Discover Top Posts Tagged with #seljuk

Double-Sided Leaf from a Qur'an. Seljuk Iran, 1100s.

The Cleveland Museum of Art.

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Stone-carved portal of the Great Mosque of Divriği, built by the House of Mengüjek in the early 13th century, under Anatolian Seljuk rule.

The Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği, located in eastern central Turkey beneath the castle of Divriği, is a 13th-century masterpiece of Islamic architecture. Commissioned in 1228–1229 by the Mengücekid ruler Ahmed Shah and his wife Turan Melek, the complex combines a monumental hypostyle mosque with a two-storey hospital (darüşşifa), including a tomb. Designed by the architect Hurrem Shah, it features a richly articulated prayer hall with stone vaults, a domed mihrab, and a central ablutions cupola, while the adjoining hospital is organized around a domed atrium with an oculus and central pool.

The monument is renowned for its highly sophisticated stone vaulting and especially for its exuberant and unique carved decoration, most strikingly displayed on its three monumental portals. Each portal and decorative element is distinct, showcasing intricate geometric and vegetal motifs unparalleled in Islamic art. In contrast, the interior walls remain largely unadorned, heightening the impact of the sculptural entrances. Architecturally, the mosque is notable among Seljuk mosques in Anatolia for lacking a courtyard and organizing all religious functions within an enclosed space, likely due to climatic conditions. The inclusion of a charitable hospital further enhances its significance.

Bowl with Vegetal Scrolls

Iran, late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuk Period)

Fritware with turquoise-green glaze and white, red, and black overglaze.

Dimensions H: 3 3/4 × Diam: 7 3/16 in. (9.5 × 18.2 cm)

Mina’i is a modern collectors’ term for ceramics made in Iran during the late 12th to early 13th centuries. The term mina’i, translates as “enamelled” in Persian, designating the colored glass pigments used to paint detailed figural decoration on vessels or tiles, which were then fixed on the ceramic base by multiple firings. The use of a wide range of colors, including turquoise, red, green, purple, and black, also led these types of ceramics to be called by the Persian term “haft rang,” or “seven colors.”

This bowl is a type of mina’i ware called “lavjardina,” a term derived from the Persian word for the blue stone lapis lazuli (lavjard). Rather firing colors on a white background, lavjardina ceramics glazed color over a dark blue base. The patterning on this bowl incorporates a pattern of vegetal scrolls forming a central diamond.

The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland