Safavid Cuerda Seca Tile Panel (Iran, 824 AH / 1421 CE)

Arts of Significance 1421 AD Medieval 🇮🇷 Iran 220 views

A moulded polychrome tile in the cuerda seca (dry cord) technique, gilded, dated 824 AH / 1421 CE — from a Timurid or early Safavid architectural context in Iran. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The Art of the Persian TileTilework reached its apex in the architecture of Iran and Central Asia between the 13th and 17th centuries. The cuerda seca technique — in which manganese-outlined divisions prevent coloured glazes from running together during firing — allowed craftsmen to produce tiles of...

Subscribe to Read More

This exhibit contains full historical analysis, image galleries, and multimedia archives accessible to members only.

View Membership Plans

Already a member? Log in

LOCATION — 🇮🇷 Iran

Open World Map →

Related Exhibits

Arts of Significance

Faience Ushabti of the Late Period (Egypt)

A finely cast blue faience ushabti from the Egyptian Late Period (664–332 BCE), inscribed with Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead to serve the deceased in the fields of Osiris. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

🇪🇬 Egypt

600 BC

Arts of Significance

Benin Kingdom Brass Plaque: Warrior and Attendants

A cast brass plaque from the royal court of the Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria, depicting a senior warrior flanked by attendants in full ceremonial regalia. Produced by Benin palace guilds using the lost-wax technique, 16th–17th century.

🇳🇬 Nigeria

1600 AD

Arts of Significance

Amhara Processional Cross (Qäqwami Mäsqäl)

A large Ethiopian bronze processional cross (qäqwami mäsqäl) from the Amhara or Tigrinya tradition, 15th–16th century, used in the liturgy of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church — among the most distinctive sacred objects of African Christianity.

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

1480 AD

Arts of Significance

Tang Dynasty Earthenware Horse with Sancai Glaze

A magnificent earthenware horse with three-colour (sancai) lead glaze from the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), representing the Silk Road culture of cosmopolitan Tang China. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

🇨🇳 China

700 AD