An Ilkhanid calligraphic lustre frieze tile, Persia, circa 1300

of square form moulded in relief with an opacified tin glaze enhanced with cobalt blue over-decorated in lustre, the main field with a monumental raised inscription in thuluth against a ground of scrolling foliate stems inhabited by birds, a hare and a jackal, a band of moulded and painted palmettes above, a minor band of kufesque decoration below

inscription

parts of Persian verses

This tile relates to the group from the shrine at Natanz dated Shawwal 707 / March 1308, now dispersed in various museum collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. OA 1122) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (see Komaroff and Carboni, p.127, fig.149).