1Amsterdam, Netherlands

Star tile Attributed to the Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin Iran, likely made in Kashan, dated Moharram 660/December 1261 (see detail below) Fritware (stonepaste), luster-painted on opaque white glaze 12.13 in. (30.8 cm) Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, BK-NM-11797

The Rijksmuseum purchased this star tile from Hakkı Bey in Paris in 1904. The year before, the museum had purchased two cross tiles also likely from the tomb from French dealer Stanislas Baron (d. 1910) in Paris (BK-NM-11750-A and 11750-B). Around 1938, the star was included in a mixed display of Islamic ceramics and carpets alongside Italian majolica (fig. 1). Today, the three tiles are included in a display of Islamic ceramics combined with those from East Asia (fig. 2).

Figure 1. The star tile (BK-NM-11797) on display in circa 1938 (to the left of the large vase) in room 222 of the Rijksmuseum. Rijksmuseum Image Department, HA-0012109.

Figure 2. Gallery 0.10 in the Rijksmuseum. Photograph by Keelan Overton, September 2022.

Figure 3. Detail of three luster tiles (upper left) attributable to the Emamzadeh Yahya: BK-NM-11797, BK-NM-11750-A, and BK-NM-11750-B. Photograph by Keelan Overton, September 2022.

The tile features a combination of two short Qur’anic suras commonly found on stars and crosses attributed to the Emamzadeh Yahya. Over half of the star (the left side as oriented here) carries the opening sura al-Fatiha (Hamd), composed of seven verses. The rest (the right side) is inscribed with one of the final chapters, sura al-Ikhlas (112), composed of four verses. It is followed by the date (fig. 4), including the month and year (compare to Table 1 in this recent article).

Tile detail — Figure 4. Detail of the date in the Rijksmuseum star tile.

Sources:

Rijksmuseum digitized inventory cards
Hassanalipour, Hamid, and Hossein Sedighian. “Analytical Research of the Luster Star Tiles of Emamzadeh Yahya in Varamin.” Negarineh Islamic Art 10, 25 (2023): 191–204. (in Persian) [Negarineh Islamic Art]

Thanks to Hossein Nakhaei for identifying the tile from the Getty photograph and Femke Dierks for sharing acquisition information.

Keelan Overton Independent scholar and Director of the exhibition

Citation: Keelan Overton, “Star tile.” Luster cabinet entry in The Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin: An Online Exhibition of an Iranian Shrine, directed and edited by Keelan Overton. 33 Arches Productions, January 15, 2025. Host: Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online.