The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Wall tile shaped like an eight-point star with two stylized people seated facing each other within a white border inscribed with brown text (see "Inscriptions"). The two people are outlined in brown and blue against the white tile, their robes densely patterned with swirling designs, blue circles behind their heads surrounded by dots and floral patterns. Both have long hair and the person on our left a beard. A green, plant-like object sprouts between them.

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.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust by exchange 1915.524
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

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.

Description

The design of this tile-a couple with a wine beaker surrounded by verses of Iranian love poetry-indicates that it was originally part of wall decoration and would have alternated with cross-shaped tiles.
  • ?–1915
    (Dikran G. Kelekian [1867–1951], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1915–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 704 archive.org
    Persian Art Before And After the Mongol Conquest.: [Exhibition] April 9-May 17, 1959. the University of Michigan, Museum of Art, Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, Museum of Art, 1959. Mentioned: cat. no. 106, p. 39; Reproduced: p. 64
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 212 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 212 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 268 archive.org
    Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: pp. 130-133; Reproduced: p. 131
  • Persian Art Before and After the Mongol Conquest. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI (organizer) (April 9-May 17, 1959).
  • {{cite web|title=Luster Wall Tile with a Couple|url=false|author=|year=1266|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1915.524