son of Fazl-Allah …
On inner margin in thuluth script: Ayat al-Kursi (Surah al-Baqarah, verses 255 and 256). The inscription starts from bottom right, turns around the frame, and continues inside the niche.
Arch itself and inside of it (the arch itself is in the form of a word from a Qur’anic phrase): فسیکفیکهم (The word in shape of arch) الله، و هو السمیع العلیم. (سوره الابقره، سوره 2، آیه 137) Allah will suffice thee (for defense) against them (the Infidels). He is the Hearer, the Knower. (Surah Al-Baqarah, Surah 2, verse 137) (Translation: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran. A. A. Knopf, New York, 1930)
Outside the arch: عمل حسن بن علی بن احمد بابویه البناء Made by Hasan son of ʿAli son of Ahmad Babvieh, the architect
(Mohammad Farsimadan, August, 2022)
Mr. Chirol, London (ca. 1879–1909); [ Morris & Company, London, 1909; sold to MMA]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia 1256-1353," October 28, 2002–February 16, 2003, no. 16.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia 1256-1353," April 13–July 27, 2003, no. 16.
Los Angeles. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts," June 5, 2011–September 5, 2011, no. 81.
Houston. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts," October 23, 2011–January 15, 2012, no. 81.
Doha. Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. "Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts," March 21, 2012–June 2, 2012, no. 81.
Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Muhammedan Decorative Arts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1930. pp. 131, 141, ill. fig. 75 (b/w).
Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Muhammadan Art. 2nd rev. and enl. ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. p. 202.
Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn, Suzanne G. Valenstein, and Julia Meech-Pekarik. "The Metropolitan Museum of Art." In Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. vol. 12. Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd., 1977. no. 89, p. 314, ill. (color).
Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn. "Islamic Pottery: A Brief History." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, vol. 40, no. 4 (Spring 1983). no. 29, p. 28, ill. (color).
Watson, Oliver. Persian Lustre Ware. London; Boston: Faber and Faber, 1985. p. 148, ill. fig. 126 (b/w).
Blair, Sheila S. "The Ilkhanid Shrine Complex at Natanz." PhD diss., Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, 1986. pp. 35, 65, ill. pl. 54.
Blair, Sheila S. "A Medieval Persian Builder." The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians vol. 45 (1986). pp. 389–95, ill. fig. 1.
Khoury, Nuhan N. N. "The Mihrab Image: Commemorative Themes in Medieval Islamic Architecture." Muqarnas vol. 9 (1992). pp. 14–15, ill. fig. 4 (b/w).
Rossabi, Morris, Charles Melville, James C. Y. Watt, Tomoko Masuya, Sheila Blair, Robert Hillenbrand, Linda Komaroff, Stefano Carboni, Sarah Bertelan, and John Hirx. The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256–1353, edited by Stefano Carboni, and Linda Komaroff. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. no. 116, pp. 198–99, 268, ill. fig. 237 (color).
Suleman, Fahmida, ed. "The Qur'an and its Creative Expressions." In Word of God, Art of Man. Qur'anic Studies Series 4. United States: Oxford University Press, 2007. p. 278, ill. fig. 16.4 (color.
Komaroff, Linda, ed. "The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts." In Gifts of the Sultan. Los Angeles; New Haven and London: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2011. no. 81, pp. 54, 234–5, ill. fig. 46 (color).
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