Lot Essay
This tile fragment comes from the tomb of the Mongol lord Buyan Quli Khan, built in Bokhara presumably immediately after his death in 1358-59. Originally probably the entire surface was covered in tiles of this extremely laborious manufacture, many of which contained inscriptions overlaying the scrolling arabesques, as here, but unfortunately only a few fragments survive today. The Victoria and Albert Museum has the best of these, including the fragment with the name of the patron (inv.no.2043-1899). Others are published in Lane, A.: A Guide to the Collection of Tiles, London, 1939, pls.6a and c; and Lentz, T.W. and Lowry, G.D.: Timur and the Princely Vision, exhibition catalogue, Washington D.C., 1989, figs.7a and b, pp.40, 41 and 329.