Dish

Object Details

• Description

  Dish, large, deep; bold foot. Firecrack in rim.

  Clay: fairly hard, grayish.

  Glaze: cream-white, lightly crackled.

  Decoration: in gold lustre, over glaze, and reserve.

• Inscriptions

  M. Bahrami notes in his "Gurgan Faiences" (Cairo, 1949), p. 122, that "the (left) rim on this plate with a scene of four people, style of Farahan, beginning of the 14th century" carries the quatrain No. 9 of his list. Actually it is his no. 8 (on p. 120), which reads in his transcription and translation:

  [Prsn]

  "Oh you, the satisfied with the world yearn for your friendship

  The world's heroes dread separation from you

  As long as your eyes shine, of what have the desert antelopes to boast

  The world's lions are snared in your lair." [sic?]

  (See Curatorial Remark number 6)

  Inscription: [Prsn]

  "ay gursuna-i mihr-i tu seran-i jahan

  tarsan zi firaq-i tu dileran-i jahan

  ba chashm-i tu ahuan chi darand ba dast

  az zulf-i tu 'payband sheran-i jahan"

  (rest of inscription indecipherable)

  "All those who are sated in the world are hungry for you; the brave ones of the world are afraid of being seperated from you. What do the gazelles in the wilderness have [in comparison] to your eyes? The lions of the world are chained by your tresses."

  The inscription on the rim is from a Persian poem:

  [Prsn]

  Oh you, the satisfied with the world yearn for your friendship

  The world's heroes dread separation from you

  As long as your eyes shine, of what have the desert antelopes to boast

  The world's lions are snared in your lair. [sic?]

  The world's lions are snared in your lair. [sic?]

• Provenance

  To 1909

  Tabbagh Frères, Paris, to 1909 [1]

  From 1909 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Tabbagh Frères in 1909 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1953, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Ceramics from the World of Islam (January 16, 1974 to July 1, 1974)

  Untitled Exhibition, Persian Manuscripts (May 5, 1933 to September 22, 1947)

  Untitled Exhibition, Persian Art (March 14, 1931 to May 5, 1933)

  Near Eastern Pottery and Persian Painting (May 2, 1923 to March 14, 1931)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Tabbagh Frères (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Iran

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1200s

• Name

  Tabbagh Frères, Freer, Charles Lang

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Lustreware, Arts of the Islamic World, Stone-paste, Ceramics, Il-Khanid dynasty (1256 - 1353)

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)