Harvard Art Museums > 2002.50.93: Small Bowl with Inscription in Contour Panels Vessels Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Small Bowl with Inscription in Contour Panels , 2002.50.93,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 18, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/160528. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2002.50.93 Title Small Bowl with Inscription in Contour Panels Classification Vessels Work Type vessel Date 10th century Places Creation Place: Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Samarkand Period Samanid period Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/160528 Physical Descriptions Medium Reddish earthenware covered in white slip and painted with black (manganese and iron) and red (iron) under clear lead glaze Technique Underglazed, painted Dimensions 3.3 x 12.4 cm (1 5/16 x 4 7/8 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History [Hadji Baba Rabbi Antiquites, London and Teheran, before 1992], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (by 1992-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art Accession Year 2002 Object Number 2002.50.93 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description The bold decoration of this finely potted bowl belies its diminutive size. A benevolent Arabic inscription popular for ceramics of the Samanid era is here rendered in imposing, wedge-shaped Kufic script; it can be interpreted as “Blessings and favor to its owner” . Words or parts of words are enclosed in contour panels outlined in red and separated by fields of black dots, a decorative treatment typical of wares found in Afrasiyab. These panels surround slightly sketchy lines in black and red slip, which in turn enclose a motif of two circles joined at the center by a black dot with cruciform protruding lines. The black outline of the rim is alternately smooth and dentate. The exterior, including the flat, slightly concave base, is undecorated except for a covering of white slip and beautifully clear glaze. The bowl has been put back together from numerous fragments, with minimal plaster fills. Published Catalogue Text: In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art , written 201314 Small bowl with inscription in contour panels Uzbekistan, Samarkand, Samanid period, 10th century Reddish earthenware covered in white slip and painted with black (manganese and iron) and red (iron) under clear lead glaze 3.3 × 12.4 cm (1 5/16 × 4 7/8 in.) 2002.50.93 The bold decoration of this finely potted bowl belies its diminutive size. A benevolent Arabic inscription popular for ceramics of the Samanid era is here rendered in imposing, wedge-shaped Kufic script; it can be interpreted as “Blessings and favor to its owner” (baraka wa niʿma li-ṣāḥibihi).[1] Words or parts of words are enclosed in contour panels outlined in red and separated by fields of black dots, a decorative treatment typical of wares found in Samarkand.[2] These panels surround slightly sketchy lines in black and red slip, which in turn enclose a motif of two circles joined at the center by a black dot with cruciform protruding lines. The black outline of the rim is alternately smooth and dentate. The exterior, including the flat, slightly concave base, is undecorated except for a covering of white slip and beautifully clear glaze. The bowl has been put back together from numerous fragments, with minimal plaster fills. Mary McWilliams [1] Although on a larger scale, the same inscription appears on a Samanid bowl (Harvard Art Museums, 1979.375) illustrated in Pancaroğlu 2002, 60, fig. 1. [2] See Watson 2004, 221, cat. Gb.2. Publication History Mary McWilliams, ed., In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, exh. cat., Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2013), p. 179, cat. 14, ill. Exhibition History In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/2013 - 06/01/2013 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
