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Ewer with Molded Inscriptions and Figures on Horseback

last quarter 11th–12th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 453
In the last quarter of the 11th century Iranian potters started to work with stonepaste, a drastically new material in place of clay, made mainly of crushed pebbles with only small portions of clay and frit added to make it malleable during manufacturing and solid after firing. However, despite this, its stiffness required the use of molds for the shaping of the objects, as seen in this ewer.
Stonepaste would eventually become one of the most durable technical innovations in Iran, where it is used even today in local pottery productions of both vessels and tiles.
The mold employed for this ewer displays courtly scenes and an inscription with a sequence of eulogistic attributes.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ewer with Molded Inscriptions and Figures on Horseback
  • Date: last quarter 11th–12th century
  • Geography: Made in Iran
  • Medium: Stonepaste; molded, monochrome glazed
  • Dimensions: H. 12 in. (30.5 cm)
    Diam. 6 7/8 in. (17.5 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1913
  • Object Number: 13.93.3
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

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Pierced Jug with Harpies and Sphinxes, Stonepaste; openwork, underglaze-painted, glazed in transparent turquoise
Pierced Jug with Harpies and Sphinxes
dated 612 AH/1215–16 CE
Turquoise Bowl with Lute Player and Audience, Stonepaste; glazed (opaque monochrome), in-glaze- and overglaze-painted, gilded
Turquoise Bowl with Lute Player and Audience
late 12th–early 13th century
Ewer, Brass; raised, repoussé, inlaid with silver and a black compound
Ewer
ca. 1180–1210
Luster Bowl with Winged Horse, Stonepaste; luster-painted on opaque monochrome glaze
Luster Bowl with Winged Horse
late 12th century
Mihrab (Prayer Niche), Mosaic of polychrome-glazed cut tiles on stonepaste body; set into mortar
Mihrab (Prayer Niche)
dated 755 AH/1354–55 CE

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