Safavid cuerda seca tiles from Isfahan masterpiece shine in Gloucestershire 

The July 16 antiques sale at Dominic Winter in South Cerney included four 17th century Safavid cuerda seca tiles from the collection of Jack Webb.

An apple green ground Safavid cuerda seca tile from the Tile Arcade in Isfahan, £20,000 at Dominic Winter.

Webb (1923-2019), an almost legendary London antiques dealer, operated a shop in Camden Passage, Islington, for 70 years. Much of his eclectic collection was sold by Dominic Winter and Noonans in 2020. 

The cuerda seca (dry cord or kashi) technique of decorating tiles was developed in Central Asia during the latter part of the 14th century. The process used a grease to draw the pattern and delineate ‘cells’ for vibrantly coloured glazes. When the ‘resist’ evaporated during firing, it left a pleasing dark brown outline around the design.

The 9in (23cm) tiles offered in Gloucestershire, each decorated in hues of yellow, apple green, cobalt blue, turquoise, lavender, ochre, white and black, would seem to originate from the so-called Tile Arcade created in Isfahan c.1685-95.

The pictorial tiles from this architectural masterpiece were salvaged by local dealers during the demolition of the urban palaces in the late 19th century and subsequently dispersed in collections around the world.

Recently scholars Lisa Golombek and Robert Mason, authors of Princes, Dervishes and Dragons: The Tile Arcade from Safavid Isfahan (2025) have digitally reassembled the 36 friezes covering three themes: secular pastimes (picnics, hunt, games), Persian literary episodes, and (in a break from Islamic artistic norms) religious festivals. As the scenes were paired across a courtyard, at least two versions of each tile were created.