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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1955.89
Title
Plaque with mihrab motif framed by inscription in relief
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Commemorative Plaque
Classification
Architectural Elements
Work Type
architectural element
Date
13th century
Places
Creation Place: Middle East, Iran
Period
Seljuk-Atabeg period
Culture
Persian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216877

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2550, Art from Islamic Lands, The Middle East and North Africa
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Turquoise overglaze fritware
Technique
Glazed-monochrome
Dimensions
34 x 25.7 x 3.8 cm (13 3/8 x 10 1/8 x 1 1/2 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Francis Lee Friedman
Accession Year
1955
Object Number
1955.89
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
The niche in the center of this turquoise plaque references a mihrab—the marker within a mosque that signals the qibla, that is, the direction toward the city of Mecca. Muslims are required to turn toward Mecca in prayer. The representation of the mihrab on this ceramic plaque—depicting a sanctuary lamp suspended from chains— evokes sacred text without literally reproducing it, for it calls to mind a well-known verse from the Qur’an (24:35) that begins: "God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His light is as a niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is, as it were, a shining star.…"

Inscribed (Arabic): He is God, the One, the Only God,the Eternal, the Absolute. He begetteth not, nor is Hebegotten. And there is none like unto Him. (Qur’an, 112)
Commentary
Label text from exhibition “Re-View,” an overview of objects drawn from the collections of Harvard Art Museums, 26 April 2008 – 1 July 2013; label text written by Mary McWilliams, Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art:

Plaque in the Form of a Mihrab
Iran or Syria, Saljuq-Atabeg era, 12th–13th century
Fritware with molded decoration under glaze
Inscribed (Arabic) Say: He is God, the One, the Only God,the Eternal, the Absolute. He begetteth not, nor is Hebegotten. And there is none like unto Him. (Qur’an, 112)
Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Francis Lee Friedman, 1955.89

The niches in the center of both this turquoise plaque and the adjacent tombstone reference a mihrab—the marker within a mosque that signals the qibla, that is, the direc¬tion toward the city of Mecca. Muslims are required to turn toward Mecca in prayer, and Muslim burial practices cus¬tomarily align the body with the qibla. The representation of the mihrab on the ceramic plaque—depicting a sanctuary lamp suspended from chains—is more pictorial than that on the tombstone. This imagery evokes sacred text without lit¬erally reproducing it, for it calls to mind a well-known verse from the Qur’an (24:35) that begins: “God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His light is as a niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is, as it were, a shining star.…”

Publication History

  • Mary McWilliams, "Islamic Ceramic Traditions", The Studio Potter, ed. Gerry Williams (New Hampshire, December 2002), vol. 31, no.1, pp44, fig.2
  • Mary McWilliams, Baraka: Blessings in Clay, The Studio Potter, Mary Barringer (Shelburne Falls, MA, 2007), Vol. 35, No. 2, p 14-19, p. 17, fig. 4

Exhibition History

  • The Best Workmanship, the Finest Materials: Prayer Carpets of the Islamic World, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/03/2002 - 12/15/2002
  • Overlapping Realms: Arts of the Islamic World and India, 900-1900, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 12/02/2006 - 03/23/2008
  • Re-View: Arts of India & the Islamic Lands, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/26/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/06/2019 - 01/01/2050
  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/10/2016 - 02/22/2016

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu