As if reproducing a decorative carpet on the wall, elegant scrolling floral and leafy arabesques surround this elegant panel’s trefoil palmette also densely filled with luminous glazes of rich turquoise, white, lilac, and aubergine. The Timurids were the final great dynasty from the Central Asian steppe to dominate the Middle East and Central Asia in the 14th and 15th centuries. By bringing craftsmen and builders from different conquered lands to Samarkand, Timur, the founder of the Timurid dynsaty, initiated one of the most brilliant periods in Islamic art. Its rulers were also inspired by Persian art and culture and, by bringing artists, architects, and men of letters to the capital in Samarkand, introduced a high court culture. Timurid art and architecture provided inspiration to lands stretching from Anatolia to India. The Timurid architectural style was to influence the architecture of later Islamic periods, particularly the Safavids and Mughals.