A Mughal cuerda seca pottery tile, North India or Lahore, 17th century

The design and colours of the present lot are very similar to a tile which is part of a group of four tiles, forming the upper left section of the design in the group, in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (acc.no. IM.266-1923; Skelton 1982, p.26, no.5). These tiles were given to the museum by Mr. Frederick H. Andrews who acquired them in Srinagar in 1923. They are thought to be from the tomb complex of Sayyid Muhammad Hussain Madani, a foreign envoy who was sent to India by the Mongol ruler, Timur, at the end of the 14th century. Although Madani’s tomb in Srinagar dates from the mid-15th century, these tiles were produced later during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (r.1628-58) when a ceremonial gateway leading to the tomb and mosque was constructed, decorated with polychrome tiles of similar design.