An important Timurid grey schist cenotaph, Central Asia, 14th/15th century
Auction Closed
October 27, 03:41 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
the black granite carved with cartouches containing calligraphic inscriptions and designs of entwining palmettes and arabesques, the top with a square Kufic inscription, each side with architectural details, with later inscribed date
27 by 87 by 29cm.
Ex-private collection, Belgium, 1969-2000.
Private collection, UK, acquired from the above, 2000.
Private collection, UK, acquired from the above, 2000.
inscriptions
Top: couplets from a ghazal of Hafiz
Geometric composition in Kufic: the name ‘Ali repeated four times
Sides: verses lamenting the death of a young person; the first couplet of the quatrain is a version of Sa'di's with a later inscribed date ‘[His?] death was the year 1054 (1644-5)’
The form and carved decorative details on the present cenotaph are characteristic of a style developed in Herat under Timurid patronage in the second half of the fifteenth century. This cenotaph has an architectural quality that is heightened by the inclusion of a stalactite corniche that is similar in style to that on the mausoleum of Timur in Gur-i Amir in Samarqand (Lentz and Lowry 1989, p.28, fig.3).
The lush foliate details carved across the surface of this cenotaph include peonies, split-palmettes and arabesques that are stylistically comparable to those executed on other cenotaphs of the period in a variety of media, for example the underglaze painted decoration on the double cenotaph of Sayyid Ala' al-Din in Khiva, circa 1305 (illustrated in Soustiel and Porter 2003, p.40). The semblance of these designs corresponds to the visual language associated with the Timurids as embodied on the present example.
Top: couplets from a ghazal of Hafiz
Geometric composition in Kufic: the name ‘Ali repeated four times
Sides: verses lamenting the death of a young person; the first couplet of the quatrain is a version of Sa'di's with a later inscribed date ‘[His?] death was the year 1054 (1644-5)’
The form and carved decorative details on the present cenotaph are characteristic of a style developed in Herat under Timurid patronage in the second half of the fifteenth century. This cenotaph has an architectural quality that is heightened by the inclusion of a stalactite corniche that is similar in style to that on the mausoleum of Timur in Gur-i Amir in Samarqand (Lentz and Lowry 1989, p.28, fig.3).
The lush foliate details carved across the surface of this cenotaph include peonies, split-palmettes and arabesques that are stylistically comparable to those executed on other cenotaphs of the period in a variety of media, for example the underglaze painted decoration on the double cenotaph of Sayyid Ala' al-Din in Khiva, circa 1305 (illustrated in Soustiel and Porter 2003, p.40). The semblance of these designs corresponds to the visual language associated with the Timurids as embodied on the present example.
You May Also Like
