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 MoreStoneware with celadon glaze over incised decoration
12th centuryKoreanEnameled blue-and-white ware: porcelain with interior decoration painted in underglaze cobalt blue surrounded by a wide border of overglaze red enamel (probably added at a later date) and exterior decoration in overglaze polychrome enamels
16th centuryChineseSancai ("three color") ware: pinkish white earthenware with lead-fluxed, cobalt-blue splahed clear glaze on the interior and lead-fluxed cobalt-blue glaze on the exterior, the (slightly degraded) glazes over a white-slip ground
8th centuryChineseGlass
20th centurySwedish?Silver and wood
18th centuryAmericanElectrotype of gold original; repoussé
19th-20th centuryMycenaeanImitation Jun ware: porcelain with variegated purple glaze. Perhaps made at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province.
18th centuryChineseYaozhou ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze over molded decoration, the exterior with carved vertical lines suggesting petals. From the Yaozhou kilns at Tongchuan, Shaanxi province.
12th-13th centuryChineseCast bronze; with integrally cast inscription inside the footring
13th-12th century BCEChineseTerracotta
GreekTerracotta
6th century BCEGreek