Dado with Persian inscription (type 14)

Dado carved in bas-relief (type 14). The decoration is composed of three horizontal sections: the upper section consists of a kufic epigraphic band, the middle section of a sequence of interlaced trilobated arches, and the lower section of a sequence of two interlaced and rolled up half-palmettes. The inscriptions are part of a continuous text in Persian verses (a simplified reading is reported in the database, for a thorough analysis see Allegranzi 2019 - link in each record). The band of trilobated arches meets at an angle of 95°. They are set against a vegetal pattern of interlaced half-palmettes and fleur-de-lis. Type 14 differs from dadoes types 14a and 14b for the style of the inscription, the arches and the vegetal pattern.

Some of the panels have incised marks that are related to the carvers’ practice; they might be location marks.

Most of the artifacts were excavated in the Ghaznavid palace; others were found re-employed in the Ghazni area (both excavation and surveys occurred in the late 1950s-1970s).