![]() The cut glazed tiles have a predominantly blue color palette, with strong turquoise borders with white winding and overlapping vine-like decor running throughout the piece. This particular mihrab is a mosaic composed of cut glazed tiles found in Iran, Isfahan. This mihrab, or prayer niche, is an type of wall decoration found in Mosques used to indicate the direction of Mecca for prayer. This inclusion of Islamic scripture further emphasizes the place of the mihrab as one of high importance in the Muslim faith. While the interior calligraphy reads, “The Prophet (may blessings and peace be upon him) said: The mosque is the abode of every believer”. The inscription around the exterior of the mihrab contains the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad from the Quran 9:18-22 in kufic script. These designs are largely contrasting light and dark shades of blue with milky white, yellow, and dark green and aim the eye to the focal center inscription of the piece. Geometric patterns fill the interior of the niche and serve to emphasize its depth. The pointed arch of the mihrab is outlined by a band of white with blue kufic script below a large overlapping vine design. The mihrab is a mosaic composed of cut and glazed tiles joined into arabesque patterns and calligraphic inscriptions. While it would have been located in the prayer space of the madrasa, mihrabs are most commonly found in mosques. The mihrab, was originally used to indicate the direction of prayer for Muslim prayer in the qibla wall of the theological school in Isfahan, now known as the the Madrasa Imami. This mihrab is now located in New York City, purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1939 and is considered to be one of the cornerstones of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Islamic Collection. It was then skillfully restored, especially around the calligraphy in the central section, and briefly stored first at the University of Pennsylvania, then London, and finally shown at the exhibition of Persian art at Burlington House in 1931. The piece was originally removed from the Madrasa Imami in the late 1920s. The Mihrab found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a prayer niche created in 1354 AD shortly after the collapse of the Ilkhanid dynasty, as rival Injuids and Muzaffarid leaders battled for control of the region. Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United States Medium: Mosaic of polychrome-glazed cut tiles on stonepaste body set into mortar Located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. ![]() Mihrab from the qibla wall of the theological school in Isfahan, Iraq–now known as the the Madrasa Imami.
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