Lot 28
28
A PAIR OF KASHAN COBALT-BLUE, TURQUOISE AND LUSTRE PAINTED COLUMNS
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more
A PAIR OF KASHAN COBALT-BLUE, TURQUOISE AND LUSTRE PAINTED COLUMNS

CENTRAL IRAN, FIRST HALF 14TH CENTURY

Details
A PAIR OF KASHAN COBALT-BLUE, TURQUOISE AND LUSTRE PAINTED COLUMNS
Central Iran, first half 14th century
Each column comprising two shaped tiles, the lower with the column shaft, the upper with a bold baluster capital with angled upper section, the surface covered with scrolling blue and turquoise arabesques linked by white tendrils and flanked by smaller white floral motifs all on a lustre ground, old restorations, old stained pine wall mount strung to invert the columns
Each 27¾in. (70.5cm.) high (2)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

These columns were very possibly originally part of a large tiled mihrab. The large example originally in the Imamzada Yahya, made by 'Ali b. Muhammad b. Abi Taher dated 663/1264 for example has columns of a very similar design and decoration, although tighter execution than the present example (Pope, A. U.: A Survey of Persian Art, Oxford, 1938, pl.400). Frieze tiles of comparable execution however used similar designs in both secular as well as religious settings, substituting verses from the shahnama for verses from the Qur'an. It is therefore also perfectly possible that these columns flanked an arch within a secular setting in one of the palaces which has only survived to the present day as a ruin.

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