A rare underglaze-painted moulded pottery Mihrab tile Probably Kashan, dated AH 740/ AD 1339-40


of rectangular form, moulded and decorated in black under a turquoise glaze with a mihrab, a mosque lamp hanging within the archway, the edge of the arch with a band of inscription, the border with a large band of inscription in thuluth, with wood frame 41 x 28.5 cm.
|ProvenancePrivate US collection, acquired in New York in the 1970s.Inscriptions: in the border, Qur'an, chapter CXII (al-Ikhlas) ending with the date 740 (1339-40); in the arch, Qur'an, chapter IX (al-Tawbah), part of verse 18, ending with 'God the Most Great told the truth and the Messenger told the truth'.