Tile - Aga Khan Museum
Aga Khan Development Network
 
The Aga Khan Museum: Ceramic, Mosaic - Timurid, 14th-15th century CE  Place your mouse over the image
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Classification
Ceramic, Mosaic

Object name
Tile

Geography
Central Asia

Period
Timurid, 14th-15th century CE

Dynasty
Timurid

Materials and technique
Carved and glazed terracotta

Dimensions
32 x 32 cm

Accession number
AKM00577

Description

Timurid tilework from the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is some of the finest Islamic tilework ever created. Timur (r. 1370-1405 CE) and his successors were fierce rulers but also grand patrons of the arts. Monumental buildings demanded extraordinary decoration. The brilliant turquoise domes and elaborately patterned façades of Timurid buildings are a familiar site in cities such as Samarqand. They used a range of techniques such as banna’i (glazed brick patterns), carved and glazed terracotta, tile mosaic, cuerda seca (dry cord), underglaze painted relief moulding and even lustre, all revealing the virtuoso talents of the craftsmen. The tile panels may have been affixed to the exterior façade of a mosque or mausoleum in the Shah-i Zinda complex at Samarqand.

Other similar artefacts

60 pieces found

EWERPILGRIMS-FLASKDISH-WITH-INSCRIPTIONBowlBOWLVASEBOWL-WITH-INSCRIPTIONDISH-WITH-INSCRIPTIONJARDISH-WITH-A-BIRD-MOTIFDISH-WITH-RADIATING-SPOKESBOTTLE-WITH-HORSEMENBOWLBOWL-WITH-RIDERS-AND-CAMELSBottleBOWLTILEVASEALBARELLOALBARELLOALBARELLOTILETILE-PANELMUQARNAS-TILEMUQARNAS-TILECapitalBOWL-WITH-A-BIRD-MOTIFHEXAGONAL-TILETILE-ARCHMIHRAB-PANELDish-with-central-flowerBLUEANDWHITE-DISH-PANEL-WITH-IRISESDISHDish-with-red-rosesDish-with-tulips-and-rosesBOWLTILE-FRIEZETILEPLATEDish-with-a-representation-of-a-gardenDish-with-geometrical-decorationDISH-WITH-SEVEN-HOLLOWSBowl-with-horse-rider-and-birdBowl-with-man-stabbing-a-lionTILEBowlEMERALD-GREEN-BOTTLEDISHQibla-tileDishBowlBOWLPlateBowlDishDISH-WITH-FLORAL-MOTIFSJugDishDish-with-Lion-motif