Covering tile depicting a gallant scene on horseback, Iran qâjâr, Tehran, signed Safar 'Alî, circa 1880-90 Large siliceous ceramic tile with polychrome molded and painted decoration under transparent glaze of a couple on horseback meeting in a flowery landscape, some churches in the background. The turbaned man holds a hawk on his left gloved hand, the woman with crowned head stands in the shade of her parasol. Between the horses, a four-lobed cartouche bearing the artist's signature "Amal Ustad Fukhar Safar Ali". A frieze of flowering foliage and birds crowns the scene. 33.1 x 38.7 cm A fel in the upper part, wear to the glaze. Mounted on a Plexiglas plate. Ceramic artist 'Alî Muhammad Isfahânî is undoubtedly the most famous potter of the second half of the 19th century in Iran. Born in Isfahan, he worked in Tehran from the 1880s. He was the creator of numerous ceramic pieces, notably wall tiles, some of which were destined for European customers. The good relations he established with Europeans living in Tehran explain the presence of several of his pieces in Western public collections. These include a fine composition of twenty-nine tiles and a table top acquired by Sir Robert Murdoch Smith, Director of the Persian Telegraph Department and agent for the South Kensington Museum in London (inv. 560-1888 and 559:1-9-1888). Some of his works were exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889. He is the author of a technical treatise on the art of Persian ceramics, which has become a reference on the subject. A Qajar Pottery Tile with a Galant Encounter on Horseback, Iran, Tehran, signed Safar 'Alî, circa 1880-90