Skip Navigation

Panel of 16 Tiles from the Shrine of Zayn al-Mulk

Arts of the Islamic World

On View: Arts of the Islamic World, 2nd floor
This panel once adorned a shrine in Isfahan, built by a wealthy patron named Jacfar ibn cImad ibn cAli al-Adhami al-Gulbari al-Hasani for his father, Zayn al-Mulk. The polychrome palette and intricate mosaic design—featuring motifs based on lotuses, palmettes, carnations, and lilies appearing amongst scrolling vines—are typical of late fifteenth-century architectural decoration under the Timurids. More panels and fragments from this tomb can be found in other North American and European collections.
MEDIUM Ceramic; fritware, painted in cobalt blue, turquoise, green, manganese purple, yellow ochre, and opaque white glazes, cut to shape in the mosaic faience technique and set in plaster
  • Place Made: Isfahan, Iran
  • DATES A.H. 885/1480–81 C.E.
    PERIOD Aqqoyunlu
    DIMENSIONS frame: 41 x 28 in. (104.1 x 71.1 cm) sight: 31 5/8 x 19 1/8 in. (80.3 x 48.6 cm)  (show scale)
    INSCRIPTIONS "From Mrs. Metgzar TL1977" painted on back of frame
    ACCESSION NUMBER 77.196.3
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Evelyn Metzger
    PROVENANCE Prior to 1931, provenance not yet documented; by 1931, reportedly acquired by P. Jackson Higgs of New York, NY; between 1931 and 1973, provenance not yet documented; December 7, 1973, purchased at Sotheby's New York, "Egyptian, Western Asiatic, Islamic, Greek, Roman, Etruscan Antiquities, the property of various owners including the Hagop Kevorkian Fund, New York," lot 374, by Evelyn Metzger of New York, NY; December 14, 1977, gift of Evelyn Metzger to the Brooklyn Museum.
    Provenance FAQ
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Arts of the Islamic World, 2nd floor
    CAPTION Panel of 16 Tiles from the Shrine of Zayn al-Mulk, A.H. 885/1480–81 C.E. Ceramic; fritware, painted in cobalt blue, turquoise, green, manganese purple, yellow ochre, and opaque white glazes, cut to shape in the mosaic faience technique and set in plaster, frame: 41 x 28 in. (104.1 x 71.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evelyn Metzger, 77.196.3. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.77.196.3.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, CUR.77.196.3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2008
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
     <em>Panel of 16 Tiles from the Shrine of Zayn al-Mulk</em>, A.H. 885/1480–81 C.E. Ceramic; fritware, painted in cobalt blue, turquoise, green, manganese purple, yellow ochre, and opaque white glazes, cut to shape in the mosaic faience technique and set in plaster, frame: 41 x 28 in. (104.1 x 71.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evelyn Metzger, 77.196.3. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.77.196.3.jpg)

    TAGS

    TAGS