Kashan mihrab tile
Duringtheearlyandlatemedieval periods,thecityofKashanwasrenowned throughoutPersiaforitsluster-painted tiles,and commissionswere received fromalloverthe countryT. hisexample probablyservedas a mihrab,orniche indicatingthe directionof Mecca-the focalpointofMuslimhousesofworship. Exceptforthe artist'signature,which is conspicuouslyplaced inthe spandrels, the moldedepigraphicdecorationis all KoranicT.helastpartofChapter2,Verse 136, "AndGod willsufficeyou against themand He is the Listenert,he Omniscient,"has been used imaginativelyto formandfillthe archrestingon slender columns.Thearchitselfis the compound wordfasayakfikahum("AndHe willsuf- fice you againstthem");fromithangs a mosque lamp.A verysimilarmihrabfrom Kashan,inthe collectionof the Gulben-
kianFoundationi,n Lisbon,bearsthe same epigraphicdevice and is dated A.H.710(A.D. 1310-11).