Bowl with Dragons
Snakelike dragons, their heads confronting one another, run concentrically and intertwine on this bowl. Dragons were associated with the pseudo-planet al-Jawzahr, able to cause and reverse eclipses by swallowing moon and sun, and were thus both terrifying and beneficial, protective, and apotropaic. The bowl may have had a perceived beneficial quality, amplified by a twice-inscribed benediction:
May your power and glory be perpetual / May your good fortune surpass all limits / So that everything in this bowl brings you enjoyment / Oh master of the world, may it prolong your life.
May your power and glory be perpetual / May your good fortune surpass all limits / So that everything in this bowl brings you enjoyment / Oh master of the world, may it prolong your life.
Artwork Details
- Title: Bowl with Dragons
- Date: dated 607 AH/1210 CE
- Geography: Attributed to Iran
- Medium: Stonepaste; glazed in opaque white, luster-painted, part of the inscription scratched in luster
- Dimensions: H. 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm)
Diam. 8 7/16 in. (21.4 cm)
Wt. 15.3 oz. (433.8 g) - Classification: Ceramics
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1961
- Object Number: 61.40
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
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