Bowl with a Seated Figure and Birds
Regionfrom the area of
Kashan
(Iran)
Date1300s
Creation PlaceKashan, Iran
MediumFritware with blue and black underglaze
Dimensions10.8 x 21.6 cm (4 1/4 x 8 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1913.73
DescriptionIridescent. Deep bowl with foot and flat top edge. Inside: birds in white on blue and figure in center. Outside: wide floral band and second band of Persian characters, all in white and blue. No marks.Label TextThe East Asian influence on Perso-Islamic art resulting from the Mongol conquest is apparent here in the rendering of the lotus and the simorgh—a fabulous bird from Persian legends—encircling a figure in Mongol attire. These pictorial motifs would have been transferred through imported goods like Chinese textiles. Though similar to the Chinese feng-huang and the Greek phoenix, the simorgh is of Persian origin. In the great epic, Shahnameh (Book of Kings), composed by the poet Firdausi between 977 and 1010, the simorgh rises in significance as a guardian and tutor to the great heroes of Iran. This pictorial reference to Shahnameh is complemented by an Arabic inscription in cursive script around the exterior rim of the bowl. Perhaps the dish was meant to be passed around during a feast, the text and the image inspiring new topics of conversation.ProvenanceHerter Looms, NY
On View
On viewCurrent Location
- Exhibition Location Gallery 106
1300-1399
Chinese
Yongzheng period (1723–1735) of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)
