Tile

Object Details

• Description

  Tile, 12-pointed star form; perhaps the encounter of Rustam and the dragon. Surface damaged.

  Clay: dense, fairly hard, buff.

  Glaze: cream-white, crazed.

  Decoration: painted in polychrome and black over glaze; floral scrolls in low relief tinted yellow.

• Label

  This twelve-pointed-star tile, decorated with a rider attacking a dragon, is unusual both for its shape and technique. Most tiles from medieval Iran are rectangular, hexagonal, or octagonal in shape and painted either under glaze or over glaze with luster. The use of enamel (minai) technique with raised and gilded motifs, as on this tile, was reserved primarily for ceramic vessels.

  The proud rider with a dragon coiled at his feet most likely represents a literary hero. He could be Rustam or King Bahram, two renowned dragon slayers from the Shahnama. The figure is further distinguished by appearing on a twelve-pointed tile. Viewers in the twelfth century may have identified him by the tile’s setting or through their own familiarity with similar examples. For us, the equestrian remains an anonymous hero.

• Provenance

  To 1911

  Dikran G. Kelekian (1868-1951), Cairo, Egypt, Paris, France, and New York to 1911 [1]

  From 1911 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Dikran G. Kelekian, New York in 1911 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2088, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Arts of the Islamic World (May 3, 1998 to January 3, 2016)

  Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)

  Ceramics from the World of Islam (January 16, 1974 to July 1, 1974)

  Near Eastern Pottery and Persian Painting (May 2, 1923 to March 14, 1931)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Dikran Garabed Kelekian (1868-1951) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Kashan, Iran

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Architectural Element

• On View

  Freer Gallery 04: Engaging the Senses

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1100s, 1200s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Kelekian, Dikran Garabed

• Place

  Kashan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Rustam, Arts of the Islamic World, Stone-paste, Saljuq period (1037 - 1300), Ceramics, Dragon

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Architectural elements

• On View

  Yes