of deep form with slightly flaring sides on a short foot, decorated in turquoise, black and cobalt-blue, the well with three fish surrounded by a band of inscription in kufic, the rim pierced and incised with a band containing a scrolling foliate vine
20.5 cm. diam.

Footnotes

Provenance: acquired from Mansour Gallery in the early 1970s.

Inscriptions: al-karama al-salama al-karama ... al-baqa al-karama ... al-sa'ada al-salama al-karama, 'Generosity, well-being, generosity ... long-life, generosity ... happiness, well-being, generosity'.

The decoration of the present bowl is particularly delicate and represents a great feat of technical virtuosity. A similar white glazed bowl with underglaze cobalt-blue and black decoration is in the Plotnick Collection (Oya Pancaroglu, Perpetual Glory, New Haven and London, 2007, no. 88, pp. 100-101); a bowl with plain white glaze was sold in these rooms (Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 4th April 2006, lot 124; a very similar bowl whose treatment of the decoration, and particularly the pierced arabesques is almost identical to that seen here, was sold at Christie's, Islamic Art and Manuscripts, 12th October 2004, lot 116; and a closely related intact turquoise glazed bowl, formerly in the Mrs Hilda C. Hanna Collection, was sold in these rooms (Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 4th April 2006, lot 123 (previously published by Medhi Bahrami, Gurgan Faiences, Cairo, 149, pl.XXIX).

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- Islamic and Indian Art
- Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art

A Kashan pierced and incised underglaze-painted pottery Bowl Persia, 12th Century

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Oliver White