Plate

Object Details

• Artist

  Shamsuddin al-Hasani Abu Zayd

• Description

  Dish with scalloped upright sides and a narrow grooved rim. Broken, repaired and in places restored with plaster, painted.

  Clay: soft, white.

  Glaze: opaque cream-white.

  Decoration: painted in golden-brown lustre with ruby reflections.

  Signature, date and inscriptions.

• Signatures

  Signature

• Inscriptions

  Date, and inscriptions

• Label

  The composition on this plate, one of the most complex on any known Persian lusterware, has been read as a mystical allegory regarding the quest for the Divine. According to this interpretation, the sleeping youth represents the mystic who yearns to transcend the material world, symbolized by the horse. The youth's goal is to attain a vision of divine beauty (i.e., union with God), signifed here by the naked woman floating in the fishpond. It is the only known extant plate with such an unusual and spiritually inspired iconography. One of the inscriptions records that the plate was made by Shamsuddin al-Hasani Abu Zayd, an accomplished potter of the early thirteenth century.

• Provenance

  About 1908

  Reportedly unearthed at Karaghan, Iran [1]

  ?-About 1910

  Unknown Collector, Iran, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  About 1910

  Reportedly sold to Léonce Rosenberg (1879-1947), consigned through Hagop Kevorkian, Paris, for unknown collector [2]

  By 1913

  T. J. Larkin, The Renaissance Galleries, London, method of acquisition unknown [3]

  1915

  Possibly transferred from Thomas Joseph Larkin to his son, Frederick J. Larkin, by inheritance [4]

  1917

  Likely the Estate of Frederick J. Larkin through inheritance [5]

  1918

  Possible sale, Christie, Manson, & Woods, “Catalogue of the Valuable Stock of the Late T. J. Larkin, Esq. Sold by Order of the Executors of the late Frederick J. Larkin, Esq.,” July 15-17, 1918, lot 140 [6]

  By at least 1927-1939

  George Aristedes Eumorfopoulos (1863-1939), likely purchased from T. J. Larkin, The Renaissance Galleries, London [7]

  1939-1940

  Julia (née Scaramanga) Eumorfopoulos (1864-1944), by inheritance from her husband George Aristedes Eumorfopoulos [8]

  1940

  Sale, Sotheby & Co., London, “The Eumorfopoulos Collection,” June 5-6, 1940, lot 59 [9]

  By 1940

  Hagop Kevorkian, New York, likely purchased Sotheby & Co., London sale [10]

  From 1941

  National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York [11]

  Notes:

  [1] See object file for letter from Paul Mallon to Freer Gallery of Art curator, dated June 14, 1955, “The luster plate with figures & horse was in the Larkin’s collection. This plate came to Paris from Persia in 1908 consigned to Kevorkian, who was not then the owner. It was sold to Leonce Rosenberg [with “1910” added above]. Rosenberg paid part of it, and gave Kevorkian in payment de “traites” [sic], which he could not pay. Kevorkian wanted his money and then put Rosenberg in bankruptcy. The plate was then re-sold. I do not remember the date, but few days before the 1914 war, to Larkins, a well known dealer in London. Larkins sold the plate to Eumorfopoulos after 1914. See also “A few examples of Oriental Art, Illustrated in Colour selected from The Larkin Gallery, 104, New Bond Street, W., Consisting of Blue and White Famille Verte, Famille Rose, and Monochrome Porcelains, Pottery, Bronzes, Cloisonné, Hardstones, Rugs, etc.” [auction catalog] (London: The Larkin Gallery, date unknown), fig. 3. Described as “A wonderful Persian Plate in gold lustre and cream white. On the bank of a river is seen a young man seated regarding the nude figure of a lady with outstretched hand floating in the water. Period, end of the 12th Century. Discovered at Karaghan. Diameter, 14 inches.” See also Henri Rivière “La Ceramique dans l’art Musulman” [book] (Paris: E. Levy, 1913), vol. 1, pl. 35.

  Paul Mallon (1884-1975) was a French art dealer and connoisseur who focused on Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine art in the latter half of his career. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mallon owned a gallery on the Champs-Elysées that specialized in the sale of ancient Chinese art. By the late 1930s Mallon and his wife, Marguerite Mallon (d. 1977), were selling art to a number of American museums from their unit in the Gladstone Hotel in New York City.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See Lady Maria Millington Lathbury Evans, “Lustre Pottery” [book] (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1920), p. 27, fig. 19, footnote 3: “Mssrs. Larkin possessed a dish of early XIII century type, decorated in brown lustre on a cream ground, representing a saddled horse behind which stand five figures, apparently female.” Evans cites Henri Rivière “La Céramique dans l’art Musulman” (1913), vol. 1, pl. 35, as the source for this knowledge. Additionally, see Ernst Kühnel, “Datierte Persische Fayencen.” “Jahrbuch der Asiatischen Kunst” [journal] (Leipzig: 1924) vol. 1, pp. 23-51; pl. 23, fig. 3. On page 43, Kühnel notes that as of 1913 the bowl was ‘still in the London art market in 1913,’ also citing the 1913 Henri Rivière’s work “La Céramique dans l’art Musulman.” See also note 1.

  [4] See notes 1 and 3.

  Thomas Joseph (T. J.) Larkin (1848-1915) was among the earliest of western dealers to specialize in the sale of Japanese and Chinese art. He also sold European paintings and drawings. Born in County Cork, Ireland, he developed an interest in Japanese porcelain while working abroad for the Japanese government. After returning to England, in 1888 he established the Larkin Gallery at 28 New Bond Street. Larkin remained there until he moved to 104 New Bond Street in April 1901, where he traded under the name of the Renaissance Galleries. Following his death in 1915, his son Frederick Joseph Larkin (1886-1917), then serving in World War I, inherited the gallery. Frederick returned to combat, where he died in 1917, and the executors of his estate held a sale through Christie, Manson, & Woods in 1918.

  [5] See Christie, Manson, & Woods, “Catalogue of the Valuable Stock of Chinese and European Porcelain, Persian Faience and Objects of Art of the Late T. J. Larkin, Esq. Sold by Order of the Executors of the late Frederick J. Larkin, Esq., July 15-17, 1918, lot 140” [auction catalog] (London: 1918), lot 140. Described as “A dish, with raised rim decorated with a group of figures and horses in copper lustre, and with a long inscription round the boarder – 14 in. diam. – late 12th century.” See also note 1 for the description of the object in the Larkin Gallery catalog.

  [6] See note 5.

  [7] See R. L. Devonshire, “Moslem Objects in the Eumorfopoulos Collection.” “Apollo: A Journal of the Arts” vol. 5 (January-June 1927): pp. 12-17, fig. 5. See also R. L. Hobson, “The George Eumorfopoulos Collection Catalog, of the Chinese, Corean and Persian Pottery and Porcelain” [catalog] (London: Ernest Benn, Ltd., 1928), vol. 6, cat. F403, pp. 53-54, pl. 66. See also notes 1 and 9.

  George Aristedes Eumorfopoulos (1863-1939) was a businessman, philanthropist, and an art collector. Born in Liverpool to Aristedes Georges Eumorfopoulos (1825-1897) and Mariora Eustratius Scaramanga (1840-1908), he joined the family firm of Scaramanga, Manoussi, and Company by 1884. Eumorfopoulos then moved to Ralli Brothers, a maritime trading and financial firm, where he would eventually be made a vice president. He married Julia Scaramanga (1864-1944) in 1890 and the two lived in London, where he displayed his collection.

  An influential collector of Chinese art during the first half of the twentieth century, Eumorfopoulos assembled part of his collection from the works of Chinese art that left China in the political instability following the Boxer Rebellion. He was the founding president of the Oriental Ceramic Society, London (1921), and he collected Korean, Near Eastern, and European art in addition to Chinese art.

  It had been his intention to bequeath his collection to the British nation; however, due to financial setbacks following the 1929 financial crash he was forced to sell most of his collection at reduced market values. Through a public subscription, funds were raised, and his collection of Chinese art was divided between the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, about 800 objects were donated to the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece, and the remainder was sold following his death.

  [8] See notes 7 and 9.

  [9] See Sotheby & Co., “The Eumorfopoulos Collection: Catalogue of The Collection of Persian Ceramics & Islamic Glass, Egyptian, Greek and Roman Antiquities, Choice Medieval & Renaissance Works of Art, Etc., formed by the late George Eumorfopoulos, Esq. (Sold by Order of Mrs. Eumorfopoulos and of the Executors,” [auction catalog] (London: Sotheby & Co., June 5-6, 1940), lot 59.

  [10] See object file for copy of Freer Gallery of Art vault record, indicating that Hagop Kevorkian left the object at the Freer Gallery of Art for examination on November 6, 1940. See also note 9.

  Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962) was an archaeologist, connoisseur, and one of the most significant dealers of art of the first half of the twentieth century. Kevorkian had eponymous galleries in New York and Paris, specializing in Islamic, Armenian, Ancient, and Classical art, where he sold works to galleries and private collectors around the world. In 1952 he established the Kevorkian Fund, which remains active and supports scholarship focusing on art history and archaeology, museum collections, lectures, and fellowships.

  [11] The Freer Gallery of Art paid Hagop Kevorkian in installments, the first on July 23, 1941, and the last on October 6, 1941. The acquisition was approved by the Secretary of the Smithsonian on January 13, 1941. See object file for copies of invoices. This work is part of the Museum’s Freer Gallery of Art Collection.

  Research updated February 5, 2024

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Arts of the Islamic World (May 3, 1998 to January 3, 2016)

  Islamic Art (May 9, 1993 to June 3, 1997)

  Near Eastern Ceramics (June 24, 1982 to September 23, 1982)

  Near Eastern Ceramics (May 14, 1981 to May 10, 1985)

  Art of the Near East (August 21, 1977 to December 14, 1979)

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

  2500 Years of Persian Art—Paintings, Pottery (February 10, 1972 to June 15, 1973)

  Near Eastern Art—Paintings, Pottery (August 18, 1967 to February 10, 1972)

  Near Eastern Art (June 5, 1964 to August 18, 1967)

  Persian Art (January 1, 1963 to September 3, 1963)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 6 and 7 (February 25, 1956 to April 10, 1962)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Manuscripts, Pottery, Metalwork, and Glass (April 12, 1955 to November 21, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Arts, 1947 (October 6, 1947 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Paintings (May 1, 1945 to September 25, 1947)

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

  International Exhibition of Persian Art (January 7 to March 7, 1931)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Larkin Gallery

  Frederick Joseph Larkin (1886-1917)

  George Aristedes Eumorfopoulos (1863-1939)

  Julia Scaramanga Eumorfopoulos (1864 - 1944)

  Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962)

• Origin

  Kashan, Iran

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Freer Gallery 03: Engaging the Senses

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1200s

• Name

  Larkin Gallery, Eumorfopoulos, George Aristedes, Larkin, Frederick Joseph, Eumorfopoulos, Julia Scaramanga, Kevorkian, Hagop

• Place

  Kashan

• Topic

  Art, Lustre ware, Arts of the Islamic World, Stone-paste, Saljuq period (1037 - 1300), Ceramics

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes