Prayer Niche (Mihrab)
Unknown Artist
c. 1500s or mid-1900s
Medium
ceramic mosaic
Dimensions
mihrab: 290.7 × 245.3 cm · frieze: 69.2 × 1563.5 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Katharine Holden Thayer
Accession Number
1962.23
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The prayer niche (or mihrab in Arabic) is the focal point in the interior of a mosque, located in the qibla wall that faces Mecca, the holy city of Islam. Verses from the holy Qur’an, written in a form of Arabic script called thuluth, surround the mihrab. The inscription is rendered with white glaze, while the continuous arabesque vine behind the Qur’anic text is executed in gold, turquoise, and green—the color of the Prophet Muhammad and of paradise. The inscription is from the Chapter of Light...