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A LARGE SAFAVID CUERDA SECA POTTERY TILE PANEL IRAN, 17TH CENTURY Decorated with birds and felines amidst trees and floral sprays, repairs Approximately 36 ? x 45 ?in. (92 x 115cm.) when assembled
This tile panel is created in the cuerda seca (Spanish for ‘dry cord’) technique which was one of the most extensively used forms of tile decoration in Safavid Iran. This practice developed side by side with tile mosaic during the latter part of the fourteenth century in Central Asia. It was a quick method and became particularly popular during the reign of Shah 'Abbas I due to his impatience for the completion of his monuments (Porter, 1995, p.176).
The floral and animal designs of our tile panel suggest it was used in a royal garden pavilion. In the palaces of Isfahan tiles generally form pictures with each tile painted with one element of the overall scene as seen on our example. Our panel depicts over 15 animal species in motion, including a number of animal-combat motifs which frequently refer to the royal sphere and symbolise the legitimisation of the right of the strong to rule, an apt symbol for any royal household. The designs here resemble a combination of patterns seen in contemporaneous illustrated manuscripts and textiles. Given the proximity of different craftsmen at court, it was not uncommon to share designs for different mediums within the royal atelier.
The Hasht Behesht palace in Isfahan is the last example and most complete cycle of the use of these tiles in situ. Many fragments from this palace are in museums around the world. A very similar panel executed on white ground was sold at Christie’s, London, 28 April 1992, lot 179. The Victoria and Albert Museum (C.104 to S-1981) and the David Collection (inv. no. 24/1974) also hold panels which bear close resemblance to ours.
