Three tiles, stone-paste, overglaze painted in the cuerda seca technique, with gold leaf
A four-petalled flower accented with gold leaf, surrounded by white circular arabesques, is visible in the centre of each tile, and a turquoise flourish behind the flower completes the design. Tiles such as these were used to decorate the exterior of brick buildings. -- The Spanish term cuerda seca...
| Full title: |
Three tiles, stone-paste, overglaze painted in the cuerda seca technique, with gold leaf [electronic resource]. |
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| Format: | Physical Object |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[late 15th century].
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| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
REGIONS. FORMATS. ARTE. RME. ISOAS. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online access: |
Click here to view record |
| Summary: |
A four-petalled flower accented with gold leaf, surrounded by white circular arabesques, is visible in the centre of each tile, and a turquoise flourish behind the flower completes the design. Tiles such as these were used to decorate the exterior of brick buildings. -- The Spanish term cuerda seca (‘dry cord’) refers to the technique developed in the second half of the fourteenth century in Central Asia to keep colours from running and mixing during firing. They were separated by a greasy substance composed of manganese that evaporated during firing but left a residual dark line. Some of the earliest examples have been found in Samarkand, from the 1370s. -- Cuerda seca tiles with this same central four-petalled flower motif have been found at the Madrasa al-Ghiyāthiyya at Khargird (Khorasan, Iran), built between 1442 and 1446 (Text by Mehreen Razvi, from the exhibition catalogue: Objects of instruction : treasures of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Anna Contadini, Editor. London : SOAS, University of London, 2007.) |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[late 15th century].
|
| Subjects: | |
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
REGIONS. FORMATS. ARTE. RME. ISOAS. |
| Place of Publication: |
Uzbekistan -- Samarqand -- Samarqand. |