Bowl with Harpies
late 12th-early 13th century
Description
In the center of this bowl two harpies (composite bird-women) are turned toward each other, their tail feathers joining overhead in an ogival arch. In Islamic lands these mythical creatures were associated astrologically with the planet Mercury and were considered generally auspicious. Foliate arabesques sprout from the harpies’ joined tails and fill the space below their feet. Encircling the bowl on the exterior is a single band of cursive script; it contains four hemistichs of medieval Persian poetry, which read, Beware, O friend, things have gotten out of hand. In knowing you [my] days have been lost. I had silver and gold, patience and sobriety. In the grief inflicted by you all four have been lost. The bowl has been reassembled from fragments with only minor losses and overpainting.
Dimensions
7 x 16 cm (2 3/4 x 6 5/16 in.)
Provenance
[Sotheby's London, April 1975], sold; through [Mansour Gallery, London, 1975]; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (1975-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.
Related Artworks
View MoreGlass
1st-2nd century CERomanQingbai ware: porcelain with pale blue glaze over carved and incised decoration
11th-12th centuryChineseMonochrome glazed porcelain: porcelain with crackled yellow glaze on the exterior and emerald green enamel on the interior
19th centuryChinesePlain celadon ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze
12th centuryKoreanCeramic
14th centuryArabCreamware, black transfer printed
19th centuryBritishYellow glass
1st-3rd century CERomanTerracotta
6th century BCEGreekGray stoneware with incised, combed, and openwork decoration. Reportedly recovered in Naenam-myŏn, Kyŏngju-gun, south of Kyŏngju City, North Kyŏngsang province.
5th-6th centuryKoreanSilver
18th-19th centuryFrenchSilver, fruitwood
18th centuryBritishJian ware: dark gray stoneware with dark brown glaze, the markings in iron oxide; the rim banded with metal. From the kilns at Shuiji, Jianyang county, Fujian province.
12th-13th centuryChinese