Vessels12th-13th century

Bowl with Seated Couple

12th-13th century

Description

On the interior of this bowl, a seated couple flanks a central, checkered tree, which— together with the fish swimming below and a busy network of thin, curving vines—conveys the idea of a garden setting. Along the walls of the bowl are six roundels decorated alternately with harpies and human figures. Like birds, harpies are commonly found in Persian Islamic ceramics and usually carry auspicious connotations. The area just below the rim is decorated with a pseudo-inscription with plaited verticals. The exterior features double vertical lines bracketing loosely painted scrolls. Recent museum conservation of the bowl has showed it to be made up of fifteen major fragments, but all join fairly smoothly, indicating that nothing has been lost from the original object. The luster is brilliant and reddish in tone.

Classification

Vessels

Technique

Lusterware

Medium

Fritware painted with luster (copper and silver) over white lead alkali glaze opacified with tin

Period

Seljuk-Atabeg period

Century

12th-13th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

9.5 x 21.1 cm (3 3/4 x 8 5/16 in.)

Provenance

[Hadji Baba Rabbi House of Antiquities, Teheran, 1972], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (1972-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.