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White bowl with rings of orange and black text

This white bowl has a relatively small base and straight sides. There is a black dot painted in its center. About halfway between the center dot and the edge of the bowl, a line of orange Arabic script is painted in a ring around the bowl. Another, larger ring of black Arabic script is painted around the bowl’s edge. The outside of the bowl is white with some rust-colored areas, especially near the base.

Gallery Text

Following the Prophet Muhammad’s example, the Islamic polity, or caliphate, was ruled by a political and religious leader titled the caliph, or “successor” to the Prophet. Muslims eventually developed a monarchic system for controlling the succession of caliphs. The four centuries of the early Islamic era witnessed the establishment—and unraveling—of the universal caliphates of the Umayyad (661–750) and Abbasid (750–1258) dynasties.

The range of the objects in this case illustrates the Islamic empire’s rapid expansion and the assimilation of peoples and artistic practices. A hot-worked glass vessel and a green-glazed pottery cup demonstrate continuity with late Roman traditions, while the figural imagery and inscriptions on tenth-century polychrome pottery vessels from eastern Iran underscore the continued vitality of pre-Islamic cultural traditions there. The creation of coinage bearing only inscriptions at the turn of the seventh century signals the unprecedented stature that Arabic calligraphy acquired, as the script itself became a symbol of the faith. Arabic inscriptions decorating ceramics produced in Central Asia proclaim the owner’s literacy and Muslim identity.

Samanid epigraphic wares usually reproduce benedictory phrases and popular proverbs. More rarely, they record sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and his companions. This bowl features two such sayings: the one in black is attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, and the one in red to ʿAli, the Prophet’s son-in-law and the fourth orthodox caliph. The words “prosperity” and “health” were the artist’s additions.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2002.50.88
Title
Bowl Inscribed with Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
10th century
Places
Creation Place: Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Samarkand
Period
Samanid period
Culture
Persian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/165498

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2550, Art from Islamic Lands, The Middle East and North Africa
View this object's location on our interactive map

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
9.6 x 26.9 cm (3 3/4 x 10 9/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Mansour Gallery, London, before 1973], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (by 1973-2002), 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
2002.50.88
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
With its pure white slip, precise calligraphy, and perfectly clear glaze, this deep-walled bowl embodies the finest qualities of Samanid epigraphic wares. Most surviving examples of this class of ceramics reproduce benedictory phrases or popular proverbs. More rarely, as here they record sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. Beginning in his own lifetime, Muhammad’s example was considered an important guide for how people should conduct their lives. In the early centuries of the Islamic era, sayings attributed to and anecdotes about him were collected and analyzed by numerous authors. The large andcomplex body of literature that resulted from this immense effort is known as hadith. The outer inscription on this bowl is written in black slip and records a saying attributed to the Prophet: “Modesty is a branch of faith, and faith is in paradise”. The inner inscription, in red slip, contains a similar dictum credited to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad’s son-in-law and the fourth orthodox Caliph of Islam: “Greed is a sign of poverty”. Because each inscription is written in a ring, the calligrapher inserted a single-word invocation to mark the beginning: in the outer circle, “felicity”, and in the inner one, “health”. This bowl has been reassembled from about fifteen fragments, with only minimal losses. The white slip and clear glaze completely cover the vessel, including its flat, slightly concave base.
Commentary
Label text from exhibition “Re-View,” an overview of objects drawn from the collections of Harvard Art Museums, 26 April 2008 – 1 July 2013; label text written by Mary McWilliams, Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art:

Large Bowl with Hadith Inscriptions in Black and Red
Iran or Uzbekistan, Nishapur or Samarkand, Samanid dynasty, 10th century
Earthenware with slip-painting under glaze
Inscribed (Arabic) in black slip Modesty is a branch of faith, and faith is in paradise; in redslip Greed is a sign of poverty. Peace.
Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, 2002.50.88

In the reign of the Samanids (819–999), potters obtained a white ground by covering earthenware vessels with white slip (colored clay particles in solution). They then painted designs with different-colored slips and fired the whole under a transparent lead glaze. Among their finest works are the so-called epigraphic wares, which usually reproduce in angular Arabic script a range of benedictory phrases and popular proverbs. More rarely, as here, the vessels record examples of Hadith, that is, sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Beginning in his own lifetime, Muhammad’s conduct was considered an important guide. This bowl bears two Hadith inscriptions: in black slip, a saying attributed to Muhammad; in red slip, an epigram attributed to `Ali ibn Abi Talib, son-in-law of the Prophet and Islam’s fourth orthodox caliph.

Published Catalogue Text: In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art , written 2013
13

Bowl inscribed with sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and ʿAli ibn Abi Talib
Uzbekistan, Samarkand, Samanid period, 10th century[1]
Reddish earthenware covered in white slip and painted with black (manganese and iron) and red (iron) under clear lead glaze
9.6 × 26.9 cm (3 3/4 × 10 9/16 in.)
2002.50.88

Published: McWilliams 2002a, 12, fig. 1; McWilliams 2002b, 44, fig. 1; AKPIA 2004, 7; McWilliams 2004, 4, 11, fig. 4; HALI 2004, 115; McWilliams 2007, 16, fig. 3; Harvard Art Museum and Wolohojian 2008, 39.

With its pure white slip, precise calligraphy, and perfectly clear glaze, this deep-walled bowl embodies the finest qualities of Samanid epigraphic wares. Most surviving examples of this class of ceramics reproduce benedictory phrases or popular proverbs. More rarely, as here and on one other bowl in the collection (cat. 10) they record sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. Beginning in his own lifetime, Muhammad’s example was considered an important guide for how people should conduct their lives. In the early centuries of the Islamic era, sayings attributed to and anecdotes about him were collected and analyzed by numerous authors. The large and complex body of literature that resulted from this immense effort is known as hadith.

The outer inscription on this bowl is written in black slip and records a saying attributed to the Prophet: “Modesty is a branch of faith, and faith is in paradise” (al-ḥayā shuʿba min al-īmān waʾl-īmān fiʾl-janna). The inner inscription, in red slip, contains a similar dictum credited to ʿAli ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad’s son-in- law and the fourth orthodox caliph of Islam: “Greed is a sign of poverty” (al- ḥirṣʿalāniya al-faqr).[2] Because each inscription is written in a ring, the calligrapher inserted a single-word invocation to mark the beginning: in the outer circle, “felicity” (al-yumn), and in the inner one, “health” (al-salāma).

This bowl has been reassembled from about fifteen fragments, with only minimal losses. The white slip and clear glaze completely cover the vessel, including its flat, slightly concave base.

Mary McWilliams

[1] The bowl was last fired between 800 and 1400 years ago, according to the results of thermoluminescence analysis carried out by Oxford Authentication Ltd. in 2011.
[2] The same proverb occurs in red slip on a closely related bowl offered at auction: see Sotheby’s 2006b, 94, lot 92. See also the listing of vessels with these inscriptions in Ghouchani 1986, 8.

Publication History

  • Mary McWilliams, "Islamic Ceramic Traditions", The Studio Potter, ed. Gerry Williams (New Hampshire, December 2002), vol. 31, no.1, pp44, fig.1
  • Mary McWilliams, "With Quite Different Eyes: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art", Apollo, ed. David Ekserdjian (November 2002), vol. CLVI no. 490, pp. 12-16, p.12, fig. 1
  • Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, brochure, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, March 2004), p 7
  • Mary McWilliams, Closely Focused, Intensely Felt: Selections from the Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, brochure, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2004)
  • Exhibitions in Brief, HALI, Hali Publications Ltd. (London, England, March 2004), vol. 133, p 115
  • Mary McWilliams, Baraka: Blessings in Clay, The Studio Potter, Mary Barringer (Shelburne Falls, MA, 2007), Vol. 35, No. 2, p 14-19, p. 16, fig. 3
  • Stephan Wolohojian and Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Harvard Art Museum/ Handbook, ed. Stephan Wolohojian, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, 2008), p. 39
  • Mary McWilliams, ed., In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, exh. cat., Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2013), p. 178, cat. 13, ill.
  • Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, and Linda Safran, Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages: Exploring a Connected World, Cornell University Press (Ithaca, 2022), p. 148, fig. 5-29

Exhibition History

  • The Continuous Stroke of a Breath: Calligraphy from the Islamic World, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 12/20/2003 - 07/18/2004
  • Closely Focused, Intensely Felt: Selections from the Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/07/2004 - 01/02/2005
  • Re-View: Arts of India & the Islamic Lands, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/26/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/2013 - 06/01/2013
  • 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project
  • Collection Highlights

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