Qajar Tiles

19

ARABESQUES AND CLOUD BANDS

iran (safavid), 17th century

heiGht: 21.4 cm Width: 21.5 cm

A tile in the cuerda seca technique with a design of scrolling floral arabesques, saz leaves and cloud bands in white, black, blue, turquoise and yellow against an unusual bicoloured ground of apple green to the left and cobalt blue to the right. A bold, sharply curved arabesque in white with a split-leaf palmette to the top and small tightly scrolled flower buds below divides the two sections of the design.

To the top right corner of the tile against the cobalt blue ground is a stylised composite flower with cusped white and black petals, the outlines of which resemble luxuriant pomegranates. Superimposed on this flower is a six-petalled flower with yellow roundels to each petal and a cusped turquoise centre. Scrolling down from this flower is a gently curving vine from which sprout a cluster of bi-coloured leaves in black and white with a turquoise flower in their midst. Scrolling on a sinuous curve towards the centre of the tile before re-curving towards the lower right corner is a chinoiserie cloud band in yellow, with a small white cloud band dancing in attendance to the centre.

To the lower left corner against the green ground is another cloud band in yellow from which scrolls a vine that divides into two, with a short sprig curving down and terminating in a black serrated saz leaf. A longer spray curves up across the tile, penetrating the bold arabesque that divides the design, curving up across the blue ground towards the top centre where it terminates in a white serrated saz leaf decorated with two turquoise dots. From behind the saz leaf emerges a flower with a turquoise centre and white petals decorated with black dots. Another black serrated saz leaf with a white dot in reserve can be seen to the left edge of the tile on the green ground. Scrolling across both the blue and green grounds like a swag to the top of the tile and connecting the flower in the upper right corner with the upper left corner of the tile is a gently curving vine with splayed leaves. Scattered single buds and leaves further ornament the rich surface of the design.

20

SHAH ISMA’IL HUNTING

iran (Qajar), circa 1880

heiGht: 44.5 cm Width: 44.5 cm

A stone-paste tile with moulded decoration, underglaze-painted in shades of cobalt blue, olive green, turquoise, pink, gold, black and white under a thick gleaming transparent glaze.

The main field, contained within a quatrefoil cartouche on a cobalt blue ground, depicts a condensed captured moment of Qajar noblemen on horseback engaged in hunting pursuits. Six gentlemen, each riding a magnificent white stallion, are portrayed in the middle of the action. To the top left, a man holds his pink tunic closed with one hand as he raises his sword with the other, ready to swing at an unknown target. His white face shows an impassive expression as he gazes forwards.

The largest horseback rider, one of a group of three to the right side of the field, wears an unbuttoned pink tunic with floral rosette patterns and sits on a shawl decorated with boteh designs. He wears a turquoise hat, the vibrant colour having bled onto his white face, a common issue with copper oxide once fired. He sports a large moustache, his eyes focused on the prize before him. In his right hand he holds a bow whilst his left arm is bent double, having just released an arrow that has found its target in the side of an olive coloured deer, complete with small antlers and a panicked expression.

Above him floats a small cusped white cartouche containing the Persian inscription:

“Shah Isma’il Khata’i” This was the pen name of the Safavid ruler Shah Isma’il I, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, who ruled from 1501 to 1524. The largest of the six noblemen depicted on this tile, clothed in a pink tunic is therefore probably Shah Isma’il, flanked to either side by slightly smaller figures on horseback: one who seems to be observing the spectacle stony-faced rather than taking part, and the other who looks somewhat mournful in his vibrant turquoise coat.

Shah Isma’il has stuck his spear into the rump of an olive coloured Asian lion, who has turned to face his tormentor, mouth open and teeth bared.

To the left of the cartouche a gentleman in a turquoise tunic on horseback holds a falcon in his right hand. He faces inwards surveying the scene before him. The falcon, a status symbol denoting the nobility of its owner was used for hunting small game such as rabbits. Below him, a horse and rider are in hot pursuit accompanied by a spotted hunting dog. The hunter wears an olive tunic and sports a turquoise hat. He holds a sword menacingly in his left hand, and is captured mid-swing, just as the sword is about to make contact with a large black boar, frightened and running for its life below, seemingly chased by one of the other hunters towards him. Decorating the cobalt blue ground to the top of the main field are white scrolling bands, and further down are floating stylised floral sprays.

The thick gold cartouche border is edged in white with further white roundels punctuating the ground. Split-leaf arabesques decorate the border and collect en masse to each corner, highlighted by the vibrant turquoise ground surrounding the cartouche. The tile is framed to each edge by a continuous gold border of meandering vines and tendrils.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Will Kwiatkowski for his kind reading of the text within the cartouche.

21

TULIPS AND COMPOSITE FLOWERS

iran (Qajar), circa 1880

heiGht: 34.5 cm

Width: 31 cm

A moulded and underglaze-painted tile in colours of cobalt blue, yellow, pink, turquoise and manganese against a while ground and with a stylised design of carnations, rosettes, pomegranates and tulips all competing for our attention under a thick and unctuous glaze.

The moulded body of the tile, indicative of the Qajar period of ceramics, depicts various floral sprays all jostling for space. A central multi-coloured tulip emerges from the bottom of the tile, framed by serrated leaves to either side. Further stylised composite flowers fill the ground, their cobalt stems bending and criss-crossing over the white slip, all with smaller serrated leaves. The design mimics the style of sixteenth century ceramics from Turkey, combining their stylised and composite sprays but utilising a wider palette which includes yellow and pink as well as the turquoise and cobalt blues seen in Iznik pottery.

22

FIVE GRAZING CAMELS

iran (Qajar, tehran), circa 1880

heiGht: 25 cm Width: 26 cm

A stone-paste tile with moulded decoration, finely underglaze-painted in black, grey, brown, aubergine, turquoise and crisp white against a cobalt blue ground under a gleaming transparent glaze. The delightful and unusual design depicts a herd of five seated camels resting in a desert oasis, the landscape dotted with flowering shrubs on rocky outcrops, below distant mountains with buildings clinging to the steep slopes and cliffs.

The camels seem pleased to have arrived at this pleasant and charming spot, glad for the opportunity to rest after their long travels across the sandy dunes, which are happily nowhere to be seen. There is plentiful vegetation to feast on; clearly there must be water nearby as indicated by the abundance of verdant growth and the shiny liquid glaze covering the animals, like water spilt on a floor, all suggesting a coating of moisture from the laden atmosphere, as opposed to the arid conditions of the desert. By all accounts the scene is paradisiacal and hints of a smile on one or two of the camels, especially the sweet smile of that on the upper left, break through the habitual grumpy, snorting and chewing profile that camels haughtily present to the world.

The camels are brought to life by the skill of the tile-maker in both moulding the undulating surfaces which capture the contours, physiognomy and musculature of the animals, as well as the finely painted fur in variegated shades and textures, from smooth felt-like body fur to long bristly and straggly hairs on their humps and bellies. The long eyelashes that camels use to flick sand from their eyes, the thick-lipped snouts, and the nostrils capable of closing completely in a sandstorm are also beautifully delineated. The bad-tempered beast at the centre of the composition exhibits some sharp teeth, reminding us that camels can eat any type of tough desert plant, even cacti. Most of all, it is the accurate depiction of the camels’ feet that tells us the tile-maker has observed camels closely, and is familiar with the fact that unlike horses, camels do not have hooves. The foot of a camel consists of a leathery pad with two toes at the front. The pad means that the gait of the camel is silent, and its wide area prevents the camel from sinking into the sand. The camel also has pads of thick leathery skin on its joints enabling it to kneel in the hot sand. The most prominent adaptation to surviving life in the desert is of course the hump which stores fat that can be metabolised when food and water are in short supply. The single hump seen here tells us that these are dromedary camels, also known as the Arabian camel, found in North Africa and the Middle East. The Bactrian camel, which lives in Central Asia, has two humps.

This extraordinary tile may be compared to six square Qajar tiles in the Musée du Louvre in Paris which illustrate the work of the Iranian born scholar Abu Yahya Zakariya’ ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (12031283) entitled CAja’ib al-makhluqat wa-ghara’ib al-mawjudat or “Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing”. This thirteenth century Arabic text was very popular and remains the most celebrated cosmographic work of the Islamic world. The text is preserved in many copies, often illustrated, and translated into Persian and Turkish.

Al-Qazwini was a Persian physician, astronomer, geographer, legal expert, judge and proto-science fiction writer, who after extensive travels though Mesopotamia and Syria, settled in Baghdad, where he entered the circle of the Governor of Baghdad, CAta-Malik Juwayni, to whom the CAja’ib al-makhluqat was dedicated.1 Al-Qazwini was also well-known for his geographical dictionary, Athar al-bilad wa-akhbar al-‘ibad (Monument of Places and History of God’s Bondsmen), and his