Bowl with Arabic Proverb

Bowl

Fine wares from Nishapur and Samarqand inscribed like this bowl with Arabic proverbs may well have been made for a class of educated, well-to-do burghers, to whom such proverbs might be expected to appeal, particularly as their education in Arabic set them off from the mass of the populace. One of the most common themes of these proverbs has to do with learning; many begin " Knowledge is the crown of the youth..." Our present example, however, has a more general application: "Forbearance (self-control) is at first bitter to the taste, but in the end sweeter than honey; blessing."

The type of palmette in the lower part of the center goes back to Sasanian times, but the handling of the rest of this central floral application relates closely to that of, for example, a series of tenth-century painted stucco niches excavated at Nishapur. The contour-echoing forms in the background of the inscription represent a device that was to attain and maintain popularity in manuscript texts through the nineteenth century, particularly in Iran.

Manuel Keene in [Berlin 1981]

Inscription: Arabic inscription in kufic script around rim:
Forbearance is at first bitter to the taste, but in the end sweeter than honey. Blessing

(A. Ghouchani 1986)

[ Hassan Khan Monif, New York, until 1956; sold to MMA]

Berlin. Museum für Islamische Kunst, Pergamonmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. "The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the M.M.A.," June 15, 1981–August 8, 1981, no. 7.

New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Celestial Pen: Islamic Calligraphy," September 28, 1982–February 7, 1983, no catalogue.

Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Muhammadan Art. 3rd rev. and enl. ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1958. p. 368, ill. fig. 234.

Ghouchani, Abdollah. Inscriptions on Nishapur Pottery. Tehran, Iran, 1986. p. 28, ill. pl. 31 (b/w).

Grabar, Oleg. "Notes on the Decorative Composition of a Bowl from Northeastern Iran." Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1972). p. 95, ill. fig. 4 (b/w).

"Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York." In The Arts of Islam. Berlin, 1981. no. 7, pp. 40–41, ill. p. 41 (color).

Deroche, F., ed. "Essais de Codicologie et de Paleographie." In Les Manuscrits du Moyen-Orient. Paris: Institut Francais d'Etudes Anatoliennes, 1989. ill. planche XVII C.