Bowl with Courtly and Astrological Motifs


The finely painted figures and decoration on the interior of this bowl combine the imagery of the courtly cycle and astronomy. In the center is the sun surrounded by the personifications of six planets. Moving clockwise from the top right are Mars, holding a severed head and a sword; Mercury, the scribe, seated crosslegged with a pen in his right hand and scroll in his left; Venus, seated on a throne or chair and playing the lute; the moon, a female figure with a crescent moon around her head; Saturn, holding a sickle in each hand; and Jupiter, on a thronelike seat, holding something resembling a chain. Islamic astronomers believed that each planet orbited the earth; in graphic terms their circuits formed seven concentric circles, with the moon creating the innermost and Saturn the outermost circles based on their distance from the earth.[1] Beyond the seventh sphere is an eighth containing the constellations, including the twelve signs of the zodiac.


Instead of including the fixed stars, or constellations, the painter of the bowl placed one large and two small gold circles, representing stars, between the heads of each planet and six small stars around the sun. A band of ten horsemen, separated by birds, rings the central group of planets. One interpretation identifies these figures as representations of the "ten periods of time governed by the thirty-six decans," or thirds of each astrological sign or month.[2] Certainly the depiction of horses and riders moving in one circular direction could suggest the passage of time. However, the figures also could embody the idea of the cavalry, a key element of any ruler’s support and one emblem of the chivalric tradition in the Seljuq era. Since the band of figures on the inside rim consists of two enthroned men on opposite sides of the bowl and musicians and attendants inclining slightly toward their leader, much as the figures do in the gypsum-plaster panel of an enthroned figure and his courtiers, the horsemen are likely to denote one of the components of an orderly society, presided over by a capable king or prince in a universe governed by the planets. The inscriptions on the interior rim and the exterior are both fragmentary as a result of damage and overpainting. On the interior the words convey good wishes and on the exterior mention the "king of the Muslims" and more blessings.

Sheila R. Canby in [Canby, Beyazit, and Rugiadi 2016]

Footnotes:

1. Following the Stars: Images of the Zodiac in Islamic Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997. Catalogue by Stefano Carboni. New York, 1997, pp. 3, 20–21, and cover image.

2. Alexander, David, ed. Furusiyya. Vol. 2. Riyadh, 1998, vol. 2, p. 233. This entry also provides the bibliography for the bowl up to 1996.


Bowl


Mina'i (literally, "enameled") ware was produced in the pottery centers of northern and central Iran between the second half of the twelfth and the early thirteenth century. Figures were drawn in a style very similar to that employed on the contemporary lusterware attributed to Kashan (see, for example MMA 68.215.10 and MMA 27.13.9 [cat. nos. 13 and 18 in this volume]), although the general approach was quite different. The numerous bright, opaque pigments used on mina'i ware lend a distinctive, miniature-like quality to the painted scenes and to the figures. However, the coloring of the bowl is not as bright as that of the majority of similar objects, but is based mainly on tonalities of bluish grays and browns in addition to gold; although it is peculiar to few other bowls, it is, nonetheless, very appealing.

This object has a curved profile with a small protruding rib halfway up the side and a straight rim.There is a kufic inscription inside, just below this rim, and a second one, in large, hurried naskh script, on the outside, both of which were partially restored. The original sections in kufic are eulogistic, while those in naskh might have included the name of a dedicatee.

The major focus of the composition is on the central medallion with the human-faced Sun encircled by its rays and by the planets. The planets are depicted clockwise, from the most distant to the closest to the earth, in almost correct order (the only exception being the exchange of Mercury and Venus), and they are illustrated according to their classical iconography. The rest of the composition is arranged in circular bands radiating from the center of the bowl. Its dedication to a ruler is evident since the decoration includes a scene with a throne, musicians and courtiers, parading horsemen, and the cosmic images of the Sun and of the other six planets. Two enthroned rulers sit diametrically opposite each other, under the kufic inscriptional band, and are surrounded by a total of twenty-six figures, all seated side by side in different positions, most of them attendants and courtiers in addition to harp and tambourine players. Ten riders and their mounts are shown in profile on the cavetto of the bowl. Some of the horsemen holding a thin stick might be depictions of polo players, while the others seem to ride at leisure, as if before the ruler. Small birds are also illustrated between the riders, perhaps to designate the images as hunting scenes or representations of various courtly activities performed on horseback.

The mlna'i bowl was broken and repaired and shows (under ultraviolet light) some areas of restoration and inpainting, especially near the rim. However, its composition and the great majority of the decoration are original, contributing to the bowl's reputation as one of the most accomplished in the so-called group of "small figure" mina'i ware and the most like a miniature in its delicacy.

[Carboni 1997]

Inscription: Outside in Arabic in naskh script:
ملک البر و [البحر ...] الدنیا و الدین ملک الاسلام و المسلمین ابو ... ـعرک قسیم امیر المؤمنین
The king of mainland and sea … world and religion
King of Islam and the Muslims Abū …. mʻrak ally of the prince of faithful.

Inside below the rim in kufic script
و البرکة و الرحمة و الیمن ... و النصر الغالب ... و السعادة ... و النعمة ... و الدولة و السعادة ... و النعمة .... و الفدرة
And blessing and merciful and good fortune … and winner victory … and happiness … and grace … and power and happiness … and grace … and power

(A. Ghouchani, 2012)

Marking: -Sticker on exterior: Persian / Exhibition / New York / 1940 / SJ 5
-Sticker on exterior: Schiff / 1 / Con. / 218
-Sticker below base: 10
-Sticker below base: Con. / 218 / 22,500

[ M. Parish-Watson, New York, by 1922–31]; Mortimer L. Schiff, New York (until d. 1931); his son, John M. Schiff, New York (1931–57; sold and gifted to MMA)

London. Burlington House. "International Exhibition of Persian Art," January 7, 1931–February 28, 1931, no. 104D.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Ceramic Art of the Near East," May 12–June 23, 1931, no. 57.

Iranian Institute. "Exhibition of Persian Art," 1940, Gal. I, no. 25J.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971, no. 161.

New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Following the Stars: Images of the Zodiac in Islamic Art," February 4–August 31, 1997, no. 7.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Rumi and the Sufi Tradition," October 23, 2007–February 3, 2008, no catalogue.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs," April 25–July 24, 2016, no. 123.

"Beitrage zu Einer Geschichte der Planetendarstellungen im Orient und im Okzident." Der Islam vol. 3 (1912). pp. 151–77.

Dimand, Maurice S. "The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, May 12–June 28, 1931." In Ceramic Art of the Near East. New York, 1931. no. 57, p. 14, ill.

Wilson, Arnold T. Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Persian Art. 3rd. ed. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1931. no. 104D, p. 66.

Harari, Ralph, and Richard Ettinghausen. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present, edited by Arthur Upham Pope. vol. I–VI. London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1938. vol. II, p. 1563, ill. vol. V, pl. 656A.

Ackerman, Phyllis. "The Iranian Institute, New York." In Guide to the Exhibition of Persian Art. 2nd. ed. New York: Iranian Institute, 1940. Gallery I, case 25J, p. 25.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries: the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1970. no. 161, p. 183, ill. fig. 161 (b/w).

Ettinghausen, Richard. "Islamic Art." MMA Bulletin vol. 33, no. 1 (Spring 1975). p. 18, ill. (b/w).

Swietochowski, Marie, and Richard Ettinghausen. "Islamic Painting." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., vol. 36, no. 2 (Autumn 1978). p. 18.

Alexander, David. Furusiyya: Catalogue. vol. 2. Riyadh,Saudi Arabia: King Abdulaziz Public Library, 1996. no. 195, p. 233, ill. (color).

Carboni, Stefano. Following the Stars: Images of the Zodiac in Islamic Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. no. 7, pp. 20–21, ill. (b/w).

Canby, Sheila R., Deniz Beyazit, and Martina Rugiadi. "The Great Age of the Seljuqs." In Court and Cosmos. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. no. 123, p. 206, ill. (color).