Plate with Calligraphic Decoration

Plate with Calligraphic Decoration

Another large group of glazed earthenware found in Nishapur consists of underglaze painted plates and bowls decorated exclusively with Kufic epigraphy in black over a white slip. The contrast of black and white, the large size of the ware, and the bold yet refined style of calligraphy make this type of ware among the most original and attractive of all Islamic pottery. From the ninth to the eleventh century the "black on white" ware was also popular in other cities in Eastern Iran and Transoxiana; the styles of writing differ slightly according to the regions. The contents of the inscriptions usually include secular Arabic proverbs; these are precious testimonies of early Arabic literature in the non-Arabic speaking Islamic regions, where Arabic was transmitted through a religious context. The inscription on this plate, containing some grammatical mistakes in Arabic, can be translated as "Knowledge is an ornament for youth and intelligence is a crown of gold in paradise. Blessing." The details of the inscriptions are incised. The three small oval impressions around the central rosette are the traces of the trivet (the tree-legged separator which prevented contacts between the objects piled in a kiln during the firing).

Tomoko Masya in [Walker et al. 1994]

Inscription: Large inscription around rim in Kufic script:
Knowledge is an ornament for youth and intelligence is a crown of gold in paradise. Blessing.

(Ghouchani, A. Inscriptions on Nishapur Pottery, Tehran 1986, pl. 138)

[ E. Safani, New York, until 1967; sold to MMA]

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 40.

New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Nature of Islamic Ornament Part I: Calligraphy," February 26–June 28, 1998, no catalogue.

Ghouchani, Abdollah. Inscriptions on Nishapur Pottery. Tehran, Iran, 1986. no. 138, pp. 296–7, ill. (b/w).

Pancaroglu, Oya. "Serving Wisdom : The Contents of Samanid Epigraphic Pottery." In Studies in Islamic and Later Indian Art. Cambridge: Harvard Art Museums, 2002. pp. 59–75, ill. p. 62, fig. 4.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel S. Walker, Arturo Ponce Guadián, Sussan Babaie, Stefano Carboni, Aimee Froom, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Tomoko Masuya, Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews, Abdallah Kahil, and Rochelle Kessler. "Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994–Enero de 1995." In Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994. no. 40, pp. 124–25, ill. (b/w).