A Mughal cuerda seca tile, probably Lahore, 17th Century

decorated in cobalt blue, manganese purple, green, yellow and brown, the colours separated by cuerda seca or "dry cord" lines, with a lattice-and-blossom design of leafy stems, flowers and split-palmettes arabesques

intact in one piece, with chips to the edges and extremities, surface rubbing and weathering, as viewed
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The cuerda seca technique was brought to northern India from Persia. Robert Skelton has made the observation that 'even in recent times, the makers of glazed tiles (kashigars) have been Muslims whereas Hindu builders (sutradhars) have restricted themselves to working with unglazed terra-cotta' (Guy and Swallow 1990, p.46).

The use of a resist application between the colours gives distinct separation between them and a clarity of line which is particularly effective on architectural decoration. This tile is most probably from one of the great Mughal monuments of Lahore built under the patronage of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, such as the Picture Wall in the Lahore Fort (Mumtaz 1989, p.59). A tile of a similar palette is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. no. 25-1887 IS (Guy and Swallow 1990, p.88, no.65).