A POTTERY CUERDA SECA INSCRIPTION TILE

MUGHAL INDIA, 17TH CENTURY

Details
A POTTERY CUERDA SECA INSCRIPTION TILE
MUGHAL INDIA, 17TH CENTURY
Comprising a single line of nasta'liq in yellow on a green ground within an ogival shaped cartouche outlined in brown, the spandrels in yellow, minor chips to glaze
17¼ x 8½in. (43.5 x 21.5cm.)

Lot Essay

This inscriptional tile contains the second hemistych of a persian couplet in praise of the Mughal emperor Akbar. It reads "On the day of submission Akbar is clement", a line which involves a play on the meaning of the name Akbar, "Great". The couplet may have stood alone, or formed part of a dedicatory or panegyric verse.
The cartouche outline of this tile is identical to that of the preceding lot, which would imply the same origin. The yellow/green colour scheme is found in tiles on the dado of Jahangir's tomb in Lahore (completed 1637), which may indicate that city as the place of origin of our tiles. Equally it indicates that this tile was probably the work of the imperial workshops.

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