The Phoenix

Here is a beautiful example of cross-cultural influence on artwork in ancient Persia (Iran) after the Mongol invasion - evidence that Islam did not prohibit the production of images of living beings in art and artifact; indeed, Islamic artists were masters at producing beautiful works of art incorporating elements of eastern and western design, depicting animal and human figures and along with intricately composed geometric patterns. This piece was featured today at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website. here are the particulars about the piece: Tile, frieze, ca. 1270–80; Ilkhanid period (1206–1353) Made in Probably Kashan, IranFritware, molded, painted in luster and blue under a transparent glaze; H. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm) W: 14 1/4 inl (36.2 cm)Rogers Fund, 1912 (12.49.4) Description This tile, with its bold design of a phoenix soaring on a background of cloud bands and its lotus border, is an excellent example of the Chinese influence on Iranian iconography following the thirteenth-century Mongol conquest. The tile, one of a long frieze with alternating phoenixes and dragons, most likely was once set on the walls of the Ilkhanid summer palace known as Takht-i Suleiman ("The Throne of Solomon") in northwestern Iran, built in the 1270s. Provenance Takht-i Sulaiman, Iran