Luster Star Tile with Seated Figure
Architectural ElementsPersian12th-13th century

Luster Star Tile with Seated Figure

12-13th century

Description

Perhaps the most important contribution of Muslim potters, the application of luster to a ceramic surface was not limited to vessels. As early as the ninth century, this costly technique was applied to wall tiles to distinguish parts of buildings. In the eastern Islamic lands during the medieval era, the use of colored tiles — decorated with luster but with other techniques as well — increased in complexity and scope. In both religious and secular buildings, large surface areas came to be sheathed in brilliant ceramic revetments. Although the star tiles bear self-contained designs, they were intended to interlock with cruciform tiles in a grid.

Classification
Architectural Elements
Technique
Lusterware
Medium
Fritware
Culture
Persian
Period
Seljuk-Atabeg period
Century
12th-13th century
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Department
Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

14 cm (5 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Denman Waldo Ross, Cambridge, MA, (by 1923), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1923.

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Luster Star Tile with Seated Figure | Harvard Art Museums | KenAI