Mina'i Bowl with Horsemen, Seated Figures and Harpies, and Pseudo-inscription around the Exterior

Gallery Text

As central control weakened in the Abbasid Empire, regional dynasties arose to support, challenge, or redefine the authority of the caliph in Baghdad. The arts flourished in many centers, and wealthy merchant and professional classes emerged. A dramatic increase in productivity and innovation and an unprecedented expansion of figural decoration characterize the arts of this period.

A transforming event was the influx of Turkic and Mongol peoples from Central and Inner Asia. Most of the objects in this case were created in lands ruled by the most important of the Turkic dynasties, the Great Seljuks (1038–1157), and their immediate successors, the Atabegs. The Mongol invasions into Islamic lands began in the early 1200s and culminated in the 1258 sack of Baghdad. Eventually, the Mongols established their rule as the Yuan dynasty in China, the Chagatay Khanate in Central Asia, the Golden Horde Khanate in southern Russia, and the Ilkhanid dynasty (1256–1335) in greater Iran. The integration of a vast Eurasian territory into the Mongol Empire facilitated commerce and communication, bringing fresh Chinese inspiration into Islamic art.

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1936.34
Title: Mina'i Bowl with Horsemen, Seated Figures and Harpies, and Pseudo-inscription around the Exterior
Classification: Vessels
Work Type: vessel
Date: 1200-1250
Places: Creation Place: Middle East, Iran, Isfahan province
Period: Seljuk-Atabeg period
Culture: Persian
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/216883

Location

Location: Level 2, Room 2550, Art from Islamic Lands, The Middle East and North Africa

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Physical Descriptions

Medium: Fritware with overglaze painted decoration in mina'i technique
Dimensions: 8.7 x 22.2 x 22.2 cm (3 7/16 x 8 3/4 x 8 3/4 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History: Sarah C. Sears collection, Boston, MA, (by 1935) by descent; to her daughter Mrs. J. D. Cameron Bradley, Boston, MA (1935-1936), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1936.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Sarah C. Sears Collection
Accession Year: 1936
Object Number: 1936.34
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: Functional objects raised to the level of art through luxurious and imaginative manufacture offer a glimpse of the privilege enjoyed by members of the court and the wealthy merchant class. These bowls were decorated in a costly technique known as minaʾi (enameled) that required multiple firings in the kiln to ensure a range of colors. With precise application of a varied palette, minaʾi gave to ceramics the expressive potential of the book arts.

Publication History

Mary McWilliams, "Islamic Ceramic Traditions", The Studio Potter, ed. Gerry Williams (New Hampshire, December 2002), vol. 31, no.1, pp45, fig. 5
Jessica Chloros, "An Investigation of Cobalt Pigment on Islamic Ceramics at the Harvard Art Museums" (thesis (certificate in conservation), Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, 2008), Unpublished, pp. 1-41 passim
Tony Sigel, Avoiding mistakes: How not to lose things, Objects Specialty Group Postprints, ed. Emily Hamilton and Kari Dodson, American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works (https://resources.culturalheritage.org/osg-postprints/v23/sigel2/, 2016), 23, Pages 322-327, Figure 6, Page 325

Exhibition History

Islamic Art and the Written Word, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 10/05/1983 - 11/27/1983
Paintings for Princes: The Art of the Book in Islam, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/27/1990 - 03/25/1990
Re-View: Arts of India & the Islamic Lands, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/26/2008 - 06/01/2013
32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

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Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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

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1936.34: Mina'i Bowl with Horsemen, Seated Figures and Harpies, and Pseudo-inscription around the Exterior