http://collection.shangrilahawaii.org/internal/media/dispatcher/19394/fullPolychrome Tile Panel with Double-Vase Motif17th - 18th centuryOverall: 99 x 45 in. (251.5 x 114.3cm)Ceramic, polychrome pigmentsCourtesy of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art48.92.21Eagles soar among swirling clouds and diving ducks, blue and turquoise songbirds perch among flowering branches, and a tiger pounces from within leafy foliage toward a pair of unfortunate ibex. This imagery captures a continuous theme in Iranian art: the hunt. Scenes of humans and animals hunting have been depicted in the arts of Iran since pre-Islamic times, appearing in stone carving and metal vessels of the Achaemenids and Sasanians. The motif of the hunt is called Gereft-o Gir (“catching and hunting”) in Persian. During the Safavid period (1501–1722 CE), artists of the court-sponsored workshops depicted hunting scenes that were shared across multiple forms of media. Gereft-o Gir was especially prominent in Safavid carpet design.Ceramics114.3002286005251.46050292100E-101646334154