he Mihrab Room is essentially a passageway from the Living Room to the Dining Room; however, the presence of the Veramin mihrab (for which the room is named) and other important examples of Iranian lusterware affirm the significance of this room. During the rule of the Ilkhanid dynasty in Iran (1256-1353), architectural interiors and exteriors were covered with monochrome turquoise and luster tiles. As early as 1941, the year the Veramin mihrab was purchased, Doris Duke envisioned the Mihrab Room in homage to this historic Iranian tradition. She covered the walls with her collection of monochrome turquoise and luster tiles, including the mihrab, star and cross tiles, and inscription frieze tiles. The ensemble is suggestive of the tiles original contexts.
Farther along the passageway is a beautiful pair of painted doors, behind which Duke housed a portion of her library. The library collection of about 600 books includes titles on Islamic and Indian art history and architecture, auction catalogues, paperback novels, and autobiographies. The library also housed Duke's collection of Islamic manuscripts.
Listen to a recitation of a Quranic inscription on the Veramin mihrab and an English translation.
Option 2 recitation.
Definition of a mihrab
Ilkhanid tiles at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Kashan tiles at The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England
Islamic manuscripts at The Walters Museum of Art, Baltimore