Object Image

Fragmentary Tile, Probably Arrow-Shaped in Origin, and Modern Filling

Whether loose or on a building, Iranian glazed tiles fascinated scholars and collectors for aesthetic reasons. The tiles’ role in the decoration of facades and minarets in the second half of the eleventh century became an early subject of academic investigation. This tile shows a once-common restoration that isoverzealous by today’s standards: the missing portion was reconstructed and filled in, and the painting completed. Before museum conservators separated the filling, the restoration would have been barely detectable. The tile originally had a different, probably pointed shape (see the small trace of a corner on the bottom right).

Credit: The Grinnell Collection, Bequest of William Milne G...

Late 12th-13th century, with 20th-century fills
Stonepaste; in-glaze and overglaze-painted, opaque white glaze
10.2in
20.120.106a, b
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019

Where you'll find this

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Permanent collection