Abstract
The aim of this paper was to illustrate the growing influence of literature on artistic production during the 12th century, through the presence of poetic inscriptions and the representation of famous literary episodes. Shāhnāme occupies a prominent place both on the objects - sumptuous pieces of ceramic but also inlaid metal - and within the architectural décor, essentially glazed ceramics. The vast majority of the examples chosen come from the collection of the Islamic Arts Department of the Musée du Louvre, which holds a number of ceramic tiles with metal lustre decoration inscribed with Shāhnāme verses. The corpus of tiles identified as coming from Takht-e Soleymān has been more particularly developed. They are part of a context in which new dynasts, of Mongol origin, sought to legitimize their power by valorizing a text that retraced the history of Iran and the great sovereigns they wished to follow.
