Object Description
A very rare 13th century Islamic Ladjvardina moulded hexagonal tile, decorated in underglaze turquoise and black with over-glaze gilding within red outlines showing a stag against foliage.
Persian.
Footnote: Ladjvardina ware is associated with the Mongol Il-Khanid dynasty in Persia from 1256-1353. The initial devastation wrought by the conquerors halted artistic production but the control of most of Asia by the Mongols (the so-called Pax Mongolica) created an environment of tremendous cultural exchange and the decorative arts; textiles, pottery, metalwork, jewellery and manuscript illumination flourished once again. There are few surviving examples outside museum collections and this one is especially rare because it depicts an animal rather than foliage or abstract motifs. It was previously sold at Sotheby’s, London.