CENTRAL ASIA, CIRCA 1380

This tile is possibly from the "Mausoleum of an Anonymous Woman" (c.1360) in the Shah-i Zinda necropolis, Samarkand (Jean Soustiel and Yves Porter, Tombs of Paradise. The Shah-e Zende in Samarkand and Architectural Ceramics of Central Asia, Saint-Remy-en-L'Eau, Editions Monelle Hayot, 2003, p. 87). A similar tile with a border of rosettes was sold in these Rooms, 27 April 2004, lot 25. Two further examples were offered here 26 April 2005, lots 103 and 104. Further examples showing different elements of the muqarnas were recently exhibited in the Chicago Art Institute from the Harvey Plotnick Collection (Oya Pankaroglu, Perpetual Glory, New Haven and London 2007, nos.97-100, pp.150-151).