Bowl

Object Details

• Description

  A concave earthenware bowl with round rim, decorated on the interior with four stylized split palmettes painted in cobalt-blue, the ends with three oval-shaped motifs painted in bluish-green, the center with boxed lines of Kufic calligraphy painted in cobalt-blue with a tin glaze. The rim with an alternating band of spaced half moon-shaped motifs painted in cobalt-blue and bluish green, the whole painted against a creamy white ground.

• Inscriptions

  1. (Massumeh Farhad, 28 February 2000) The inscription, written in cobalt in a compact kufic script, consists of three lines stacked in the center and can be read as "sa 'da/sahibihu/..." ("blessings to its owner,..."). Four windswept palmettes surround the inscription, while eight alternating cobalt and copper lobes adorn the rim.

• Label

  Among the earliest surviving works of art decorated with writing are a group of ceramic vessels, produced in Iraq and Iran under the rule of the powerful Abbasid dynasty (749–1258). Inspired by the whiteness and purity of the much admired, imported Chinese porcelain, Muslim potters created their own "white ware" by covering their buff-colored earthenware vessels with a glaze containing a small amount of lead and tin, which turns opaque when fired. Unlike the Chinese models, most of the Abbasid vessels were embellished with a variety of motifs, including calligraphic designs. This bowl combines both vegetal motifs and calligraphic design in cobalt and copper glazes. Surrounded by windswept palmettes, the inscription in the center confers blessings to the owner.

• Provenance

  1950s

  Cohen collection, Paris, 1950s [1]

  From 1995 to 2000

  Momtaz Islamic Art, London, from 1995 [2]

  From 2000

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Momtaz Islamic Art in 2000

  Notes:

  [1] According to Curatorial Note 4, Massumeh Farhad, February 28, 2000, in the object record.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  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)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Momtaz Islamic Art (established 1977)

• Origin

  Iraq

• 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, 800s, 700s, 1100s, 1200s, 1000s

• Name

  Momtaz, Irene

• Topic

  Kufic script, Art, Pottery, Arts of the Islamic World, Ceramics

• Culture

  Muslims, Abbasids, Iraqis

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)