Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Black and Blue Painted Bowl

early 13th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 453
The whiteness of stonepaste provided a canvas upon which potters could paint pigments directly, rather than applying a slip. By the early thirteenth century, a new type emerged, decorated in black and blue against the white ground, usually with vegetal motifs inside radial frameworks. The stable black pigment creates crisp outlines and fine details, while the rather runny blue fills contours and highlights forms. Underglaze painting would have long‑term consequences on the development of Iranian ceramics.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Black and Blue Painted Bowl
  • Date: early 13th century
  • Geography: Made in Iran, probably Kashan
  • Medium: Stonepaste; polychrome painted under transparent glaze
  • Dimensions: H. 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm)
    Diam. of rim: 8 13/16 in. (22.4 cm)
    H. of base: 13/16 (2.1 cm)
    Diam. of base: 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1964
  • Object Number: 64.256
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Three Corner Tiles, Stonepaste; modeled, inglaze painted in blue and luster-painted on opaque white glaze
Three Corner Tiles
early 14th century
Bowl with Green, Yellow, and Brown Splashed Decoration, Earthenware; white slip, incised and splashed with polychrome glazes under transparent glaze (sgraffito ware)
Bowl with Green, Yellow, and Brown Splashed Decoration
10th century
Armlet, Gold; filigree and granulation
Armlet
first half 11th century
Star-Shaped Tile, Stonepaste; inglaze painted in blue and turquoise and luster-painted on opaque white glaze
Star-Shaped Tile
13th–14th century
Luster Bowl with Winged Horse, Stonepaste; luster-painted on opaque monochrome glaze
Luster Bowl with Winged Horse
late 12th century

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.