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Prayer Niche (Mihrab)

c. 1500s or mid-1900s

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

The prayer niche (or <em>mihrab</em> in Arabic) is the focal point in the interior of a mosque, located in the <em>qibla</em> wall that faces Mecca, the holy city of Islam. Verses from the holy Qur’an, written in a form of Arabic script called <em>thuluth,</em> 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 (<em>Surah An-Nur</em>): “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.

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Details

  • Title: Prayer Niche (Mihrab)
  • Date Created: c. 1500s or mid-1900s
  • Physical Dimensions: 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.)
  • Provenance: (Khalil Rabenou [1902-1961], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, and purchased with funds from Katharine Holden Thayer), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Type: Ceramic
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.23
  • Medium: ceramic mosaic
  • Inscriptions: The inscriptions on the mihrab and frieze are from the Qur'an. On the frieze are written the first 30 verses from the Chapter of the Dawn (89). The inscription on the mihrab is from the Chapter of Light (24: 35-36) and translates: God 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. From a blessed tree it is lighted, the olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would well neigh shine out, even though fire touched it not! It is light upon light. God guideth whom He will to His light, and God setteth forth parables to men, for God knoweth.
  • Fun Fact: Every mihrab is oriented toward Mecca.
  • Department: Islamic Art
  • Culture: Iran, Isfahan, in the style of the Safavid period (1501–1722)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Katharine Holden Thayer
  • Collection: Islamic Art
  • Accession Number: 1962.23

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