PROBABLY ISFAHAN, IRAN, 17TH CENTURY

Buildings in the Safavid capital of Isfahan and nearby Na'in were decorated with elaborate tile panels, of the type offered here. While mosques and madrasas employed the traditional tile-making style of repeating geometric and vegetal designs, larger narrative scenes made up of individually painted tiles were a significant innovation for secular settings. These scenes typically depicted outdoor settings with characters in garden landscapes and were commonly used in royal garden pavilions during the reign of Shah 'Abbas I and later through to the 1680s. Notable examples of such compositions can be found in the Metropolitan Museum (acc.no.03.9a) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (acc.no.139:1 to 4-1891).

The representation of gardens and orchards held significant importance in Safavid Iran, as well as the wider Persian artistic tradition, and could be observed on fabrics and textiles from the period. The depiction of trees such as cypresses and willows, along with shrubs and birds, were closely related to and possibly influenced by the works of great poets such as Nizami, Hafiz, and Sa'adi. Moreover, imagery of gardens and trees were also prominent in the Qur'an and religious iconography. Within Persian literature, mysticism, and art, gardens served as a means to access profound levels of thought and imagination, embodying a wise interpretation of the Persian worldview. In this worldview, nature was viewed as just one link in the great chain of being. These designs conveyed an implicit message that trees, flowers, animals, and all creatures were simply manifestations of divine grace.

For tiles and panels of similar colour and technique, see the two-tile panel depicting a courtier seated under a tree in Simon Ray, Indian & Islamic Works of Art, London, 2004, cat. no. 13, pp. 34-35, now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.