TIMURID IRAN, DATED AH 897 / 1492 AD

Details

A RARE LUSTRE AND COBALT-BLUE POTTERY TOMBSTONE
TIMURID IRAN, DATED AH 897 / 1492 AD
The white ground painted over the glaze with extensive brown lustre naskh, narrow light blue borders, the reverse fitted with custom iron mounting bracket
17 ¾ x 9 7/8in. (45 x 25cm.)

Provenance

Acquired by the father of the current owner in London, 1995

Engraved

In the margin in Arabic, 'Oh God bless al-Mustafa Muhammad, and al-Murtada 'Ali, and al-Batul Fatima, and the grandsons al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and Zain'l-'ibad 'Ali, and al-Baqir Muhammad, and al-Sadiq Ja'far, and al-Kazim Musa, and al-Rida Ali, and al-Taqi Muhammad, and al-Naqi Ali, and al-Zaki al-'Askari al-Hasan, and al-Ilujjat al-Qa'im al-Mahdi, may God's blessings, and His peace be upon him and them all'
In the upper panel, Qur'an, XXIX al-'ankabut v.57 followed by, 'The revered al-Murtada, the honoured Mujtaba, al-Sayyid Zain' al-'Abidin ibn al-Murtada the auspicious, al-Sayyid Jala'd-Din Murtada ibn Yahya al-Radawi, may [God] make his grave be fragrant, and paradise his abode; he died after he had lived for 90 years, on Thursday, 18 Rabi' II AH 897⁄18 February 1492 AD'
In the lower panel in Persian verse, 'Mir Zayn al-'abad, that Radawi, Who was like his grandfather good-natured and the one who put his hair on fire, In .... of God he burnt his head for a hair He was 67 years of age, When he turned his face from the world to paradise'

Further details

Some countries prohibit or restrict the purchase and/or import of Iranian-origin property. Bidders must familiarise themselves with any laws or shipping restrictions that apply to them before bidding. For example, the USA prohibits dealings in and import of Iranian-origin “works of conventional craftsmanship” (such as carpets, textiles, decorative objects, and scientific instruments) without an appropriate licence. Christie’s has a general OFAC licence which, subject to compliance with certain conditions, would enable a buyer to import this type of lot into the USA. If you intend to use Christie’s licence, please contact us for further information before you bid.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

A similar Timurid tombstone dated AH 891 / 1486 AD, only six years earlier than our example, is in the Art Institute Chicago (1916.145). It is decorated with lines of loose naskh in lustre with cobalt-blue highlights. Our tile also relates to a series associated with a building commissioned by Abu Sa’id (1424-69), the great-grandson of Timur. One of these is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (30.95.26) and another in the Keir Collection (Ernst Grube, Islamic Pottery, London, 1976, pp.298-99). They are all signed by Nusrat al-Din Muhammad and dated AH 860⁄1455-56 AD. Oliver Watson talks of these inscription tiles and tombstones (some of which were made for buildings in the Kashan area and which are dated from 1418 to 1560) as evidence of the link between the Ilkhanid wares and the Safavid production of the 17th century (Oliver Watson, Persian Lustre Ware, London, 1985, p.157). He comments that the use of this costly and elaborate lustre technique for tiles in a religious and funerary context, corresponds to the function of lustre tiles in the Ilkhanid period, surmising that perhaps it was that association which preserved the technique.

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