Charger

Centered on a wheel, a stylized octafoil, recalling a Chinese cloud-collar, the plate is filled with alternating scale and wave motifs. The same patterns appear in a scalloped band encircling the interior edge of the plate, while the white cavetto is incised with vertical lines, lending it a “ribbed” effect. This large plate or charger is a fine and rather unusual example of Timurid blue-and-white ware.

Historical period(s)
Timurid period, mid-15th century
Medium
Stone-paste with cobalt decoration under a translucent blue glaze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 7.6 x 40 x 40 cm (3 x 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries in honor of their 1999 Iran trip
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1999.7
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic
Type

Charger

Keywords
Iran, Timurid period (1378 - 1506), WWII-era provenance
Provenance

To 1999
Axia Art Islamique et Byzantin, Liechtenstein, acquired via a public auction in London, to 1999 [1]

From 1999
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Axia Art Islamique et Byzantin in 1999 [2]

Notes:

[1] According to Curatorial Note 3, Massumeh Farhad, February 4, 1999, in the object record.

[2] The object was presented at the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries Annual Dinner on April 17, 1999, as an Arthur M. Sackler Gallery acquisition consideration, but was not acquired for purchase at that time. The object was later transferred to the Freer Gallery of Art for purchase consideration.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Axia Art Islamique et Byzantin

Description

Centered on a wheel, a stylized octafoil, recalling a Chinese cloud-collar, the plate is filled with alternating scale and wave motifs. The same patterns appear in a scalloped band encircling the interior edge of the plate, while the white cavetto is incised with vertical lines, lending it a "ribbed" effect. This large plate or charger is a fine and rather unusual example of Timurid blue-and-white ware.

Label

Timurid production of blue-and-white ceramics flourished in fifteenth-century Iran. The decoration of this large molded plate centers on a wheel-like motif. Its stylized octafoil design of alternating scale and wave patterns was adapted from Chinese models. The plate illustrates the Timurid interest in Chinese decorative motifs, which were adapted to Persian taste and translated into different media.

Published References
  • Lisa Golombek, Robert B. Mason, Gauvin Bailey. Tamerlane's Tableware: A New Approach to the Chinoiserie Ceramics of Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Iran. Islamic Art and Architecture Series, no. 6 Costa Mesa, California. .
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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