Plate

Object Details

• Description

  Black stretched-out Kufic inscription on flat rim flange; white engobe ground. Said to have been found in Nishapur. Broken and repaired; small areas of rim restored.

  (Atil,1973) This small plate, similar in shape to Numbers 7 and 8, has an Arabic inscription written in a dark-brown slip on its wide rim. The center is decorated with a floral motif composed of four dark-brown curving stems revolving around a disc. Each stem terminates in a trilobed palmette which curves in, counteracted by a split-leaf which is reversed. Four irregular lozenge-shaped red units fill in the area between the palmettes and the leaves. Double red dots adorn the outer volutes of the central composition.

  The kufic inscription reads: [arbc] Excellence is a quality of the people of paradise.

  This piece, said to have been found in Nishapur, is of the type commonly called Samarkand or Afrasiab ware.

  The exact provenance of red and black slip-painted wares, decorated with Arabic inscriptions surrounding a revolving central motif, is far from solved. Both the Nishapur and Samarkand excavations have unearthed pieces which employ similar compositions. As also seen with the epigraphic wares, this style was produced throughout the urban centers of northeastern Iran, reflecting the tast of that society. The patrons were not only attracted to the aphorisms on the pieces but possibly also found symbolic or mystical meanings in the decorations.

• Label

  Among the most distinct and impressive examples of Persian ceramics are a group produced during the reign of the Samanids (819-1005) in Khurasan in northeastern Iran, present-day Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan. These vessels are embellished with inscriptions, usually in the form of a moralizing proverb. The inscription on this small plate reads, "Excellence if the quality of the people of paradise."

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

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

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

  Near Eastern Ceramics (May 10, 1985 to September 3, 1985)

  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)

  Near Eastern Art (June 15, 1973 to May 7, 1975)

• Origin

  Iran or Afghanistan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  900s, 1000s

• Place

  Afghanistan

• Topic

  Kufic script, Art, Pottery, Arts of the Islamic World, Ceramics, Flowers, Samanid period (819 - 1005)

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)