Bowl - Aga Khan Museum
Aga Khan Development Network
 
The Aga Khan Museum: Ceramic, Mosaic - 13th century CE  Place your mouse over the image
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Classification
Ceramic, Mosaic

Object name
Bowl

Geography
Iran

Period
13th century CE

Materials and technique
Stonepaste body, decoration painted in black under a turquoise glaze

Dimensions
Ø 21.9 cm

Accession number
AKM00562

Description

This bowl has a pronounced aquatic theme: undulating leaves and stems fill the sides and fish swim over its base, all under a “sea” of transparent turquoise alkaline glaze. Water is an important symbol in Islam and gardens with axial pools filled with fish were seen as metaphors for the heavenly garden. The so-called “water-weed” design on this bowl was a popular theme in Persian underglaze ceramics from the early thirteenth century. The design was applied with a brush, which allowed for more fluidity and spontaneity than previously possible in the earlier, slip-carved “silhouette wares”. The painter of this bowl seems to revel in the new-found freedom of brushwork in the underglaze technique, adding decorative flourishes to the leaves.

Other similar artefacts

60 pieces found

EWERPILGRIMS-FLASKDISH-WITH-INSCRIPTIONBowlBOWLVASEBOWL-WITH-INSCRIPTIONDISH-WITH-INSCRIPTIONJARDISH-WITH-A-BIRD-MOTIFDISH-WITH-RADIATING-SPOKESBOTTLE-WITH-HORSEMENBOWLBOWL-WITH-RIDERS-AND-CAMELSBottleBOWLTILEVASEALBARELLOALBARELLOALBARELLOTILETILE-PANELMUQARNAS-TILEMUQARNAS-TILECapitalBOWL-WITH-A-BIRD-MOTIFHEXAGONAL-TILETILE-ARCHMIHRAB-PANELDish-with-central-flowerBLUEANDWHITE-DISH-PANEL-WITH-IRISESDISHDish-with-red-rosesDish-with-tulips-and-rosesBOWLTILE-FRIEZETILEPLATEDish-with-a-representation-of-a-gardenDish-with-geometrical-decorationDISH-WITH-SEVEN-HOLLOWSBowl-with-horse-rider-and-birdBowl-with-man-stabbing-a-lionTILEBowlEMERALD-GREEN-BOTTLEDISHQibla-tileDishBOWLPlateBowlTileDishDISH-WITH-FLORAL-MOTIFSJugDishDish-with-Lion-motif