Three Dome of the Rock underglaze painted pottery Tiles
39
Three underglaze painted "Dome of the Rock" Tiles
Jerusalem circa 1550
decorated in cobalt blue on a white ground with a split-palmette set on the diagonal and a vine bearing partial flowers to the sides and corners
the largest 19.2 x 19.6 cm.(3)
Estimate:
£1,200 - 1,500
€1,400 - 1,800
US$ 1,800 - 2,300

Footnotes

  • These tiles belongs to a group of tiles of identical design that were used in the refurbishment of the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, under the patronage of the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. For this project, a team of craftsmen led by 'Abdallah Tabrizi produced tiles in tile mosaic, underglaze and cuerda seca techniques on site, some of which were inscribed with the dates AH 952/ AD 1545 and AH 959/ AD 1551-2. It is thought that these potters moved from Jerusalem to Damascus after the completion of the Dome of the Rock and they are credited with the establishment of the Damascus tile industry. For a discussion of tiles of this type, see Venetia Porter, Islamic Tiles, London, 1995, pp. 103-4, and fig. 92); and for the Dome of the Rock, Said Nuseibeh and Oleg Grabar, The Dome of the Rock, 1996 and E.T. Richmond, The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, 1924.

Category: Islamic and Oriental Art / Islamic and Indian Art

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Auction Administration - Islamic and Indian Art