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Between and Mortarboard

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54 Items in this Learning Collection
Bowl Fragment with Figural Designs
This fragment of a Mongol Islamic bowl comes from 14th century Iran. The side design features a kneeling person with a bottle, while the side panels have leopards and floral decoration. <br /> Colors included are cobalt, turquoise, green, and dark geen-gray on a cream-tan ground. The fragment is about one-third of the original bowl.<br /><br /><br /><br />  
Collection Object
Mina'i ware bowl fragment with confronting equestrian figures
This Mina'i ware bowl profile fragment features painting in blue, black, white, green, and red over turquoise glaze. Two confronted horesman and conventionalized inscriptions near the rim are the main decorative features.<br /><br />  
Collection Object
Mina'i ware bowl fragment with figures
This Mina'i ware bowl fragment displays well preserved base decorations. Five figures, two birds, a tree and a rim of Kufic insciptions float on the interior, while the exterior exhibits alternating red and cobalt symbols. The bowl is made with a pink-tan paste and a glossy all-over glaze. Ivory, red, cobalt, turquoise, black, pink and brown paints are used to create vibrant imagery.
Collection Object
Tile fragment with inscription

Collection Object
Tile fragment with inscription, Molded calligraphy in depressed band in the tile, glazed in bluish-turquoise, slight incrustation and iridescence.

Collection Object
Plate fragment with design of a white gazelle against a blue ground
This plate has a central gazelle motif in white against a blue background. The paste is a light tan "Islamic II" while the glaze is glossy with wide crackle. The plate was fired upright. It is composed of a now faded cobalt color on a light green-white ground and is iridescent. The plate is attributed to the Safavid period in Iran.
Collection Object
Floor-table Tile Fragment

Collection Object
Qur’an manuscript leaf in Abbasid Kufic script

Collection Object
Square tile with stylized tulip design

Collection Object
Star-shaped tile with phoenix among clouds

Collection Object
Faceted bottle

Collection Object
Shallow bowl with stylized floral medallion

Collection Object
Qur'an manuscript leaf, illuminated section heading in thuluth script

Collection Object
Incense burner lid with peacock-shaped finial

Collection Object
Casket with inscription in floriated Kufic script
This inlaid bronze casket with Kufic inscription was masterfully produced in the 12th century Seljuk period. Possibly of Syrian origin, the lid is hammered from a flat sheet of brass with the bottom formed by folding and joining a section cut from a flat sheet. The seams are on three sides of the base and in the rear under the right-hand hinge. Brass hinges on the object are attached by copper rivets. Originally, the object would have a handle and front clasp which are now missing. <br /><br />  
Collection Object
Digambara Jain manuscript page: Jina and devotees
Multi-colored ink on paper. Reds and golds make up the primary focus colors and are accented by dark blues. Features five figures, two larger figures on the top half of the page and three smaller figures on the bottom. Scene of worship.
Collection Object
The Birth of Rustam, from the Shahnama of Firdausi
This painted miniature Shahnama page was made by the Shiraz and Timurid schools, ca. 1460 in Baghdad, Iraq. The painting is done in ink, opaque watercolor and gold leaf on paper. The scene depicts the <em>Birth of Rustam </em>from the Shahnama, the Persian book of kings. 
Collection Object
Faucet with Peacock Spigot and Lion-Headed Spout
This large bronze faucet features a peacock spigot and a lion-headed spout.
Collection Object
Lamp

Collection Object
Mirror with scene of "Alexander's Ascension"

Collection Object
Persian poetry anthology manuscript page

Collection Object
Plate
<br /> This <em>Mina'i </em>plate features seated figures of royalty, probably princes and/or princesses, along with two attendants and birds. There is a stylized inscription on the exterior. The glazed plate features turquoise, cobalt, black, white and brown-red coloring. It is likely a provincial or late <em>Mina'i  </em>style plate from the Seljuk period.<br />  
Collection Object
Star-shaped tile with molded floral design
This star-shaped ceramic tile is decorated with floral patterns and shapes. This kind of tile seems to be very popular in the 15th and 16th centuries of the Iranian Islamic world. The relief decoration is moulded and unglazed while the ground is glazed in blues with black underglaze and covered with a clear overglaze. 
Collection Object
Jug, narrow neck, single handle, band of decorative inscriptions at shoulder
<br /> The unglazed jug has a bulbous body with a narrow neck which is half the height of the body. A slight bulging occurs midway up the neck. A handle is joined to the neck below the lip and extends to the shoulder of the body. <br /><br /> A <em>Naskhi</em> Arabic inscription, worked in barbotine technique against a background of unordered small bosses and open circles, runs around the upper part of the body. <br />  
Collection Object
Plate
The dish belongs to a large group of sgraffiato wares, examples of which have been found from Afghanistan to northwest Iran. They are characterized by an incised design cut into a slip and enhanced with glazes of different colors, frequently yellow and green. In this particular case, and others like it, the concentric scratched lines are clearly determined by compass while the filler patterns are somewhat less controlled. The pigment is not applied to coincide with the engraved line but rather forms an independant web of color over it.<br />  
Collection Object
Bowl with calligraphic inscriptions and floral designs
This Kashan style bowl from the Seljuk period in Iran features eight brown interior bands. The cobalt blue bands have white inscriptions in Naskhi-style calligraphy radiating from the center to the lip of the bowl. The exterior contains delicate floral stalk decorations. The presence of excrescences on the interior may determine that this bowl was used for waste.<br />  
Collection Object
Bowl with Bird and Flower Designs
"Object EFS-105 is a 14th century Mongolian-influenced Sultanabad work. The body of the object is a pinkish-tan while the outside is covered with painted blue tinge. The central motif is a spotted lion [leopard]. Stylized birds circle the inside of the object against a naturalistically conceived floral area. The object has been re-pieced extensively. <br /><br /> This object bears the characteristic hemispherical shape of Sultanabad work, and its rendering of the birds and floral motif indicate the Chinese influence of the 14th century. The animal and birds are outlined in black. It follows the general color scheme and motifs of the Sultanabad wares of the 14th century. <br /><br /> The object is 4 inches high and has a diameter of 8 inches. The lion [leopard] is rendered with the Iranian sensitivity and perceptiveness. This object was probably highlighted with white slip."
Collection Object
Medicinal plants; Leaf from an Arabic translation of the "De Materia Medica," by Dioscorides

Collection Object
Khusrau brought before his father Hurmuzd; from the Khamza of Nizami

Collection Object
Plaque with Kufic Inscription, from the Tower of Toghril, from Rayy

Collection Object
Qur’an manuscript leaf in Maghribi script
Arabic calligraphic script on paper; script is in Maghribi style, written in black ink with touches of green and rec ochre. Shadows of script (from reverse or opposite page, transferred while closed?) show through. Beige paper is browned with age at edges; upper left has repaired tear.
Collection Object
Star-shaped Tile with flying crane among flowers
<br /> This Ilkhanid eight-pointed star tile employs the Kashan style that originates in Iran. A crane/phoenix-type bird flies amongst floral decorations. The outer perimeter is decorated with a cursive script. The script may either be Qur'anic verse (Arabic) or a Shahnama verse (Persian book of Kings). (updated)
Collection Object
Tray

Collection Object
Peacock
A bronze statue in the shape of a peacock, this piece has engraved decorations and is made in the Seljuk style of metalwork.
Collection Object
Ewer with animal head, with band of decorative inscriptions at shoulder in thuluth script on an arabesque ground

Collection Object
Candlestick with decoration of the Labors of the Months

Collection Object
Textile fragment

Collection Object
Footed Bowl with painted design of birds
This footed bowl with painted designs is of 11th-13th century Iranian origin. The object stands upon a broad pierced foot, with a stem extending upwards supporting a shallow dish. It is done in brown, green and gold. The decoration consists of a number of birds compartmentalized by a gold background that serves to set off their shapes and creates a free-form design. Sgraffito cuts through the slip on glaze to a layer of brown that creates part of the form of the bird or its decoration. All of this is set against green cross-hatched areas. <br /><br />  
Collection Object
Shallow bowl with schematized animal motif
This large Iranian plate sits on a small base. The decoration consists of a bird and crude space fillers. The units are outlined in green and incised, in addition to green glazed parts that are not incised. The design is cut through the slip and appears light brown while the exterior is left unglazed and plain red-brown.The plate is mended and appears to have commercial mosaic in parts. The colors are green, light green, yellow, and red-brown. Painted green and brown spots and stripes are combined with scribbled engraving to form often asymmetrical designs.
Collection Object
Tile with molded lion
Tile with molded lion motif.
Collection Object
Albarello (Pharmacy Jar)
A 14th century Mongol period pharmacy jar from the Sultanabad region. The albarello is a contracted cylinder with a converging neck and has a conventionalized inscription with a stag and gazelle design. Floral designs fill the space while the lower body is fluted. All the decorative patterns were done in low relief. Paste is a light tan "Islamic II", while the glaze is glossy with fine crackle. The object was fired upright. Colors include heavy iridescent patina, gray-green, light grayish-white ground and light purplish gray. The object has been restored. 
Collection Object
Circular mortar with inscription

Collection Object
Lid with Handle

Collection Object
Seated figure with tripartite crown
The moulded head of the terracotta figurine represents a royal personnage. He wears a three-lobed crown, spherical earrings, and a necklace. He is seated with his legs bent from the hips at right angles to the upper part of the body. The legs are crossed and thus form a circular base which allows the essentially two-dimensional figure to remain erect. The assembling of the limbs was apparently done after the figurine had been cast.
Collection Object
Tile
This polychrome and glazed square tile is decorated with a symmetrical design of flowers and leaf arabesques in deep aubergine and yellow. It is covered in a lustrous glaze with black underglaze. The tile matches the style and decorative features of other 16th century Turkish tiles. 
Collection Object
Star-shaped tile with vegetal arabesque pattern

Collection Object
Qur'an manuscript leaf in early or Abbasid Kufic script, ch. 38, verses 21-23

Collection Object
Qur'an manuscript leaf in thuluth and naskh script, chapter 4, verses 480–90

Collection Object
Flask with molded decor

Collection Object
Star-shaped tile with floral and calligraphic patterns

Collection Object
Bowl with concentric bands of epigraphic decoration

Collection Object
Leaf from a manuscript of the Qur’an in Maghribi script

Collection Object
Illuminated Leaf
Illuminated manuscript page with Arabic calligraphy that is framed by floriated,<br /> cloud-band borders, stylized cartouches, and marginal vignettes.
Collection Object
Qur'an manuscript leaf in thuluth and naskh script, chapters 83–85 (recto and verso)

Collection Object

Copyright
All Rights Reserved ()

Plate

Accession Number
1957/1.65

Title
Plate

Artist(s)
Iranian

Artist Nationality
Iranian

Object Creation Date
12th century - 13th century

Medium & Support
fritware with overglaze enamel painting

Dimensions
2 1/2 in. x 8 11/16 in. x 8 11/16 in. ( 6.3 cm x 22 cm x 22 cm )

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Subject matter
The horizontal orientation of the decorative scheme of this bowl is distinctive--three figures conversing, bracketted on top and bottom by areas of scrollwork and birds. This might be compared to an equestrian version (cp. Ferhervari, #122) in the Barlow collection in which the figures are similarly arrayed on the bowl's interior surface. Another piece also painted with a pair of horsemen has a comparable inscription band and feeling of spontaneous simplicity seein in our bowl (cp. Grube, #147). A similar coordination of emblematic vegetal motifs and seated figures appears on another turquoise glazed bowl in the Barlow collection (cp. Fehervari, #124) on which the blue rim scalloping and black exterior inscription also appear. Anatomically related birds and the shorter bobbed hair styles of the men can also be seen in other bowls (cp. Lane, EIP, #68B, Grube,#147). Grube deals extensively with iconography in his study of the Keir collection on that premise that most bowls would have a connotative significance not immediately appreciated by modern audiences. He would associated a seemingly anonymous equestrian motif with some long lost "symbol of conquering knight". From such a generous iconographical standpoint, our bowl should be considered one of many decorated scenes of mystical conversation . However, it might be noted that in examples cited above which appear to have a common vocabulary of motif, there is also a shared lack of specificity in subject matter.

Esil Atin's plate # 51 in Ceramics from the World of Islam exhibits a comparable bowl with similarly placed horizontal seated figures surrounded by birds. Plate 51 has been identified as a royal couple at center flanked by musicians, dancers and singers. The Kufic inscriptions on plate 51 center around themes of prosperity, victory, and triumph which are common themes in royal Islamic objects. Plate 51 is dated as 13th century Seljuk which is also similar to our bowl. 

Physical Description

This Mina'i plate features seated figures of royalty, probably princes and/or princesses, along with two attendants and birds. There is a stylized inscription on the exterior. The glazed plate features turquoise, cobalt, black, white and brown-red coloring. It is likely a provincial or late Mina'i  style plate from the Seljuk period.
 

Primary Object Classification
Ceramic

Collection Area
Western

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
Iranian Islamic pottery styles after the Mongols
Islamic
Islamic (culture or style)
Kashan
Minai
Seljuk pottery styles
ceramic (material)
household objects
overglaze (material)
overglazing
plates (general, dishes)

2 Related Resources
Arts from Persia and Iran
(Part of: Ancient and Classical Civilizations)
Visual Cultures of Islam - Ceramics
(Part of: Visual Cultures of Islam )

& Author Notes

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