Jug with Kufic Inscription
9th-10th century
Description
Among the most impressive ceramics produced during the reign of the Samanids are the epigraphic wares, so called because their sole or main decoration consists of stately Kufic script. An austere Arabic inscription, which may be read as “The noblest thing is the well-being of my guest” (ashraf al-shay nuzli al-muna), lends surprising majesty to this small jug. Written in black, four words are evenly spaced around the bulbous body, with an almond-shaped lozenge marking the end of the phrase. The tall ascending letters curve gently to the left. The intersection of the neck and body is ringed by a black line, which breaks into a looping motif at the front of the jug, opposite the handle. The black slip is raised slightly above the white surface; a carving tool has been used to sharpen its contours. The jug has been reassembled from thirteen fragments; small losses filled with plaster have been painted white. The reddish earthenware body, including the flat base, is covered entirely in white slip and a slightly yellowish clear glaze.
Dimensions
with handle: H. 10.6 x W. 12.2 x D. 9.4 cm (4 3/16 x 4 13/16 x 3 11/16 in.) Diam. of rim: 8.8 cm (3 7/16 in.)
Provenance
[Galerie für Griechische, Römische und Byzantinische Kunst, Frankfurt, 1972], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (1972-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.
Related Artworks
View MorePainted Jizhou ware: off-white stoneware with decoration painted in underglaze iron slip under clear glaze. From the kilns at Yonghe, Ji'an, Jiangxi province.
13th-14th centuryChineseFritware with underglaze painting in cobalt blue
18th centuryPersianTerracotta
6th century BCEGreekBronze
1st millennium BCE-1st millenium CEEtruscanSlip-painted celadon ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze over decoration painted in iron-brown slip
11th-13th centuryKoreanOnda ware: light gray stoneware with pale olive glaze over brush-applied white slip enlivened with chatter marks on the interior and over brush-applied white slip spirals on the exterior
21st centuryJapanesePorcelain with clear glaze
14th-16th centuryChineseHard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamel decoration, and gilding
18th centuryGermanOnda ware: light gray stoneware with pale olive glaze over brush-applied white slip enlivened with chatter marks on the interior and over incised bowstring lines on the exterior; with three- (or four-?) character stamp of the Onda kilns impressed on the base
21st centuryJapanese
Light gray stoneware with decoration painted in iron-brown slip under translucent light bluish green glaze
20th centuryJapaneseBlue-and-white ware: porcelain with decoration painted in underglaze cobalt blue
18th centuryChinese