Bowl

Object Details

• Description

  Bowl on a low ring foot. Reddish body of soft, fine-grained clay, covered with white tin glaze and a yellow gold luster decoration of a dancing girl on the inside and of irregular circles and strokes in reddish luster, now partly rubbed off, on the outside. Green spot of oxidized copper on the inside. Broken and put together, five missing sherds replaced by painted plaster.

• Label

  Figural representations, such as this sensuous female dancer, played a prominent role in luster-painted ceramics in twelfth-century Egypt. Although the vessels were made from coarser clay than earlier Iraqi examples, the decoration, like much of the art of the Fatimid period (909-1171), tended to be more animated and naturalistic. The plate is further embellished with an inscription bestowing good wishes on its anonymous owner.

• Provenance

  To 1946

  Brummer Gallery, Inc., New York. [1]

  From 1946

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from the Brummer Gallery, Inc., New York. [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Object folder, undated folder sheet note.

  Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920, Collections Management Office.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Iraq and China: Ceramics, Trade, and Innovation (December 4, 2004 to July 17, 2005)

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

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

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

  Art of the Arab World (August 15, 1980 to May 13, 1981)

  Art of the Arab World (May 8, 1975 to August 20, 1977)

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

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

  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)

  Special Exhibition, Near Eastern Art (September 15, 1953 to February 9, 1954)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Brummer Gallery, Inc.

• Origin

  Egypt

• 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

  1100s, 1200s

• Name

  Brummer Gallery, Inc.

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

  Art, Dance, Pottery, Arts of the Islamic World, Ceramics, Fatimid period (909 - 1171)

• Culture

  Muslims

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes