Tile Panel in the form of an Architectural Niche

Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Ahmad Babavaih

Scholars have proposed that this large three-piece mihrab-shaped panel once adorned the tomb of the Sufi shaikh 'Abd al-Samad in Natanz. In addition to its selection of Qur'anic verses, the panel includes an inscription describing itself as the work of Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Ahmad Babavaih, a known fourteenth-century tilemaker from Kashan. Indicative of the collaborative nature of this type of work, this piece also contains the signature of the calligrapher who wrote the inscription - 'Ali ibn Muhmammd ibn Fadl Allah.