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Architectural Boss

13th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 460
Architectural bosses made of stone, stucco, or glazed ceramic were meant to decorate the spandrels of arches, portals, windows, and bases of minarets in Medieval Anatolia. This one shows an interlacing vegetal composition which has been pierced, a technique inherited from Iran.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Architectural Boss
  • Date: 13th century
  • Geography: Attributed to Turkey
  • Medium: Stonepaste; molded, carved, and glazed
  • Dimensions: H. 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm)
    D: 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
    Diam. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics-Tiles
  • Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, 1974
  • Object Number: 1974.370.12
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Mihrab (Prayer Niche), Mosaic of polychrome-glazed cut tiles on stonepaste body; set into mortar
Mihrab (Prayer Niche)
dated 755 AH/1354–55 CE
Turquoise Bowl with Lute Player and Audience, Stonepaste; glazed (opaque monochrome), in-glaze- and overglaze-painted, gilded
Turquoise Bowl with Lute Player and Audience
late 12th–early 13th century
Pierced Jug with Harpies and Sphinxes, Stonepaste; openwork, underglaze-painted, glazed in transparent turquoise
Pierced Jug with Harpies and Sphinxes
dated 612 AH/1215–16 CE
Hexagonal Tile Ensemble with Sphinx, Stonepaste; over- and underglaze-painted, gilded
Hexagonal Tile Ensemble with Sphinx
ca. 1160s–70s
Shaped Tiles in the 'Cuerda Seca' Technique, Stonepaste; polychrome glaze within black wax resist outlines (cuerda seca technique)
Shaped Tiles in the 'Cuerda Seca' Technique
late 14th century

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