Islamic Tiles

Introduction

It is safe to claim that Goharshad Mosque of Mashhad is the most famous building in Iran that has survived from Timurid Dynasty.  It was built under the patronage of Goharshad, the wife of Shah Rukh, and the supervision of Baysonqor, the son of Shah Rukh and Goharshad. The architect of the edifice was Ghavam-al-Din Shirazi, the most famous Iranian architect. It has also earned the respect of the Shiites due to its proximity to Imam Reza shrine complex and currently serves as one of the prayer halls within the shrine. Additionally, Goharshad Mosque of Mashhad is a rare Timurid building which has completely retained its original structure and most of its ornament after almost 600 years despite the architectural changes occurred in the shrine and numerous events such as several severe earthquakes, violent attacks of Uzbeks to Mashhad in the sixteenth century, and bombings by troops of the Russian Empire in 1911. Goharshad’s distinctive features accompanied by the specific style of Ghavam-al-Din in architecture have enhanced its reputation. 

One of the aspects of Goharshad Mosque which should be emphasized in studies is its inscriptions. There is a wide range of inscriptions by different calligraphers in this mosque which demonstrate the evolution of epigraphy from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century. The main inscription of Maqsoore Iwan, transcribed by Baysonqor, is one of the most famous inscriptions of thuluth script in Iran.  The inscription has earned a great reputation because of its scribe, in addition to its highly artistic quality. Only when we realize that it is the sole remaining work of Baysonqor can we appreciate the importance of this inscription. Although only the first third and the last third of the inscription have survived, what is remained lives up to its reputation. There are also other remarkable inscriptions related to the renovation of the Mosque in the Safavid and Qajar periods transcribed by Muhammad Reza Emami, Muhammad Hossein-e Shahid, and others.

However, it is beyond doubt that we need a standard method based on local principles in order to conduct scientific research into the styles and evolution of epigraphy from an aesthetic point of view. The history of epigraphy and its specific role in the history of art and architecture as a subject matter have been considered in some studies such as The Monumental inscriptions from early Islamic Iran and Transoxiana by Sheila.S. Blair. That said, a review of the studies on epigraphy in the Islamic art and architecture reveals that firstly, inscriptions almost always have been considered as the architectural and historical documents and secondly, the scholars who have studied the artistic features of some of the inscriptions have not used a standard practical method which can be followed for other inscriptions. Therefore, we still seem to be in the early stages of studies because there is no standard classification according to the general features of inscriptions; a classification whose main focus is on the visual relationship between the inscription and the architectural elements or the composition of script in the inscription. There is only a simple classification according to the main scripts: Kufic, thuluth, and Nastealiq. Nevertheless, in rare studies such as Atlas-e Khat by Habib-Allah Fazaeli a classification of kufic inscriptions is proposed according to the various forms of letters. Also, Adolf Grohman in The Origin and Early Development of Floriated Kufic has done a careful study on the development of letters and ornaments of floriated Kufic; yet both Fazaeli’s and Grohman’s work only emphasize on Kufic inscriptions and not other kinds of inscriptions. Thus, as far as epigraphy studies are concerned, it is of the utmost importance to propose a detailed classification of inscriptions according to the local principles.

The main subject of this book is to introduce and do detailed research on all the inscriptions of Goharshad Mosque; but since almost all of them are in thuluth script and there is no standard method for thuluth inscriptions, a special one had to be devised in order to study and introduce the inscriptions based on their aesthetical features. Of course, similar to other studies, the technical and historical features have also been reviewed.

Firstly, it is critical that a detailed classification of the inscriptions according to the concept of text and its relation to the building, and the composition of scripts be presented. As a result, the texts are classified into two main groups, namely “religious texts”, “construction texts”-providing information about the construction-, and a subordinate group “religious- construction texts”. As far as the relation between epigraphy and architecture is concerned, inscriptions are classified into three main groups, that is “Tumari”, “Lowhi”, and “Ghab-bandi”. “Tumari” refers to the famous form of inscriptions similar to a scroll and contains a very long text. On the other hand “Lowhi” consists of inscriptions whose frames are medallion-like or geometrical
with a very short text and are commonly installed on different parts of the building; and “Qab-bandi” refers to those inscriptions with a square or rectangular frame and a short text. The other classification is related to the composition of script in the inscription, only used for “Tumari” inscriptions, and includes “Satri”(single-lined), “ Do-Tabaqe” (double-lined)”, “Madar-o-Bache” (composed of two different scripts), “Moqtaren” (overlapped lines), “Do-Tabaqe-Kamarbandi” (composed of two lines separated by a long horizontal letter).

Studying epigraphy based on classification helps us to understand its evolution over time. For instance, this study reveals that “Madar-o Bache” is a common style of composition in the Timurid period, which is replaced by “Do-Tabaqe-Kamarbandi” in the early years of the Safavid period.

Furthermore, in order to measure the calligraphic quality of inscriptions we need to establish some other criteria. Therefore, old Persian texts were reviewed so as to elicit aesthetic principles of epigraphy and calligraphy. Eventually, the elicited principles were grouped into two main categories: “Tashkil” (principles related to the form of letters) and “Vaz`e” (principles related to the composition of letters and words). Each category has a range of subordinate principles applied to measure the quality of inscriptions of Goharshad Mosque.

متن حاضر شرح بخشی از فعالیت کارگاه مرمت محراب مسجد جامع میبد است و به کتیبه کاشی معرق محراب با تاریخ 867 هجری میپردازد. به دلیل اهمیت تاریخی کتیبه و رویکرد به اصالت در کل مرمتهای مسجد، سعی بر حفظ کلیه قطعات کاشی و پرهیز از بازسازی بوده است. مراحل مرمت کتیبه رفع الحاقات و مستندنگاری، پاکسازی لبهها، برداشت کتیبه از بدنه، پاکسازی گچ پشت کاشیها، تثبیت، چیدن دوباره و گچریزی مجدد و سپس نصب مجدد کتیبه بوده است. پس از مرمت همچنین نتایجی در مورد شکل متفاوت محراب و احتمال جابجایی کتیبه و تعمیر پیشین آن به‌دست آمده است. 
واژگان کلیدی: معرق کاشی، مسجد جامع میبد، دوره تیموری، محراب

Nastaliq Inscriptions of Tehran gathers toghether the largest
collection of photographs ever published of the astonishing
Nastaliq Inscriptions. Over a decade Kianoosh Motaghedi has travelled through this city to photograph Mosque’s, School’s, Tomb’s, House’s and buildings that carry the distinctive mark of calligrapher’s and tilemaker’s art.
Following the study of background and significance of Inscription in Islamic architecture of Iran, this book discusses the topic of Nastaliq Inscriptions of  Tehran and Rey
while relying on the famous samples and Motaghedi`s text draws on a wealth of iconographic and technical information to illuminate the history of these remarkable decorations.

with 400 colour illustrations

PhD thesis, SOAS, 1977, 2. vols, pp. 264, + 228 figs.
A survey of the lustre tiles of the 13th and 14th century CE, made at Kashan. Includes discussion of the buildings in which tiles were installed, a list of potters and their works, and a list of dated lustreware. A briefer but updated version of this material is included in my book, Persian Lustre Ware, 1985.

There are 25 underglaze painted tiles in Vazir Bathhouse of isfahan that have not been studied and identified yet. These tiles are among the few remaining Kubachi tile samples in their original installation location, which remain untouched from looting. Identifying and introducing the Vazir Bathhouse's tiles are very important to recognize the Kubachi potteries, since the proof of the Kubachi nature of the Vazir Bathhouse's tiles will be effective in reevaluating the Isfahan region as one of the Kubachi pottery production centers. The main objectives of this research are introducing the Kubachi tiles of Vazir Bathhouse, the study of motifs and their content through comparative comparisons, and investigating the probability of their production in Isfahan. The required information in this research is provided through field method and library studies, and the research methodology has been considered to be historical-adaptive with regard to the subject. Since the motifs used on the Kubachi tiles are very diverse and different, a few similar tiles can be found in the museums rarely. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to all the motifs such as the motifs of plant, birds, human and also decorative margins, and from the outcome of these studies, the general features of the Kubachi pottery were achieved. The flower stone body of the tiles, the way of their underglaze painting, as well as matching the comparative criteria such as the similarity in the coverage and the face of human motifs, the themes, the composition of the spaces and the sharing of some of the motifs and even the way of painting them, left no doubt that the tiles of Vazir bathhouse are Kubachi. The study of Kubachi potteries and tiles found in Vazir Bathhouse indicates the significant role of Isfahan region in the production of these potteries. Following the artist's migration route, the impact of the Isfahan school of painting and the themes depicted on the Kubachi potteries, the studies of the artistic style and technical studies such as petrography indicate the importance of Isfahan region in production of Kubachi potteries, especially colorful types.
Keywords: Safavid, Isfahan, Vazir bathhouse, Kubachi tiles, designs.

Bodies and glazes of tiles from the Ilkhanid period found at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Takht-e Soleyman were studied to identify materials and certain technical characteristics of the architectural ceramics as part of a larger project to establish different productions. In addition, ceramic vessels and technical ceramics excavated at the site were analysed for comparison. µXRF, SEM/EDX, and Raman spectroscopy were used for the material investigations. Qualitative non-invasive µXRF results allowed for categorisation of the glazes and ceramic bodies based on their overall composition. Quantitative analysis by SEM/EDX on a subset of the samples delivered detailed results on the bodies and glazes. Tiles, made from clay or stonepaste, were almost exclusively decorated with a mixed alkaline lead glaze. The PbO content of this type of glaze ranged from 8 wt% to 25 wt%. The clay bodies of some tiles corresponded to the material of the locally used kiln furniture. Moreover, glaze residues preserved on the kiln furniture proved to be from a mixed lead alkaline glaze with a PbO content of 15 wt% to 25 wt%, a composition that is comparable to the tiles’ glazes. For more insights into the local or regional production of the tiles, supplementary in-depth studies including petrographic analysis would be needed to confirm and further specify the results.

Volume 36 of Muqarnas, published in 2019, features a stunning variety of Islamic art genres, ranging from monumental architecture, manuscripts, and tiles to inscriptions, textiles, and material objects. It sweeps across India, Iran, Turkey, and Britain, beginning with an overview by Finbarr Barry Flood of the architecture, calligraphy, epigraphy, painting, and portable arts of pre-Mughal Islamicate South Asia. This is followed by a pair of essays examining manuscript illumination: Cailah Jackson discusses two manuscripts illuminated by Mukhlis ibn ʿAbdallah al-Hindi in thirteenth-century Konya; and Denise-Marie Teece treats the early sixteenth-century Turin safīna manuscript (Biblioteca Reale Ms. Or. 101), its illuminator Ruzbehan al-Modhahheb, and its unique six-page preface.

A Byzantine stole with embroidered Arabic inscriptions in the collection of Vatopediou Monastery on Mount Athos is the subject of the fourth essay by Nikolaos Vryzidis. The volume concludes with three articles on Ottoman art history: an examination of the blue-and-white tiles of the Baba Naqqaş style of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, as prominently displayed in the Muradiye Mosque in Edirne (Patricia Blessing); the architectural book Risāle-i Miʿmāriyye by the seventeenth-century Caʿfer Efendi, in particular his notes on surveying and the architect’s cubit (Gül Kale); and the evolution of the late sixteenth-century Ottoman custom of requiring the sultan to be victorious over the non-Muslim enemy and to only use spoils from the holy war in the construction of a sultanic mosque (Samet Budak).

The Notes and Sources section continues with Bill Hickman’s analysis of the tantalizing calligraphed tiles of the now destroyed mosque built for the Sufi shaykh and poet Eşrefoğlu Rumi (d. 1469?); the study of a wooden box, believed to have contained the heart of Abbot Roger de Norton (d. 1291), with an Arabic inscription that is now deciphered by Barry Knight, 147 years after its discovery; and a gorgeous Persian luster bowl in Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, which when subjected to UV examination, revealed that it was a product of extensive repair, or “restoration,” over the centuries. A systematic examination of the bowl and its remarkable history by Francesca Leoni and her colleagues uncovers a level of fakery of antiques that, it is suggested, might be prevalent in museum ceramic collections.

This paper examines cuerda seca tomb tiles from the late sixteenth to the early nineteenth century in the two shrines of Sultan ‘Ata-bakhsh and Sultan Mir Ahmad in Kashan. The first example belongs to a late sixteenth-century tomb, painted in two shades of cobalt blue against a white background. From the seventeenth century, at least four tombstones remain that are decorated with vegetal motifs on a yellow background, some of which interestingly lack any text. Early eighteenth-century examples include a number of tomb tablets consisting of four mud-brick tiles with a mihrabi frame. The few surviving works from the Qajar period are either made of blue and white tiles or of cuerda seca tiles with floral patterns. The main question in this research is documenting the formation and evolution of cuerda seca tomb tiles of Kashan and their difference in form and content from lustre tombstones of the early Safavid period. In terms of content, attention to Persian elegies can be seen as so significant that they replaced Arabic phrases used in previous periods. Regarding form, the investigated examples show more emphasis on decorative motifs, in contrast to text, as was used in lustre tiles.

Tiles are considered one of the most unique and distinctive decorative elements in Iranian architecture and they have been used for centuries in Iranian buildings. The tradition of decorating religious places and palaces was transmitted from the Safavid era to Zend and Qajar era.
With the beginning of the Qajar era (1789–1925 CE), Tehran was chosen as the new capital and a new artistic movement began. Meanwhile, with the support of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (1772–1834 CE), illustration as well as some almost forgotten arts such as embossing, painting and calligraphy became important once again.
The seven colour tiles produced during the Qajar era featured a wide range of decoration and variety, however, they can be categorised by the place of manufacture and by the master of the workshops in different geographical regions.
Aside from those already mentioned, seven-colour tiles during the Qajar era also featured scenes from epic narratives to mythologic character such as Demon.

There is only one part of the Islamic world that seems to have used placement marks to guide tile craftsmen, and only on underglaze tiles. We are talking about Khorezm, which in the 14th century. was under the control of the Golden Horde. On individual tiles from the territory of the Golden Horde in Russia, on some panels in the mausoleum of Najm ad-Din Kubra in Kuhna-Urgench and in the mausoleum of Alaeddin in Khiva, marks
were made in the 14th century, and they are ubiquitous on the buildings of Khiva in the 19th century. This article illustrates these discoveries and discusses the reasons for their rarity. Then the related topic of seemingly incorrect placement or design of medieval tile panels is discussed. It is concluded that the numbering of the tiles clearly reflects the practice of having a life-size tiled panel first painted on the ground and then cut for firing
into smaller tiles, regardless of the symmetrical pattern it might display. Perhaps this reflects the uncertainty of ceramicists in the ability of masons or tilers to correctly place even symmetrical cladding on the wall.

Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on Persian Carpets, Aug 26-27, 1995. Published in conference volume (Islamic Republic of Iran Ministry of Commerce Export Deputy/Export Promotion Centre of Iran), pp. 61-68/patesl 28-40.
The paper suggests that the roots for early 16th century Safavid design can be found particularly in the tile work of Samarkand.

This article considers parallel approaches to ceramic craft revival, attempted at the same time in Algeria and Tunisia under French colonial administration. It compares two men – Georges Marye and Elie Blondel – who had idealist visions for the revival of glazed ceramics industries, both of which ultimately failed. In Algeria, where the craft was non-existent by the late nineteenth century, Marye proposed a revival of the industry based on tradition, without imposing European models and training, but this was misunderstood by the colonial authorities. In Tunisia, on the other hand, guilds still operated and glazed ceramics, especially tiles, were regularly shown in salons and international exhibitions. Blondel joined forces with the intellectual Jacob Chemla, and together they spent years experimenting in order to reinvent the iconic color of the Qallaline tiles of the eighteenth century. Their approach was a matter of ethnographic enquiry and the development of a training infrastructure, rather than an attempt to produce art objects for commercial ends. But it was slow and expensive compared to the competition from more mechanised, European-influenced processes that the colonial administration favored. While Blondel was unsuccessful in his goal, the project was continued by Chemla and became iconic in its own right; today Chemla ceramics are symbols of Tunisian national identity.