The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Prayer Niche (Mihrab)

Prayer Niche (Mihrab)

c. 1500s or mid-1900s
Mihrab: 290.7 x 245.3 cm (114 7/16 x 96 9/16 in.); Frieze: 69.2 x 1563.5 cm (27 1/4 x 615 9/16 in.)
Location: 116 Islamic

Did You Know?

Every mihrab is oriented toward Mecca.

Description

The prayer niche (or mihrab in Arabic) is the focal point in the interior of a mosque, located in the qibla wall that faces Mecca, the holy city of Islam. Verses from the holy Qur’an, written in a form of Arabic script called thuluth, surround the mihrab. The inscription is rendered with white glaze, while the continuous arabesque vine behind the Qur’anic text is executed in gold, turquoise, and green—the color of the Prophet Muhammad and of paradise.

The inscription is from the Chapter of Light (Surah An-Nur): “Allah is the light of the Heavens and the Earth. His Light is like a niche in which is a lamp—the lamp enclosed in glass—the glass, as it were, a glistening star; lit from a blessed olive tree, neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow, even though fire touched it not. Light upon light! Allah guides whom He will to His light, and Allah sets forth parables for men, and Allah knows all things.” The artistic and calligraphic styles suggest this mihrab was made about 1500, but the physical appearance of the ceramic mosaic pieces does not. The glaze colors are too consistent, and they have not discolored from moisture seeping behind the cut tile edges. Clay substrates of the tiles were tested in 2001 using thermoluminescence to determine the date the tiles were fired. The results indicated that the tiles were modern, made between 1941 and 1961, and they are under further examination.
  • In the ceramic mosaic technique, the design is formed of individual pieces of tile. The segments are cut according to the pattern from monochrome tiles with a chisel and their edges smoothed with a file. The pieces are then arranged, face down, according to the pattern and covered with plaster in manageable sections. Since colorful ceramic mosaics decorate numerous old buildings in Iran, modern craftsmen have become skilled in their repair, and occasionally in recreating mihrabs in a historical style.
  • ?-1962
    (Khalil Rabenou [1902-1961], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, and purchased with funds from Katharine Holden Thayer)
    1962-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art, “Prayer Niche, 1962.23,” press release, May 7, 1962 archive.org
    Shepherd, Dorothy G. “A Miḥrāb and Frieze: In Faience Tile from Iran.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 49, no. 8, 1962, pp. 179–185. Mentioned: pp. 179–185; Reproduced: cover, figs. 2, 3, and 5 www.jstor.org
    Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review 1962.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 49, no. 9, 1962, pp. 199–227. Mentioned: p. 227, no. 149 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 212 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 212 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 268 archive.org
    Connell, Timothy C., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World Art Transparencies. Cincinnati: West Educational Pub, 1998. Acetate 15
    Masteller, Kimberly. "Arthur Upham Pope and Collecting Persian Art for Kansas City." In Arthur Upham Pope and a New Survey of Persian Art. Yuka Kadoi, ed., 282. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2016. Mentioned: p. 282, no. 41
  • Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).
  • {{cite web|title=Prayer Niche (Mihrab)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1500s or mid-1900s|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.23