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Islamic

Tile with a Double-Arched Prayer Niche (Mihrab)

Ilkhanid dynasty (1256–1353), 13th century
Lusterware, fritware with molded decoration and in-glaze painting in cobalt blue and turquoise, and overglaze painting in luster
32.5 × 3.4 cm (12.8 × 1.3 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This luster tile is carefully decorated with dark blue calligraphy above and below the arches, as well as a cruder, luster-painted passage following the line of the arches. The inscriptions, all taken from different chapters in the Qur'an, discuss the transience of life on earth in contrast to the eternal existence of God. The religious nature of these inscriptions is appropriate for the tile's placement in a mosque, where it would have been used as a mihrab, or prayer niche, indicating the direction of Mecca for prayer.

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