the masjid-i 'alī, quhrūd: an architectural and epigraphic survey

British Institute of Persian Studies

The Masjid-i 'Alī, Quhrūd: An Architectural and Epigraphic SurveyAuthor(s): Oliver WatsonSource: Iran, Vol. 13 (1975), pp. 59-74Published by: British Institute of Persian StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4300526 .

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THE MASJID-I 'ALI, QUHRUD: AN ARCHITECTURAL AND EPIGRAPHIC SURVEY*

By Oliver Watson

Quhrfad is a small village on the summer caravan route between Kashan and Isfahan. It lies at a distance of 45 km. from Kashan, towards the head of the pass through the Quhriid mountains from which it takes its name.' During the winter months it is frequently cut off by snow, and the longer route round the mountains is now followed by the modern highway. Many European travellers passed through Quhrfid on their way to Isfahan, and the pleasant climate and picturesque houses straggling up the steep hillsides usually elicit a few words of praise.2

From external appearances the village seems to have little to commend it in the way of" cultural remains ", the Safavid caravanserai being the only substantial building. However, two small mosques, interesting in themselves, contain remarkable features that deserve to be better known.3 They both exhibit a style of building that seems to be typical of the region. The larger contains a considerable number of Kashan lustre tiles which provide much interesting information, and a carved wooden door of superb quality.4 The smaller mosque contains a ceramic plaque signed and dated by one of Kashan's most famous ceramicists.

The Masjid-i 'Ali The Masjid-i 'Ali is the larger of the two mosques to be discussed. It is now used as a Friday mosque

by the inhabitants of the village. Its ground plan is square (Fig. i). It is roofed with nine flattish domes (Fig. 2) supported on a system

of cross arches of roughly keel-arch shape. These arches are supported in the centre of the building by four pillars, and by piers projecting from the walls. These piers also support at a height of approximately

* I should like to take this opportunity to express my indebtedness to the following persons and institutions: to the British Institute of Persian Studies, which awarded me a Fellowship for this and other work in Iran, and to the Central Research Fund of London University which provided funds for travel to Persia and to Quhrfid; to Dr. Baqerzadeh and the officers of the then Archaeological Service of the Ministry of Art and Culture in Iran who made this study possible; to C. Pancheri, the architect who accompanied me to Quhriid and made the measured drawings; to R. Hillenbrand and R. Pinder-Wilson who read the finished manuscript and made

many valuable suggestions; to Professor A. K. S. Lambton, Dr. Gandjei and M. Bayini for their help with the inscriptions; and

especially to my supervisor Dr. G. Feh6rvari, who relinquished prior claim to the mosque and whose constant guidance and enthusiasm have been of great help.

1 M. Siroux, " Anciennes Voies et Monuments Routiers de la RWgion d'Ispahan ", Mimoires de l'Institut FranCais d'Arche'ologie Orientale du Caire LXXXII (I97I). Carte II shows a detailed map of the Kashan to Isfahan caravan routes. On pp. 2o-I he gives a description of the route via Quhriid (Kouhroud), and on p. 142 he gives a description and plan of the Safavid caravanserai at Quhrfid.

2Chardin says of the village, which he calls " Carou ", " On ne peut trouver un plus charmant et agr6able endroit dans le tems chaud," Voyages en Perse (Amsterdam 17I1), I, p. 216. He spent the night in the caravanserai. Other later travellers included J. Dieulafoy, La Perse, La Chaldie et la Susiane (Paris 1887), p. 212; Curzon, Persia and the Persian Question II (London 1892), p. i8; and Browne, A Year Among the Persians (London 1893), p. 186. The Comte de Sacy who passed through in 1839-40 is alone unenthusiastic, and describes

Quhr-id as ".. . un mis6rable bourg ", La Perse (Paris x928), p. 229. A lithograph by Flandin (Voyages en Perse, Paris 1851) and a photograph of the village are published by Nariqi in

Hunar u Mardum (May 1972). 3 The monuments, apart from the caravanserai, have received

no detailed attention in European writings. Wilber, The Architecture of Islamic Iran, The Il-Khanid Period (Princeton 1955), P. 129, refers to the Masjid-i 'Ali on the authority of A. Godard, but did not visit the site. He mentions neither the door nor the tiles, and gives a garbled version of part of the historical inscription. In Persian, H.

Nartqi in his Athdr-i

Tdrikhi-yi Shahristdnhd-yi Kdshdn wa Na.tanz

(Tehran I348), pp. 347-51, gives a brief description of the village and the

Masjid-i 'All. He publishes the historical inscription on the door, but fails to read the signature of the artist.

4 To my knowledge, the only sites where large numbers of lustre tiles are preserved in situ are the shrines at Meshhed (D. M. Donaldson, " Significant Mihrabs in the Haram at Meshed ", Ars Islamica II (1935), pp. 120-27) and at Qumm (Nardqi, op. cit., pp. 364-5). Both these places are difficult of access for

European and Persian scholar alike. Woodwork is sadly neglected in the study of Persian minor arts.

59



60 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES

new mosque

new porch

I

I

qibla

p 1 ,2 ,3 4 5M.

Fig. i. Ground Plan, Masjid-i 'Alf.

o ,1 ,2 ,3 4 5 M.

Fig. 2. Elevation, Masjid-i 'Al.



THE MASJID-I 'ALI, QUHRIJD: ARCHITECTURAL AND EPIGRAPHIC SURVEY 61

1*75 m. a gallery which runs round all four walls (P1. VIIb). The supporting piers are pierced at the level of the gallery to afford uninterrupted access, which is now only broken by the new door in the south-west corner of the building, leading to the new mosque. The central pillars are octagonal, taper- ing slightly towards the top before spreading to a square from which the arches spring. Unshaped wooden beams are set between the pillars and the piers at the springing of the arches.6 Apparently the only original entrance to the building was the door in the middle of the west wall.6 Access to the gallery was by a separate outside doorway in the east end of the south wall where the slope of the land raises the ground level to that of the gallery. This entrance has now been blocked and a door into the main part of the mosque and a stairway up to the gallery have recently been constructed in the north-east corner of the building. Windows are pierced between the piers in the north wall on the ground floor and in both north and south walls at gallery level. These appear to have been enlarged in modern times.

The inside of the mosque is heavily plastered and whitewashed; decoration is found only round the mihrab and door. The mihrab comprises a deep rectangular niche flanked by two smaller niches (P1. Ia). The various panels of this mihrab are covered with tiles which are discussed below. The side niches have muqarnas decoration, and in the head of the central niche is found plaster moulding. An inscription (dated 1317/1900) runs over the top'of the mihrab. The door is recessed in the west wall; on the exterior at either side are set panels of tiles above stone benches. Above the panels further plaster inscriptions are again dated 1317/1900. Above the entrance arch are more tiles in the spandrels. This entrance now opens into the porch of the new mosque, which runs the length of the west wall.

Local memory helps to elucidate some of the mosque's recent history.7 Apparently the new mosque attached to the south-west corner of the old was erected on the foundations of a zamistdn (said to be 200 years old) which collapsed some 14 years ago. The new doors in the south-west and north-east corners of the old mosque were installed then. There had been originally a courtyard in front of the west entrance and the door and tiles were open to the elements. If this is true, one can only be astonished at the excellent state of preservation of both door and tiles.

It is difficult to determine the material used in the interior construction of the mosque owing to the heavy plaster overlay. On the outside the south wall is of fired brick (20 x 4 cm.). The east wall is of mud brick and the north wall has fired brick for the projections (corresponding to the engaged piers on the inside), but the parts in between are apparently of mud brick. The whole is set on a foundation of stone rubble, the height of which varies and is difficult to assess, as the ground rises steeply towards the south.

The Masjid-i Kalah It is appropriate to discuss this smaller mosque here since it is of exactly the same construction and

elements as the Masjid-i 'Ali. It has an irregular ground plan, necessitated perhaps by the steep slope of the land downwards towards the east, or by buildings and roads that surrounded it (Fig. 3).8 The

5 Many other buildings in the Jibil area exhibit the same basic characteristics, sc. covered buildings, with vaults supported by pillars and piers, and some are of considerable age. Siroux (" L'Evolution des Antiques Mosqu6es Rurales d'Ispahan ", Ars Asiatiques XXVI (1973), P. 23 No. 2 and p. 81, and figs 17 and 19) dates the mosque at Shapurabad to the 9th century A.D., and that of Eskarand to the Ioth century. Covered, pillared mosques are being built to this day in the Kashan area, though now with steel pillars and concrete (the Masjid-i F•tima and the Masjid-i Warqada in NIshabhd to the north of Kashan were built within the last fifty years and show these features). The Masjid-i QAldi in Baidgul, also to the north of Kashan and probably of Safavid date, is a rectangular vaulted hall with cross arches supported by pillars identical in type to those of the mosque in Quhriad. The square ground plan is more difficult to match. The Masjid-i Kucha-Mir in Natanz approaches it (Godard, Athdr-6 Iran I/I (1936), p. 82), but the building is smaller and the vaulting system different. Mr. R. Hillenbrand informs me that the Seljuq hypostyle mosque at

Sujas shows some of the features of the Masjid-i 'Ali, including the four central pillars and a raised gallery, which to this day is used as the women's part of the mosque; for this information I am most grateful.

6 The convention of designating the qibla wall of the mosque as the south is used here, and the other directions are correspon- dingly designated.

7 I am most grateful to 'Abd al-Karim Karimi Quhrfidi, a senior and cultivated member of the Quhrfid community, who provided me with this and much other information about the history of the mosque.

8 The Masjid-i Kalah is found at a little distance from the Masjid-i 'Ali. Because of the value of the lower lying land in the valley bottoms for cultivation, the village is built on the side of the hill, with the houses built virtually one on top of another. The Masjid-i 'Ali has houses built up to it only on the east side, the Masjid-i Kalah has houses built up to it on three sides. Its free side, the north wall, faces on to a narrow alley that drops away steeply to, the East.




qibla

,o 1 ,2 ,3 ,4 ,5 M.

Fig. 3. Ground Plan, Masjid-i Kalah.

system of vaulting, the piers, pillars and gallery are identical to those of the Masjid-i 'Ali, except that the gallery does not run all the way round the building. It does not continue over the recess immediately to the west of the mihrab (P1. VIIIc). The main entrance is in the north wall where a door is dated 1024/1615. In the north-east corner stairs lead down to the street, and attached to the east end of the north wall is a barn where a nakhl is stored. The interior is undecorated apart from crude muqarnas decoration and some carved plaster in the mihrab. However, one item is of great interest, sc. a ceramic panel set in the back of the recess to the west of the mihrab.

The Foundation Panel, Masjid-i Kalah This is a moulded blue and black under-glaze painted tile measuring 46 x 76 cm. The inscription

and the scrollwork are in relief and reserved in white on a dark blue ground; black is used to outline the white areas. The design (P1. VIIIb) is standard for ceramic tombstones and mihrabs of the I3th-I4th centuries A.D. A few centimetres of it have been set into the plaster floor, rendering the first and last words of the outer inscription illegible.

The outer inscription reads:

9~1;11 le i

0 ** iw ;*A__w 1



THE MASJID-I 'ALI, QUHRUJD: ARCHITECTURAL AND EPIGRAPHIC SURVEY 63

".... this blessed mosque in the year eighty-three from 'Abd al-Nabi, may God bless him and give him peace, the poor slave Muhammad b. Fadl All~ h b. 'All Quhrudi ordered the renovation of the structure of this blessed mosque in Jumida I of the year ... "

This formula is most unusual. The opening word may have been bunfya " it was built ", though I have not been able to find any parallel example. The reading 'an" from " is dubious. The date 83 may either refer to a local tradition of the founding of the mosque, or more likely the hundreds have been left out. Across the top of the inner inscription is written the shahdda, " There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Prophet of God ".

Under this is inscribed Sura I 12. Written on the capitals of the inner pair of columns is found the signature of the potter:

" The work of Yfisuf [b.] 'Ali b. Muhammad [.....] the potter of Qashdn."

The inscription is chipped in several places, but there is no doubt that this is the last recorded member of the famous Abli Tahir potting family, whose surviving work covers more than a century.9 Yiisuf, the last member, is known for two outstanding pieces-the lustre mihrab from the Imamzdda Yalhy in Veramin,10 dated 705/1305, and the large lustre mihrab from the Imdmzdda Ja'far in Qumm dated 734/1334.11 This signature helps us to read what is left of the date on the blue-and-white tile: we have units beginning with sin which must be either six (sitta) or seven (sab'a); tens beginning with 'ain representing either ten ('ashara) or twenty ('ishrin); the sin of the hundreds must be read as seven (sab'a mi'a). Four possibilities result: 716, 717, 726 or 727 (1316-27 A.D.). The tile is not of the highest quality, and it would be pointless to try to decide between them. The special interest of this tile is that it is, to my knowledge, the only piece signed by a member of this lustre-potting family that is not lustre ware.12 Blue and white tiles of this kind are not common. Perhaps the same potter made the four other known dated pieces of this type: the frieze tiles dated 705/1305, the mihrabs dated 719/1319 and 722/1322,13 and a piece more recently published, the bottom half of a mihrab dated 71 1/131 1.14

Tiles in the Masjid-i 'Ali The tiles are set in panels in the mihrab, on either side of the door and in spandrels above the entrance

arch. The lustre tiles are six-pointed and measure 18-19 cms. across the largest diameter; the lustre is brownish and still lustrous, the patterns are emphasized with touches of blue and turquoise. They alternate with hexagonal tiles glazed in opaque turquoise. Round the panels on either side of the door is a border of dark-blue eight-pointed stars and turquoise crosses. Set in the mihrab are some 78 whole lustre tiles and over 90 half pieces, and in each panel by the door are 40 whole and Io half tiles. In the spandrels are set some 25 whole and more than 6 half tiles; others were hidden by the pieces of cloth draped over the beam just in front of them and these proved impossible to record.15

9 "

Genealogical Tables of the Principle Faience Workers of Kashan ", Survey, p. 1666. One can still make out the remains of a few letters where the tile is chipped between " Mulham- mad " and "the Potter "; they would certainly suit a reading of Ibn Abt Tdhir.

10 Ettinghausen, " List of Dated Persian Faience ", Survey, p. 1683, No. 87 (hereafter referred to as " List ..."). 11 Y. A. Godard, " Pihces Dat6es de CUramique de Kishn & D6cor Lustr6 ", Athdr-e'Iran II (1937), PP- 309-17, figs. 139-43.

12s Bu Tdhir Husain, who signed a mina'i bowl, may be an earlier generation of this family; no other pieces of his work are known, see Wiet, " L'epigraphie Arabe ... ", Memoires de 1'Institut d'ligypte XXVI (I935), No. Io and pl. III.

1i " List ... ", Survey, p. I690, No. 157, p. 1691, Nos. 163 and 164. This last was more recently published by Ettinghausen, " Comments on Later Islamic Ceramics ", Artibus Asiae XXXV (1973), p. 169, fig. 7.

14 Islamische Keramik (Hetjens Museum, Dusseldorf I973), p. 138, entry I85. 15 By

" half tile " I mean a large fragment, usually exactly a half, broken from a complete tile. There are no tiles made as half stars. Numbers given for the total of stars, the numbers in the various panels, and the numbers of each of the various inscriptions will be found not to tally. Various tiles proved impossible to read, either from excessive damage, removing most of the inscription, or by their inaccessibility for photographing. In the course of study I have tried to match up the half tiles, but out of a total of more than a hundred pieces, I was able to match only three pairs. Others may have escaped my notice, but a better idea of the original total is perhaps gained by adding the numbers of wholes and halves, resulting in a total of about 300. Of these, the inscriptions of about 50 have not been identified for the reasons given above.




Their fragmentary state is explained by the fact that, shortly before I900, thieves stole both the tiles and the door. A local " posse " was formed, and the tiles and door recovered. The inscriptions dated I317/I900 are of the resetting.le Many of the tiles must have been severely damaged when removed. We know nothing of their former positions, and it is very possible that the mihrab may have been modified when the tiles were reset-in the head of the central niche is a plaster moulding of a corded ring with a protruding central boss that would well suit a 19th century date (PI.I a)."7

The only exception to the six-pointed lustre stars is one, set into the spandrels, of the usual eight- pointed variety. This singleton is inexplicable in terms of the decoration as it now stands. Presumably it either formed part of a panel of such stars which were not recovered with the others, or it entered the building for the first time with the others in 1900oo.18

The tiles divide into two main groups; the larger containing Quranic quotations consists of some 125 whole tiles, 75 half tiles and numerous small fragments. They are dated as a group 700/1300. The second smaller group comprises 34 whole tiles, 20 half ones, and fragments, and is inscribed with Persian poetry. As a group they are dated 707/1307. The decoration of the two groups is closely related.

The First Group These are dated 46 times in numerals and 19 times in words. In words the date reads sanna sab'a mi'a

" the year seven hundred ", occasionally prefixed by kutiba " it was written ". It occurs once as kutiba rabi' al-awwal sanna sa'ba mi'a " written (in the month of) Rabi' I of the year seven hundred ", giving the more precise date of November-December 1300. The tiles dated in numerals are mostly marked Y o but Yo * and y * * occur often enough to show that the signs of the circle and the dot both equal zero (Pls.Ib and c, II a and b). The group is certainly of one date; and the numerals cannot indicate dates as widely separated as 700, 750 and 755 (1300-1354).19 The Quranic quotations are:

No. of times Sura Verses occurring

I. (Opening) all 24 2. (The Cow) 255-6 (Throne verse) 5 2. (The Cow) 285 6 3. (The House of 'Imrin) I90-I I 5. (The Table) 55 2

18. (The Cave) 1-2 3 18. (The Cave) 22 I 36. (Ya-S.n) I-6 11 40. (The Believers) 15-16 3 41. (The Distinguished) 30-1 8 48. (Victory) 1-3 27 57. (Iron) 1-4 I 76. (Man) 1-3 24 86. (The Night-Star) i-6 I

97. (Power) all 57 io8. (Abundance) all to I I0. (Help) all 2

112. (Sincere Religion) all 6 I 14. (Men) all 6

16 My thanks to 'Abd al-Karim Karimi for this information (note 7).

17 Such a deep rectangular recess with side niches would be unusual for a 14th century mihrab; the mihrab of the Masjid-i Kalah is by no means as deep. The shape and decoration of both would however suit a Safavid or later date. The recesses between the piers facilitate the construction of a new mihrab at a date later than that of the building.

18 We do not know how many tiles were originally in the mosque, or what proportion of them was recovered. In view of the scarcity of this type in European public and private collections, one may perhaps presume that most were recovered (see below, note 37). The eight-pointed star is of a well-known series dated variously in the second half of the 13th century.

19 See appendix below.



THE MASJID-I 'ALi, Q UHR.fD:

ARCHITECTURAL AND EPIGRAPHIC SURVEY 65

Study of the use of Quranic inscriptions in buildings is still at an early stage, and it is therefore difficult to determine the significance of this choice of verses. However, it is interesting to compare this selection with that of the lustre tiles in the mausoleum of Pir-i Husain at Bakik,20 where the commonest suras are I12 (27 times), I 14 (23 times), i 10 (10 times) and sura I (19 times). All these are relatively scarce amongst the tiles of the Masjid-i 'Ali, Quhr-id, (apart from the opening sura). Those that occur frequently at Quhriid (suras 36, 48, 76, and 97) are relatively uncommon in the Bdkfi mausoleum (3, 7, 2 and 4 times respectively).

The suras of the Pir-i Husain are almost entirely from the last 15 suras of the Quran. The tone of these short powerful verses, with their emphasis on man's dependence on God, the horrors of Hell, and the need for repentance, seems eminently suitable for a tomb. The verses in the Masjid-i 'Ali emphasize rather the benevolence of God and Man's duty towards Him in life, and are therefore more suitable for a mosque.

Orthographical mistakes are not rare and words are occasionally omitted or repeated, but the mistakes seem to be caused by hasty writing rather than illiteracy. Inscriptions frequently end in the middle of a phrase or even of a word. Where the inscription is too short, the space is filled with a section of the pious phrase: " God the Almighty speaks the Truth, His noble Prophet speaks the Truth." This is twice followed by: " We (are witnesses of) what our Lord said and what our Master (Muhammad) said ".21 The style of writing is uniform on all the Quranic tiles, and seems to be by a single hand. It is a free cursive with many extra ligatures, at times degenerating into complete illegi- bility.

The designs (Pls. I-III) of the tiles show considerable variety, but the number of motifs from which the patterns are composed is limited: stiff intertwining palmettes, crude flowers, borders which divide the inner area into a hexagon, and intertwining bands. There are no animals or figures among this set. Many of the patterns are very similar to those in the Pir-i Ifusain Mausoleum, which are dated 682-4/ I283-5.22 Pearl borders, rosette patterns, and half-palmettes match closely those in the Quhrfid mosque. Various of these elements are found in lustre tiles of a much later date. In a group dated 738/1338, the pearl border is found with degenerate forms of the central rosette.23 Such conservatism is characteristic of the Kashan lustre potters, from whose ateliers these tiles evidently issued.

The Second Group The tiles of this group, unlike those of the first, are inscribed with Persian verse and bear the date

707/1307, which in its full form reads: Fi ghurra rabi' al-dkhir sanna saba' wa-sab'a mi'a " At the beginning of the month Rabi' II of the year seven-hundred and seven " (Pl. Vc). This occurs in full five times; a curtailed form only giving the month or ' ... the year seven ', occurs some fifteen times (Pl. IVb and c, Va and d). None of this group is dated in numerals. The tiles are of exactly the same shape and size as the Quranic group, and their decoration is closely related though not identical. The parrots and phoenix well known on other lustre pieces appear on some examples of this group (Pls. IVc, Vd).24 The hand in which the poetry is written differs distinctly from that of the Quranic group. It is smaller and more angular, neater though no more legible.

The poetry falls into two classes, both previously known on lustre ware; the erotic quatrain, and selections from the Shdhndma of Firdausi.25 Of the nine inscriptions occurring more than once, two are quotations from the Shdhndma and two are erotic quatrains. Two single tiles contain further quotations

2o V. A. Kratchkovskaya, Les Faiences du Mausolle de Pir-Houssein (Tbilisi 1946, in Russian with a French r6sum6), pp. 8o-i. The analysis given there is of a total of Io2 tiles.

21 This formula is commonly found on lustred tiles and mihrabs. See e.g. A. Lane, Guide to the Collection of Tiles (London, HMSO, I96O), pl. I, where it occurs twice.

22 Kratchkovskaya, op. cit., Pls. X, XIV, XVIII, XIX. 23 Ettinghausen, " Evidence for the Identification of KdIshan

Pottery ", Ars Islamica III (1936), fig. 21. 24 The one Quranic tile that seems to have served as a model for

many of the poetic group is shown on Pl. IIc. Cf. the poetical

tiles Pls. IVb and Vb; compare also Pls. Ha and Vc. 25 See especially, M. Bahrami, Gurgan Faiences (Cairo 1949),

pp. I 14-20, and by the same author, Recherches sur les Carreaux de Revitement Lustre' (Paris 1937), pp. 65-9, 93-103. For selections from the Shdhndma, see Gyuzalyan, " Frieze Tiles of the 13th century with Poetic Fragments ", Epigrafika Vostoka III

(I949), pp. 72-82, and by the same author, " An Extract of the Shahndma on Pottery of the I3th and I4th centuries ", Epigra- fika Vostoka (1951), pp. 40-55 (in Russian: review and r6sum6 in English by O. Grabar, Ars Orientalis II (1957), p. 55I).




from the Shdhndma. The remaining inscriptions remain for the moment undeciphered ofr indecipherable, and for the most part occur on single tiles. From the phrases that are legible, they would appear to be further examples of erotic quatrains.

From the Shdhndma:26

(I) On a single tile (P1. IVa).27 Chapter I, lines 1-2, 4-5: In the name of the Lord of soul and wisdom Than Whom thought can conceive nothing greater Lord of name and Lord of place Lord the Provider and Guide He is above name and sign and imagination Beyond the painter's art, He is the Essence You will not see the Creator with your eyes (so do not hurt them by trying).

(2) On eight tiles (P1. IVb).28 Chapter I2c, lines 23-4, 26: From the priest we remember in this way That at dawn Rustam prepared His heart was troubled, he prepared for hunting He fastened his belt, his quiver was full of arrows He turned towards the borders of Turan Like a lion fierce and vengeful.

(3) On three tiles, (P1. IVc).29 Chapter 15, lines 2507-8, 2511: Now one must drink delicious wine For the scent of musk comes from the river The sky full of noise, the land full of commotion Happy is he who has a happy heart in drink

Every garden is beneath the leaf of the rose Every mountain full of tulips and hyacinths.

(4) On a single tile (P1. Vb).30 Chapter I2d, line 17:

Everything that you sow you will reap, Everything you say you will hear.

Quatrains (I) On seven tiles (P1. IVd).31

Satiated men of the world eager for your kindness Heroes of the world frightened of separation from you What have the gazelles in the desert (to compare) with your eyes The lions of the world are caught in your hair.

26 References are to the edition of the Shuhndma by Siydqi, in 6 vols. (Tehran 1956). Variant readings found on the tiles are sometimes found in Shdkh-Ndme. Kritichesky Tekst ... ed. E. G. Bertel (Moscow i960), and in the Epigrafika Vostoka articles mentioned above.

27 C.f. Gyuzalyan, op. cit., p. 75 and fig. I (a frieze tile in the Hermitage that shows an extract from these lines).

2s Gyuzalyan, op. cit., p. 76, fig. 72 (frieze tile in the Museum for Eastern Culture, Moscow). His article in Epigrafika Vostoka (1951) is entirely concerned with tiles that have extracts of the Shdhndma from a small portion of the text, starting with the extract given here (section 2) and continuing for some 30 lines.

His figs. 3, 7-10o, show three tiles and a vessel whose inscriptions reproduce exactly those lines that appear on these eight tiles from Quhrid.

29 GyuzalyaAi, op. cit., p. 79, and fig. 5, shows a frieze tile in the British Museum that has the first couplet of this extract. These verses are also found on a tile from Ddmghan in the Louvre, see Bahrami, Recherches sur les Carreaux .. ., p. Io7. 30 This line is unrecorded elsewhere.

31 See Bahrami, Gurgan Faiences, p. 12o, for other vessels inscribed with this verse. It occurs very frequently on tiles of the late I3th- early 14th century.



THE MASJID-I 'ALI, QUHROfD: ARCHITECTURAL AND EPIGRAPHIC SURVEY 67

(2) On four tiles (P1. Va).32 Oh heart do not seek help from any mortal Or seek shade from a bare branch

Glory is from contentment, distress from desire Be content with your happiness, seek not distress.

The choice of Shdhndma quotations shows that the verses were not chosen to form part of a continuous narrative. The same verses are repeated on several different tiles, and the different sections are from unrelated stories widely separated in the text. The fact that the very same verses are noted to occur on other tiles, and in one case on a vessel, of Kashan manufacture would suggest that significance of choice lay in something other than narrative quality.

The first section of the Shdhndma is religious in character and it is not surprising to find such a quotation in a mosque. The remaining poetry is distinctly secular, like the many other similar examples that have been recorded on Kashan lustre tiles. This has led to the general assumption that such tiles were intended for secular use;33 there is however a certain amount of evidence that this was not the case. Tiles with " secular " poems have been recorded in at least two other religious buildings: the mausoleum of Pir-i Husain at Bkfi34 and the Imizmdda Ja'far in

Dtmghmn.35 It has been claimed that the

tiles in the Imdmzdda Ja'far were transferred from a ruined palace to the tomb for safe keeping.36 In the case of Quhriad, there are strong arguments against a similar explanation. Firstly, lustre tiles of this particular shape (six-pointed stars formed by two equilateral triangles superimposed) are rare. To my knowledge there are only a handful of tiles of this shape known, mostly smaller (14 cm) than the Quhrfid group and distinctly different in design.37 There is only one comparable in size and shape to the Quhraid tiles sc. a tile in the Victoria and Albert Museum (No. 561-I900). Its inscription and decoration can be directly paralleled among those in the Quhrfid group.38 It is written in the same hand as the Quhriid tiles and is dated 700/1300 in words. It was acquired by the museum in 1900 from the Mayer collection.39 It is reasonable to regard this as one of the tiles stolen from Quhriid either in I900 with the other tiles or possibly earlier. Secondly, the poetic group at Quhriid is identical to the Quranic group in size and quality, and very similar in decoration (cf. note 24). This fact, when considered with the rarity of the shape, and despite a difference of seven years in date of manufacture, would suggest that they were intended to form part of a single decorative scheme.

The hypothesis that a wealthy individual in Quhriid ordered a set of lustre tiles for his private abode which happened to be very similar to those in the mosque, and that at a later date his tiles were installed alongside those in the mosque, and that a similar process of transferring lustre tiles from a private resi- dence to a religious building took place in at least two other cases many hundreds of miles away, presents such a number of coincidences that the theory becomes suspect. The implications of the contrary view- that tiles with poetical inscriptions were intended for religious buildings-are beyond the scope of this paper.40

"2 This verse is unrecorded elsewhere. 33 Bahrami, " Le probleme des Ateliers d'•toiles de Faience

Lustr6e ", Revue des Arts Asiatiques X (1936), p. 187; A. Lane, Early Islamic Pottery (London 1947), p. 39; Wilber, The Architecture of Islamic Iran (Princeton 1955), p. Ii I, entry I3.

84 Kratchkovskaya, op. cit., p. 82-4. 83 Bahrami, op. cit., pp. I86-89. 36 Wilber, op. cit., entry 13 and bibliography. 37 One is published in W. Hein, Friihe Islamische Keramik (Vienna

I963), Tafel XVIII, another in E. Atil, Ceramicsfrom the World oflslam (Freer Gallery, Washington 1973), fig. 34. A tile in the Mus6e des Arts Decoratifs in Paris (No. 2252), whose decoration is similar to some stars in the mosque at Quhrfid, is smaller

(I6"5 cm) and has no inscription border. See also Denkmdler

Persischer Baukunst (Berlin 90oi-io), Abb. 75; and Riviere, La Ciramique Musulmane (Paris 1913), tile illustrated at the end of

the list of plate illustrations. 38 Cf. P1. Ic. The Victoria and Albert Museum tile contains sura

18, verses 1-2, which occurs three times among the tiles in

Quhrfid. 3S I am unable to discover when it entered that collection. 40 The objection that, in the case of the Imamzdda Ja'far, tiles

with pictures of animals and persons cannot have been intended for a religious building, is not sustainable. On the tomb of Habib b. Mfisd in Kashan, where a number of lustre tiles are preserved, are several pictures of animals and two with persons, to which there is no objection at the present time (A. U. Pope, " New Findings in Persian Ceramics of the Islamic Period ", Bull. Amer. Inst. Iranian Art and Archaeology V/2 (1937), pp. 155- 6, fig. 7). Tiles painted with animals and quotations from the Quran are common, though as yet no tile with persons and Quranic quotations has been brought to light.




Other Ceramic Inscriptions in the Mihrab In the main mihrab niche are set two ceramic slabs (Pl. VIIIa). The first is a turquoised-glazed tile,

of a well known type.41 It measures 44 x 36 cm. and contains two inscriptions, one being sura 112 of the Quran. In the spandrels of the arch and continuing in the field between the columns is the following:

-' Lbm1m3w* f*I .0Lm*_LI ~J ~l*J \isJA,*-n J

" The weak slave 'Abd al-Wdhid b. Muhammad Quhrfidi

ordered this mosque to be built in the year seven hundred and eight ". The year of the hundreds is somewhat puzzling. The glaze has run thick at the bottom obscuring the relief moulding. The date must read " seven hundred ' as the name is the same as that of the donor of the door, also dated seven hundred. Two extra letters seem to have been included at the beginning of this word. The difference between this date and that on the door is perhaps explicable by the time taken to erect and decorate the monument. Above this is another tile with in-

scriptions in lustre on an opaque white background. It was originally much larger: the text is in Persian verse, and on the left hand edge (bottom edge of P1. VIIIa) can be seen the beginnings of yet more verses, so at most only half the complete tile remains. The tile has a large fragment missing, replaced by bits from another part of the tile. The text is in a naskh hand tending towards nasta'liq, and generally rather illegible; few phrases can be read. At the end is the date:

wa-kutiba f awdkhir .Safar\khutima

bi 'l-khair wa 'l-gafar/li-(sanna) sitta wa thalathin wa-sab'a mi'a.

" finished well and with success, written in the last days of Safar in the year 736/ September-October 1335 "-

The Door The door consists of a series of wooden panels with inscriptions. It frames the entrance, and has a

total height of 2 *75 m. and a width of 2 Io m. Two side panels stop at a height of 70 cm. from the ground where stone benches project from the wall (P1. VIa). The panels are joined by border elements through which at a later stage large-headed metal nails have been driven, perhaps in the resetting after the robbery (Pls. VIb and VIIa). The inscriptions are each carved from single planks of wood, each leaf of the door is a plank measuring 170 X 48 x

7"5 cm. (P1. VIb). The background to the inscriptions

and the leaves of the door are carved in a fine " miniature-bevelled " style. The border elements are carved in a style that became the norm in later wood-carving; intertwining palmettes and scrolls are raised from the background, but their surfaces are not modelled, leaving a " carving in two planes ". The leaves are carved to imitate the lattice work frequently found in wood-work of this and later periods. The minbar in the mosque at Nd'in42 dated 711II, eleven years later than the Quhrfid door, provides an

interesting comparison. It is constructed from lattice work but many of the panels contain carving in the " miniature-bevelled " style of Quhrfid.43 A door with mock lattice work, and carving in the background similar to that at Quhriid is found at the entrance of the Shah Kamaliyya Madrasa in Yazd. This door is uninscribed but the building is of the 14th century A.D.44 The main historical inscription of the Quhrid door is written in a monumental naskh. The other inscriptions are either in the standard Kufic of the period, or in rather more advanced hands. The variety of scripts is remarkable, and their

quality extremely high. If this is-as it appears to be-the work of one calligrapher, one can only be astonished at such a virtuoso display.

41 For comparative material, see Iraj Afshar, Yddgdrhd-yi Tazd (Tehran 1348), pp. 50-1, and plates on p. 472-3; and " List ... ", Survey, Nos. 142, 152, I58, 159 and 161.

42 M. B. Smith, " The Wood Minbar in the Masdjid-i Djimi', NAin ", Ars Islamica V (1938), pp. 21-35.

** Smith, op. cit., cf. pls. 3, 4, 5 and I2. "* Wilber, op. cit., entry I 3, gives the date as 792/1390. The build-

ing is earlier, dating from the first quarter of the 14th century A.D. For this information I am grateful to Professor Renata Holod.



THE MASJID-I 'ALI, QUHRUD: ARCHITECTURAL AND EPIGRAPHIC SURVEY 69

(I) The historical inscription reads:

3Jmwm~~~LmsYI d?.e eJCI Jt CLlslJ muIJ~ ~\ ., ~ A

J.A..*J I I jiIj Id IIJI C-1

csr?J eA~i LJJ 4.p [, c~l~ W- p4U ~LJp..miJ13? -I I-

%AJ .j W I ") l it jmljli

1 CIL --It,-~c?

" Ordered the building of this mosque and ablution place the Leader, the Imam, the Wise, the King of the Virtuous and the Khatibs, the Glorious One of the Qa7dis, the Mufti of the Age, the Nu'mdn of the Era, the Model of the Shaikhs and the Verifiers, the Crown of the Community and Religion, 'Abd-al Wahid son of the Happy, the Leader, the Imam, the King of the 'Ulama' and the Virtuous, the Glory of Iraq, the Seal of the Age, the Star of the Community and Religion, Muhammad son of the late, the Happy, the King of the 'Ulama' and the Virtuous, Ornament of the Pilgrims and the Two Sanc- tuaries, the Star of the Community and Religion 'Ali son of the Happy, the Leader, the King of the Great and the Virtuous, the Glorious One of the Qadis, the Mufti of the Sects, Ornament of the Pilgrims and the two Sanctuaries, the Guide of the Religion Ahmad son of Muhammad son of 'Abdallah, son of 'Ali the Quhrfidi, may God forgive their sins. The poor slave Muhammad son of 'Ali son of Mujib the carver from Isfahan wrote this ".45

(2) The topmost panel is in Persian verse, and records the vision seen prior to the erection of the Mosque.

By the Grace of God, the Pure, the Judge Noble, Creator, Living, Powerful. One night in sleep I saw Murtatad Prince, glory of the Family of the Prophet (Xl-i 'Abd). He said 'Abd Wahid, be a master I command every sort of building to you. The foundation of a mosque, mihrab and minbar Also an ablution place and all that pertained thereto. When the Commander of the Faithful had given his order At once the means were prepared for me.

Suddenly some stones appeared Some young men were there to help.

41 I can find no reference to the patron of the building. The calligrapher (who may or may not be the carpenter) is not recorded by Mayer, Islamic Woodcarvers and their Works (Geneva 1958); two carpenters sign themselves as naqqdr " carver"

(pp. 38 and 42). In the second inscription is the signature of Ustid

.HIjji, who is equally unknown. Possibly he carved the

work to the other's design, as the latter only records himself as the calligrapher.




By his order I placed the foundation in marble So that it rose up level. When I had to fulfil this sign I constructed this building to the limit of my means. The hope is that it will be a monument I shall not remain, may it remain for a period. Perchance a pious man and a man of pure faith Will recite a prayer for this place. Lord, You are the Knower of secrets That I have many faults and transgressions. I have not a good foundation for worship Except faith and submission and contentment.

By Your grace make this slave happy By Your justice make me free. Make my hope of approach to Your court permissible Make Mustafa an intercessor for us. For the Sake of the Walis and the people of rd-sin And for Hd-mim and Td-ha and Td-sin.

These last letters refer to formulae found at the beginning of various suras of the Quran: Ya-sin = Sura 36, Ijt-mim = Suras 40-6 inclusive,

T.-ha = Sura, 20, and Ta-sin = Sura 27. In this connection,

there is obviously reference to some esoteric interpretation of these prefixes whose meaning is now lost. 46

Each line of the panel contains four couplets. Set between the lines in the bottom right-hand corner is the phrase 'amal Ustdd

.Hdjji,

" Work of the Master Hajji ". On either side of the door are panels containing religious poems in Persian and Quranic and religious

quotations in Arabic:

(3) Right-hand side a. I turn to God from Satan the Accursed b. Quran, sura 68, verses 51-2 c. Quran, sura 38, verse 42, This is a washing place, cool and a drink. d. The root and branch of prayer is ablution

The prayer is " There is no god but He ". Lawful prayer cannot go towards God Unless you have performed ablution. When by the grace of God it is finished By the leave of Mustafa a prayer of peace. The man who made this pleasing building Oh Lord, by Your grace accept [it] from him. His name derived from the stem of unity His abode founded on eternal grace. He asks from noble pilgrims One Fdtiha from a pure heart. When our desire had come to completion The hijri year had come to dhdl (=700ooI300).47

46 E.Lx, art. " IKur')n ", section 15. 4' Dhll equals 700 in the Abjad system of counting (E.I.x, art.

"Abdjad "). This is a very early use of this system in dating buildings.



THE MASJID-I 'AL1, QUHRUD: ARCHITECTURAL AND EPIGRAPHIC SURVEY 71

(4) Left-hand side a. Indeed God is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. b. Quran, sura 19, verse 98. c. And with God is the best Protection. d. ? (reading undecipherable)

If you wish the Ka'ba to become prosperous Make the hearts of the pious happy. With love be loving to every person Be like the sun of the world to everybody. Do not fault a person, for that is not pleasing For God knows how He created him. Be generous, for any person who is generous I am not allowed to call unbeliever. While the master was erecting this door The owner was asking for one Fatiha. Oh God, forgive that slave Who sincerely recites the Fdtiha. In the month of Rabi II of the year 7oo/December 1300.

(5) Above the door in Kufic script: a. Quran, sura 9, verse I8 b. There is no god but God the Explicit Truth,

Muhammad is the Prophet of God, the sincere, the faithful.

(6) On the leaves of the door are carved two traditions: a. The Prophet, upon whom be peace, said, Whosoever builds a mosque for God, be it only

like a nest of a sand grouse, God will build him a house in Heaven. b. The like of a believer in a mosque is the whale in the sea, the like of a hypocrite in a mosque

is a bird in a cage.48

These inscriptions provide us with much information. The patron is a local religious leader of some note, as were his father, grand-father and great-grand-father. Their titles reveal some connection with Sufism; " Model of the Shaikhs and the Verifiers ", qadwat al-mashdyikh wa 'l-muhaqqiqin, would suggest this. Their Shi'ism is revealed by the vision of 'Ali, the first Imam (Murtadd and " Commander of the Faithful " can only refer to him in this context; reference to the " family of the Prophet " meaning Muhammad, 'Ali, Fdtima, IHasan and IHusain confirms this). The patron's concern with ablution is reflected in the inscriptions. The ablution place, siqdya, is referred to in the historical inscription (Inscription No. I) and in the record of the vision (Inscription No. 2), and is referred to in the Quranic quotation and poem on the right-hand side of the door (Inscription No. 3/c and d).

To construct the mihrab as he has been ordered, he acquires tiles from Kashan (a strong Shi'ite centre); the door he orders from Isfahan, which was strongly Sunnite.49

The poems on the tiles and the door show something of the spirit of popular Shi'ism at this time, perhaps explicable by the influence of Sufism. The contents and spirit of inscription No. 2 are closely matched by those of a lustred faience plaque recording the foundation of a Shi'ite religious building in

48 The first tradition occurs in the major collections of the IHadith, though without reference to the sandgrouse, see A. J. Wensinck, Concordance et Indices de la Tradition Musulmane I (Leiden 1933 ff.), p. 221. A contemporary, though slightly abbreviated example of the version on the Quhrfid door, is found on Uljaitu's mihrab in the Friday mosque at Isfahan,

M. van Berchem, " Une Inscription du Sultan Mongol Uldjaitu," Me'langes Derenbourg (Paris 1909), p. 370. I have been unable to trace the other tradition.

49A. Bausani, "Religion in the Saljuq Period ", Cambridge History of Iran V (1968), p. 285, and " Religion under the Mongols ", op. cit., p. 543.




Kashan itself.50 Visions of Shi'ite saints seem to have prompted the foundation of numbers of holy buildings of Shi'ite faith in Iran.

The evidence that the mosque is Shi'ite dispenses with one problem that might have otherwise arisen, as surviving evidence shows that when lustre tiles are found in a religious context, they are found almost exclusively in Shi'ite buildings. Though Kashan was one of the Shi'ite centres of this period, IHamdalldh Mustawfi notes in 740/1339 that the surrounding area is Sunnite.51 The lack of lustre tiles in buildings in the immediate environs of Kashan is noticeable. The Masjid-i 'All is certainly Shi'ite, but the Masjid-i Kalah possesses nothing to indicate its creed. Might one hypothesize that this latter was the Sunni mosque of a village in which both sects lived ?

That lustre tiles are found in a mosque is also noteworthy; of the dozen or so buildings in which lustre tiles have been recorded, only one is secular (the Kiosk on Takht-i Sulaimin),52 and only one other mosque is known (the Masjid-i Maydin in Kashan).53 The remaining buildings are all mausolea of one sort or another.54

Quhriid probably had close connections with Kashan as the nearest large Shi'ite centre, and may even have had special connections with the potters. Though Quhriid is not mentioned in Abfi 'l-Qasim's text on pottery production, he names Qamsar as the source for cobalt which the potters used to produce blues.55 Quhrtid is but a few kilometres from Qamsar over the mountains. Wulff refers to the cobalt mines as being "... between the villages of Gujar and Kohrrid (Quhraid) ".56 The locals of Quhriid remember lead mines in their hills which they say only closed down a few years ago. Lead was an indispensable substance in Kashan pottery production, as Abai 'l-Qasim's text shows.57 Any connection with either of these substances in mining or transport would have brought the villagers in close contact with the potters.

Dating of the Masjid-i 'Ali There is nothing absolutely to indicate that the structure of the building is contemporary with the

tiles and the door, these being easily removed and replaced in a later building. However, all the inscriptions are of a limited period (70o-736/1300-1335), except for those installed when the tiles were reset. The Masjid-i Kalah, built of the same elements and of essentially the same type as the Masjid-i 'Ali also has its major inscription dated in this period (716-27/1316-27). The keel-arches are characteristic of the Mongol period. This would all support the argument that the buildings are contemporary with their inscriptions, though it is by no means conclusive. Until contrary evidence is produced it remains, however, the logical conclusion. The chronology is then as follows:

700/I300 Founding of the mosque, door and tiles installed. 707/1307 Installing of second set of tiles.

708/13O8 Second foundation inscription installed. 736/1335 Panel of poetry installed. c. 1200/1785, Zamistdn built on in south-west corner. 131.7/1900 Tiles and door stolen, recovered and reset, possible modifying of the mihrab.

c.I380/I960 (1339 Shamsi) Zamistan collapses, new mosque and porch built on its foundations. Door and stair-case built in north-east corner of old mosque.

50 C. Adle, " Un Disque de Fondation en C6ramique ", Journal Asiatique (1972), PP. 277-97.

61 Nuzhat al-Qulifb, ed. Siyaqi (Tehran 1336), p. 74- 52 R. Naumann, " Ein K6sk im Sommerpalast des Abaqa Chan ... ", Forschungen zur Kunst Asiens (Istanbul x969), pp. 35-65.

53 Dieulafoy, La Perse ... (Paris 1887), p. 204. On p. 206 she publishes a picture of it still in situ. See also " List ... " Survey, No. 38 and pl. 704.

24 A preliminary list is as follows: Shrines at Meshhed and Qumm, Mausolea at Najaf; Pir-i IHusain, BS.kfi; Pir-i Bakrin,

Isfahan; Shah Kamil, Yazd; 'Abd al-Samad, Natanz; Imrmzida Ja'far, Dimgh~n; 'Ali b. Ja'far, Qumm; Ijabib b. Mfasi, Kashan; Yahyd, Veramin; and Ja'far, Qumm.

15 Abi'l-Qaisim is the brother of Yiasuf b. 'Ali (note 9) and wrote his treatise in 700oo13oo, see " Abfi'l-Qasim's Treatise on Ceramics ", trans. J. W. Allan, Iran XI (1973), p. I 12, para 8.

5 Wulff, The Traditional Crafts of Persia (Cambridge, Mass., 1966), p. I63.

57 Iran XI, pp. 112-3, paras. 13 and 19.



THE MASJID-I 'ALI, QUHRfJD: ARCHITECTURAL AND EPIGRAPHIC SURVEY 73

Conclusion The lustre tiles in the Masjid-i 'All and their inscriptions have provided much information on the use

of this ware. It suggests that tiles with poetical quotations were intended for religious buildings; it confirms the Shi'ite connection of such wares; it demonstrates the conservatism of the potters in their decoration and choice of inscription; and it shows that Quranic quotation is not necessarily random or insignificant. It removes some uncertainties of numeral dating in this period. The mosque itself intro- duces a new type of small local building with several interesting features that persist in modern times. The door by its early date, its signature, its calligraphic and literary interest, its excellent craftsmanship and state of preservation, ranks among the most important pieces of Iranian woodwork yet to have come to light.

Appendix: Numeral Dating on Lustre-Ware A circle in modern Arabic numerals always means five, and zero is represented by a dot. The use of

the circle in the dating of lustre vessels, has however, always provided problems. Kiihnel referred to two pieces dated with this sign-a fragment in the Berlin Museum dated 7 Y, and a tile in the Boston Museum similarly dated (Fig. 4, 2 and 3),58 and read both dates as 657. Ettinghausen in his article on Kashan wares repeats the 657 date for the Boston tile, but in his list of dated faience in the Survey refers to the possibility of the circle equalling zero as " ... another form of 5 seems to have been customary (2) so that o might have stood for modern."59 On a blue and white tile dated ,Y g he reads the

. 6 8. VoO

2. 4oV I 9s. 4

3. k ov 10o.0

6. 12.

7. '(A) Fig. 4. Tracings of Dates on Lustre Ware in numerals showing fives and zeros; not to scale.

date as 705 rather than 755 (or 754 as it had been read by Wiet60) because " . .. the second figure of the date given in numbers is so small that it should be read as o ".61 Bahrami in 1936 had already decided that the tiles dated 7 b V must be read as 607, as one is signed by a potter who signed and dated works in the first decade of the 7th century A.H. A working life of nearly 50 years he considers too long. 6 The style of these pieces dated in numerals corresponds exactly with those dated in words to the first decade of the 7th century A.H. We know of no pieces signed by him, or in the same style, after about 612. We cannot expect that after 45 years the artist produced a few more tiles in the style of almost half a century before, and dated them with numerals. Stylistically, the tiles belong to the first

'8 Kiihnel, " Dated Persian Lustre Pottery ", Eastern Art III (1931), p. 227.

59 Ettinghausen, " Evidence for the Identification of Kashan Pottery ", p. 46, and " List ... ", Survey, p. 1677, note 4.

7A

60 Wiet. Album du Musle Arabe du Caire (Cairo 1930), pl. 64. 61 " List . .. ", Survey, p. 69o0, note 2. 62 Bahrami, " Le Problme des Ateliers ... ", pp. I84-5.




decade of the century, and the circle must be read as zero. This reading raises no problems when con- sidering other pieces dated in numerals of this period. There are known to this author 28 dates between 598/1202 and 738/1337 that are represented on lustre ware by numerals, of which ten contain five or zero:63

(I) 598 Lobed plate"4 (2) 607 Tile65 (3) 607 Fragmentary tile66 (4) 654 Plate67 (5) 665 ^Star tile, DImghdn68 (6) 665 Mihrab tile69

(7) 685 Star tile70 (8) 700 Star tiles, Quhrid71 (9) 701 Star tile72

(10) 705 Mihrab, Veramin73

(11) 707 Mihrab tile74 (12) 7Io Star tile75

The crucial dates are Nos. 2, 3, 8, 1o and I I, where the small circle might be argued to represent five. However, in each case the circle must be read as zero for stylistic reasons. The arguments for so reading the circles on Nos. 2, 3 and 8 have been given above, and similar arguments apply to the other two cases. Both pieces suit a date in the early 8th century A.H. and to try to fit them into a mid-8th century date would create enormous problems in the stylistic development of this ware, not least from the fact that dated pieces of lustre ware of this type after 740 are unknown.76 To explain two singletons dated in numerals after this date would stretch any hypothesis, and in view of the evidence provided by the

Quhrid tiles, and that of the 607 tiles, one cannot doubt the reading of the circle as zero. If this is accepted, then it will be seen that no case occurs where a five is written as any kind of circle; it always appears in the double-loop form.77 The zero is either a circle or a dot. The modern heart and circle shaped fives evidently developed from the double loop, at what date remains to be determined. The evidence shows that in this period five was written only as a double loop, and zero as a circle or dot. This holds true for lustre, mina'i and under-glaze painted wares. Other objects dated in numerals are much rarer and the problem seems not to have arisen yet.7'

s9 Mina'i and under-glaze painted wares are also known dated in numerals. These are not taken into consideration, but they raise no difficulty for the argument here given.

"* Bahrami, " A Master Potter of Kashan ", Trans. Oriental Ceramic Society (1944-5), pl. i6a.

65" "List... ", Survey, pl. 722e, No. 44. 66 Bahrami, op. cit., pl. LXVIb. " List... ", Survey, No. 45. 7 No photograph of this has ever been published. Ettinghausen

(" Important Pieces of Persian Pottery ", Ars Islamica II (1935), p. 58) describes it as similar to the Victoria and Albert Museum polo-player plate dated 604 (see Survey, pl. 703b). It is now in the collection of G. Reitlinger Esq. The second digit is a small circle and should, as in the other cases be read as zero. Mr Reitlinger kindly allowed me to see the piece, but it was too late to obtain photographs in order to trace the date for this article.

68 " List... ", Survey, No. 58 pl. 721. 69 Op. cit., No. 57. H. Wallis, The Thirteenth Century Lustred Wall

Tiles (London 1894), Fig. 39. 70 " List... ", Survey, No. 8i. Lady Evans, Lustre Pottery (London

1920o), pl. II/5. 71 See above, Pls. Ic, Ha and b, IIIa. 7s Victoria and Albert Museum No. 734b/I888. Unpublished. T' "List ... ", Survey, No. 97. H. Ritter et alii, Orientalische

Steinbacher und Persische Fayencetechnik (Istanbul 1935), pl. IV. 74 " List ... . ", Survey, No. 1oo. Ettinghausen, " Important

Pieces of Persian Pottery ", fig. I8. The last digit would seem to be 8 or 9 rather than 7.

7s " List ... ", Survey, No. io6. Ettinghausen, " Dated Persian Ceramics in Some American Museums ", B.A.LP.A.A. IV/4 (1936), fig. 9g.

76 That is to say, that star tiles and mihrabs of the Kashan type dated in words do not continue after this date (" List ... " Survey, No. 133). The I5th century A.D. pieces are of a different kind. The mihrab published as dated 751/1350 (Melikian, " The Sufi Strain in Kashan Art ", Oriental Art (1966), pp. 251-58) is much later, possibly I9th century A.D. a view with which Mr. Melikian now agrees.

7 The five of the lobed plate dated 598 is not written with a circle but with a double loop in which the upper loop has been drawn very small. The loop five in the star dated 685 is similarly distorted and the bottom loop is shown as a line.

7s Mr. Lowick of the British Museum informs me that coins of ShAh Rukh are known dated in numerals in the first decade of the 9th century hijri, where the zero is also represented by a small circle.



P1. Ia. Mihrab of the Masjid-i 'AlI, Quhruid.

P1. Ib and c. Tiles with Quranic Quotations, Masjid-i 'Ali.



Pl. II. Tiles with Quranic Quotations, Masjid-i 'Al.



Pl. III. Tiles with Quranic Quotations, Masjid-i 'Al.



Pl. IV. Tiles with Poetic Quotations, Masjid-i 'Ali.



Pl. V. Tiles with Poetic Quotations, Masjid-i 'Ali.



Pl. VIa. Door of the Masjid-i 'Ali.

P1. VIb. Detail of the door.



Pl. VIIa. Detail of the door.

Pl. VIIb. Interior, Masjid-i 'Ali.



Pl. VIIIa. Ceramic Tiles in the Mihrab Recess of the Masjid-i 'Ali. P1. VIIIb. Foundation Panel, Masjid-i Kalah, Quhriid.

P1. VIIIc. Interior, Masjid-i Kalah.



the masjid-i 'alī, quhrūd: an architectural and epigraphic survey

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