Zand Cuerda-Seca Pottery Tile Panel Depicting a Prince on his Throne with a Courtier

Project Details

Zand Cuerda-Seca Pottery Tile Panel Depicting a Prince on his Throne with a Courtier

ZAND CUERDA-SECA POTTERY TILE PANEL DEPICTING A PRINCE ON HIS THRONE WITH A COURTIER

Zand Persia, Second half of the 18^thCentury

Dimensions: 93 x 93 cm. (panel), 23 x 23 cm. (each tile)

Panel consisting of sixteen cuerda-seca tiles, decorated in brown, white, black, blue, yellow, green, depicting a prince on his throne with a courtier seated on his right side, the composition is surrounded by a border of foxes, tigers and cheetahs hunting deer.

The cuerda-seca (dry cord) technique, with which the present tiles were produced, is used when applying coloured glazes to ceramic surfaces. Although some scholars postulated an Iranian origin, citing Umayyad-era examples from Suza, many scholars now believe that this technique originated primarily in al-Andalus (Muslim Spain and Portugal) in the second half of the 10^th century.

Zand buildings, especially those in the capital (Shiraz and later Isfahan) and nearby Na‘in were decorated with elaborate cuerda-seca tile panels. While mosques and madrasas employed the traditional tile-making style of repeating geometric and vegetal designs, tile panels with narrative scenes like the present panel were used for secular settings. These scenes mostly depicted outdoor settings with courtly figures in garden landscapes.

For examples of comparable Zand cuerda-seca tiles see, Gérard Degeorge and Yves Porter’s The Art of the Islamic Tile, Flammarion, Paris, 2002, pp. 164-168.

Provenance

Private French Collection since the mid-20^thcentury. The owner inherited the panel as part of a family succession. He stated that his ancestors were art collectors, actively purchasing during the first half of the 20th century. The panel remained in the family residence for generations, until its transfer to the current owner following the recent succession.

Categories: Ceramics

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Zand Cuerda-Seca Pottery Tile Panel Depicting a Prince on his Throne with a Courtier

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