14th century
Radial lines divide the interior of this bowl into twelve sections, which are decorated with three different designs—foliate motifs, cursive forms, and series of dots and fine lines. A narrow band encircles the bowl just under the flat, patterned rim. Circling the upper exterior is a cobalt-blue pseudo-inscription; below this is another band containing black scrollwork roundels.The foliate and line-and-dot motifs of this bowl, as well as the use and placement of cobalt, recall the lusterwares of the Seljuk-Atabeg period. Those prestigious vessels likely provided design inspiration for less expensive underglaze-painted wares like this one, which typifies Ilkhanid bowls in shape and decoration. Although the glaze has suffered abrasion and is cracked in several places, the bowl itself is intact.
11 x 22.3 cm (4 5/16 x 8 3/4 in.)
Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (1978-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.
Ceramic
ChineseCast bronze with gilding
3rd century BCE-3rd century CEChineseSilver
17th centuryBritishStoneware
20th centuryBritish, EnglishSilver
19th centuryBritishMonochrome blue ware: porcelain with cobalt blue glaze; with incised mark reading "Da Ming Jiajing nian zhi" within an incised double circle, all beneath a cobalt-blue glaze on the base
16th centuryChineseMarble
3rd millennium BCECycladicSilver
17th centuryBritishGlass
20th centurySwedishGlazed stoneware
20th centuryGermanCeramic
19th centuryJapaneseColorless glass
1st-2nd century CERoman