OTTOMAN TURKEY, 18TH CENTURY

This tile shows the Masjid al-Haram and has inscriptions marking significant places including the Black Stone, the well of Zamzam, the Station of Abraham (Maqam Ibrahim), Maqam Shafi', the Stations for the Imams of the Hanbali, Hanafi and Maliki schools. Although the function of tiles which depict the Holy Shrines are unknown, they may have been intended to decorate walls in houses or palaces, possibly marking the status of an owner as someone who had performed the pilgrimage. Some tiles are still found in situ in mosques, usually on the qibla wall, intended to draw the eyes of the faithful in the direction of prayer (Venetia Porter (ed.), Hajj. Journey to the Heart of Islam, exhibition catalogue, 2012, p.118).

Our tile is amongst a small group which have been attributed to Tekfur Saray rather than Iznik, making it a unique example since very few Ka’ba tiles from this less well-known but charming Ottoman ceramic centre are known. This attribution is based on factors such as the vibrant tone of the red glaze in combination with the green glaze, the thin body of the tile and also the way it has been glazed which covers all four sides. The bird’s-eye view, inspired by the European pictorial tradition, is also characteristic of later examples made at Tekfur Saray. A Ka’ba tile from Tekfur Saray is on view in the Metropolitan Museum of art (inv. no. 2012.337).