This fragment of a cenotaph is the most important work of Islamic art in the Gardner's collection.  With precise detail and remarkable depth, the sculptor's meticulous carving depicts a surface crawling with vines and surrounded by peony and lotus blossoms. Together they remind us of the Islamic concept of the afterlife as a garden and evoke the Timurid's esteem for Chinese art. The cenotaph attests to the aesthetic refinement of the reign of the Timurid dynasty (1397–1501) in Iran and Central Asia and possibly comes from a mausoleum in their capital of Herat. This magnificent fragment's floral motifs likely appealed to Isabella, a legendary gardener who grew prize-winning peonies in her Brookline estate's greenhouses.