Siavash queried the architectural origins of the Chini-kana, in one of his (thankyou, Siavash!) interesting comments.
I thought I’d add a note about this, drawing on AH Morton’s very helpful paper, “The Ardabīl Shrine in the Reign of Shāh Ṭahmāsp I”. Iran Vol. 12 (1974), pp. 31-64
AHM reports that ME Weaver, a UNESCO consultant working in Ardabil in 1969-70, found that the building was originally free-standing and with a monumental entrance, corresponding to the western iwan.
The building was constructed before the Dar al-Huffaz (the construction of which blocked its entrance), most likely in the fourteenth century, and by Sadr al-Din. Morton thinks that the building was probably originally the ‘Dome of the Princes’ – a tomb for at least one son of a Shaykh.
Shah Abbas’ chini-kana interior is, then, simply a decorative framework which has been inserted into an earlier building. It follows the design of similar niches for ceramics in Ali Qapu (click here) – and was itself followed by similar constructions up in the roof of Hasht Behesht (and click here to see more)
In Ardebil, there are some large spaces between the added interior and the structure of the original building and, where there is access to these, the remains of the original decoration can still be seen. When the damaged roof was removed for restoration, spiral staircases were found within the corner towers.
So the Ardebil Chini-kana seems to be a purely Iranian construction – I havent found any evidence of European influence.