Three tiles with four petalled flowers
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Material Information

Title:
Three tiles with four petalled flowers
Series Title:
Objects of instruction : treasures of SOAS
Alternate title:
Three tiles, stone-paste, overglaze painted in the cuerda seca technique, with gold leaf
Translated Title:
To'rt bargli gullar bilan uchta plitka ( Uzbek )
Dört yapraklı çiçeklerle üç çini ( Turkish )
Üç kafel, dörd yarpaqlı çiçəklərlə ( Azeri )
سه کاشی ، با گلهای چهار برگ ( Persian )
Place of Publication:
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Publication Date:
Materials:
Stone paste, moulded, overglaze painted in the cuerda seca technique with gold leaf ( medium )
Measurements:
left to right: 16.0 (H) x 14.6 (W), 14.7 (H) x 18.5 (W), 16.8 (H) x 15.0 (W) cm

Notes

Scope and Content:
A four-petalled flower accented with gold leaf, surrounded by white circular arabesques, is visible in the centre of each tile, and a turquoise flourish behind the flower completes the design. Tiles such as these were used to decorate the exterior of brick buildings. The Spanish term cuerda seca (‘dry cord’) refers to the technique developed in the second half of the fourteenth century in Central Asia to keep colours from running and mixing during firing. They were separated by a greasy substance composed of manganese that evaporated during firing but left a residual dark line. Some of the earliest examples have been found in Samarkand, from the 1370s. Cuerda seca tiles with this same central four-petalled flower motif have been found at the Madrasa al-Ghiyåthiyya at Khargird (Khorasan, Iran), built between 1442-6. In the 15th century Persian potters from Tabriz introduced the technique into Turkey, but within the Ottoman Empire cuerda seca tilework fell out of fashion in the 1550s. (Text by Mehreen Razvi, from the exhibition catalogue: Objects of instruction : treasures of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Anna Contadini, Editor. London : SOAS, University of London, 2007.) ( en )
General Note:
The 'Objects of instruction : the treasures of SOAS' exhibition was funded through a generous gift from the Foyle Foundation and with the support of the Arts & Humanities Research Council.
General Note:
Source: A. Contadini (ed.), Objects of instruction : treasures of the School of Oriental and African Studies. London : SOAS, University of London, 2007. Listed as item number: 70
Original Location:
Probably Samarkand, 15th century
Acquisition:
Unknown [acquired in 1969?]
General Note:
Condition: Good [slightly chipped]

Record Information

Source Institution:
SOAS, University of London
Holding Location:
Brunei Gallery
Rights Management:
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Resource Identifier:
1969.12 ( pdf item number )
SOASAW 2010.0213.01 ( Brunei Gallery reference number )
70 ( Treasures of SOAS )