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Bowl

Date:
10th century
Geography:
Attributed to Iran or present-day Uzbekistan, Nishapur or Samarqand
Medium:
Earthenware; white slip with incised black slip decoration under transparent glaze
Classification:
Ceramics
Credit Line:
Fletcher Fund, 1975
Accession Number:
1975.195
Not on view
The floriated kufic script used to decorate this bowl is especially well suited for writing on stone, wood, ceramics, or metal because of its angularity, and it developed freely since its early use in the ninth century. The inscription on this bowl, divided visually rather than following rules of grammar, reads: "Blessing and well-being to the owner."
Inscription: In floriated Kufic: "blessing and well-being to its owner."
[ Mahboubian Gallery of Ancient Art, London, until 1975; sold to MMA]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Celestial Pen: Islamic Calligraphy," September 28, 1982–February 7, 1983, no catalogue.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Balcony Calligraphy Exhibition," June 1, 2009–October 26, 2009, no catalogue.

Schimmel, Annemarie. "Islamic Calligraphy." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., vol. 50, no. 1 (Summer 1992). pp. 4, 8-9, ill. fig. 8 (color).

Timelines
Iran, 500-1000 A.D.

"Islamic Calligraphy": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 50, no. 1 (Summer, 1992)

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