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Ancient Near and Middle East
ISLAMIC PERSIAN VESSEL WITH FLORAL PAINTING
Ancient Persia / Luristan 

Ex Jean David-Weill Collection

 

Object :
Nº 1645
Medium :
Ceramic
Dimensions :
12.3 cm (4.8’’) x 6.7 cm (2.6’’)

Description :

Ceramic bowl with a wavy rim and a floral decor covered in a beige glaze showing a beautiful iridescence. The decoration was painted in black with a fine brush. Once stuck back together with a part added after restoration. A pseudo-calligraphic band encircles the rim. In the central band, motifs also inspired by calligraphy separate stylized oak leaves. There is a vegetal motif in a circle in the center of the bowl.

Starting with the Kufic style (9th cent.), fake inscriptions, called pseudo-epigraphies or pseudo-calligraphies, were used for purely aesthetic purposes. Siliceous ceramics are first covered in a slip of the same composition as the clay. The decoration is then painted before being covered in a glaze. The piece is then fired in a kiln one time only.