Border Tile With Vegetal Motif
Safavid dynasty (1501-1722), 17th/18th century
Medium
Stonepaste with cuerda seca polychrome glaze
Dimensions
11.3 × 24.3 × 2.3 cm (4 7/16 × 9 9/16 × 7/8 in.)
Classification
earthenware
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
10609
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Border Tile With Vegetal Motif*ails from the Safavid (1501–1722), a golden age of Persian art in 17th- or 18th-century Iran. Crafted during a period when Shah Abbas I and his successors patronized lavish architectural projects, such tiles adorned the walls of mosques, palaces, madrasas, creating shimmering mosaics that evoked paradise gardens. The intricate vegetal patterns—flowing vines, leaves, and blossoms—reflect Islamic artistic traditions, where nature-inspired designs symbolized abundance and divine beauty while adhering to aniconic principles avoiding human or animal fi...
About the Artist
Islamic
Islamic art, a profound visual tradition originating in the 7th century CE, flourished across vast territories from Spain to India under Muslim rule, encompassing architecture, ceramics, manuscripts, textiles, and metalwork produced by diverse artisans rather than a single named master. Drawing from pre-Islamic Sasanian, Byzantine, and late antique influences, its early development under the Umayy...