Star-Shaped Tile
Unknown Artist
13th century
Medium
Stonepaste; luster-painted on opaque white glaze with touches of cobalt
Dimensions
H. 8 in. (20.3 cm) W. 8 in. (20.3 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Tiles
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H.O. Havemeyer Collection, Gift of Horace Havemeyer, 1941
Accession Number
41.165.29
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite star-shaped tile, crafted in the 13th by an unknown artist, exemplifies the pinnacle of Islamic ceramic artistry. Measuring 8 inches across, it is made of stonepaste—a composite body of quartz, clay, and frit that mimics porcelain's translucencyglazed with an opaque white. The surface is adorned with luster-painting, sophisticated technique where metallic oxides create a shimmering, iridescent gold effect, accented by touches of cobalt blue. Delicate leaf motifs, hinted at in its design, evoke the natural world within the rigid geometry of the star form, a hallmark of Islamic de...