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Bowl with Calligraphic Design

A work made of earthenware, white slip with black slip decoration under a transparent glaze.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of earthenware, white slip with black slip decoration under a transparent glaze.

Date:

Samanid dynasty (819-1005), 10th century

Artist:

Eastern Iran or Central Asia

About this artwork

In the 10th and 11th centuries, a tradition of painting ceramics in thick colored slips (watered-down clay) became common practice in central and eastern Iran. These vessels were typically decorated with simple calligraphic lines, often containing blessings or pious insights, not unlike fortune cookie messages. Here the text reads, “[Generosity] is a disposition of the dwellers of Paradise… regret.” This type of script is known as knotted Kufic, distinctive for its consistent baseline and embellished by small knots and twists in the staffs of the letters.

Status

On View, Gallery 143

Department

Arts of Asia

Culture

Islamic

Title

Bowl with Calligraphic Design

Place

Iran (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

900 CE–1000

Medium

Earthenware, white slip with black slip decoration under a transparent glaze

Dimensions

9 × 26.1 cm (3 3/8 × 10 1/4 in.); Diam.: 26.1 cm (10 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Harvey and Beth Plotnick

Reference Number

2013.44

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/217770/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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