Luster Wall Tile with a Couple

1266

Maker Unknown

Islamic Art

Luster Wall Tile with a Couple, 1266. Iran, Kashan, Ilkhanid period (1256-1353). Fritware with luster-painted design; overall: 19.5 x 16 cm (7 11/16 x 6 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust by exchange 1915.524 Where fine clay was unavailable, potters made a paste out of ground quartz, clay, and glass. When fired, the paste created a compact white material called fritware that approximated the appearance of porcelain.

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Maker Unknown
Classification: Ceramic
Formatted Medium: fritware with luster-painted design
Medium: fritware, luster-painted, design
Dimensions: Overall: 19.5 x 16 cm (7 11/16 x 6 5/16 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: Top reading R to L: (1) Rubāʿī: TEXT: zulfat ki hizār zangī afzūn dārad——————bar turk-i khitā ʿazm-i shabīkhūn dārad v'ān zangī laʿl duzd-i mutvāri-rā——————āvikht-i dār ki basi khūn dārad. TRANSLATION: Your tresses, which possess over a thousand Zangis (Zanjis, black slave-soldiers, i.e. more than a thousand strands of hair) Are bent on a surprise night time charge against the Cathay Turks (handsome slave-soldier boys redolent of musk) And (as for) that ruby stealing (disheveled) Zangi in hiding Have him hanged for he has plenty of blood on his hands. (2) Rubāʿī: these verses start immediately after the last verses, on the left hand side going down: TEXT: zulfat ki chu afʿī pay-i sharr mi-gardad———dāni pas-i pushtat bi-chi bar migardad chun dīd ki laʿl to [zumurrud bigrift————vahshī shud u bar kuh u kamar migardad.] TRANSLATION: Your hair (tresses), which viper-like is bent on mischief, do you know why it returns behind your back? When it saw that your ruby (lips) has (now) an emerald (down appearing above the lips), it became wild (lost all senses) and wanders on the mountain side. Translation: Your black curls are a thousand times more numerous than a black African's, And they are more eager for ambush than a Turk from Khata; Hang that fleeing ruby-possessing African, (ie. wear your hair down) for he is full of life and energy (lit. "blood")' Like a basilisk your curls go about looking for mischief, Do you know who it is they are planning to kill? When they saw that the ruby longs for the thief.... ..... (illegible, the tile is broken here) May the world-creater keep this safe, Wherever it may happen to be. (Made) in (the month of) Dhi hajeh 664 (=1265-6) Translation by Dick Davis, Ohio State University 1996 Source: Internal Object File Remark: Two metaphors are present simultaneously. The first metaphor is that the red lips visible through the tumultuous black curls are like a ruby being stolen by a black African; by saying the African should be hanged for the theft the speaker means that the beloved should wear her hair down, the phrase involving a pun on a word that means both to hand and to leave loose. The second metaphor is that the hair's beauty is like someone waiting in ambush to capture and destroy the speaker.
Departments: Islamic Art
Accession Number: 1915.524
Credit Line: Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust by exchange
Exhibitions: Persian Art Before and After the Mongol Conquest
Rights Statement: CC0