The main decoration of this bowl contains a band of epigraphy that might be read as the graphic contraction of the word "bi ’l-yumn" ("with happiness") or "al-yumn" ("happiness"). The decorative aspect of the letters is clearly preeminent and goes to the detriment of their legibility, to the extent that the band might be regarded as a pseudo-inscription. However, such benedictory formulas were common on everyday objects of this period, such as pottery and metal.
