Mihrab (Prayer Niche)
Iran (Isfahan), ca 1354
Composite body; glazed and cut
Height 11 feet 3 inches, Width 7 feet 6 inches
39.20
A mihrab is a niche, usually concave, in the qibla (Mecca-orientated)
wall of a mosque, a Muslim house of prayer. This is a rare early example
of faience mosaic, an elaborate procedure derived from glazed-brick
decoration. The style of decoration reflects the influence of the
Mongol period. The outer border is framed by a band of inscriptions
from the Koran. In the central niche, there is a Kufic script in dark
blue on a white background. (MMA Bulletin, June 1939) Worshippers
pray facing the qibla wall, which usually has one or more mihrabs.
As a focus for prayer and reflection, the beautiful mosaic and inscriptions
from the Koran serve to lead the mind into a quiet, reverent place.
Bloom, Jonathan. "Mihrab." The Grove Dictionary of Art
Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed 17 September 2002), <http://www.groveart.com>
Crane, Mary E. "Fourteenth-century mihrab from Isfahan."
Ars Islamica, v. 7, no. 1, 1940, p. 96-100.
Dimand, M.S. "A XIV Century Prayer Niche of Faience Mosaic."
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 34, June 1939,
p. 136-7.
Ettinghausen, Richard, ed. Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum
of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972.
The Grove Dictionary of Art Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed
17 September 2002), <http://www.groveart.com>, "Mosque
[Arab. masjid]."
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Catalog, New York, New York.
