Bowl with a Benedictory Inscription

Location: Iran, perhaps Nishapur

Materials: white stonepaste ware, moulded and carved, with piercing

Dimensions: 15.1 x 23cm

Accession Number: POT 98

Other Notes:

The bowl belongs to a large group of monochrome-glazed bowls decorated with low-relief moulded designs which – as here – consisted mostly non-figurative floral or calligraphic motifs.

The inscription on this bowl, which is in an archaic Kufic  script, reads, ‘Glory and prosperity, glory, glory, and generosity, wealth, happiness, well-being, long life’. The fine potting and the pierced background of the inscription give the bowl an almost translucent quality.

Bibliography:

E.J. Grube et al, Cobalt and Lustre. The First Centuries of Islamic Pottery, The Nasser D Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, volume IX, London 1994, cat.153, pp.159, 161.
J.M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London 2010, cat.122, p.109.