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Ewer with Arabic Proverb, "Devotion Fortifies Action"

10th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 453
Slip-painting, the technique employed to decorate this ewer, was developed in Khurasan and Central Asia in the 10th century. It consists of diluting the pigment of the desired color in a slip (liquid clay), and of painting designs with the mixture: the adherence of the slip-painted designs to the surface of the vessel makes for a neat design, that does not run under the glaze. In this case, fine incisions of the black slip give definition to the design.
The black slip-painting outlines a continuous motif of palmettes connected by a band with loops and an inscription in Kufic script. The text, typical of slip-painted vessels of this type, is an Arabic proverb and reads "devotion fortifies action".

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ewer with Arabic Proverb, "Devotion Fortifies Action"
  • Date: 10th century
  • Geography: Probably from Iran or present-day Uzbekistan, Nishapur or Samarqand
  • Medium: Earthenware; white slip with black slip decoration under transparent glaze
  • Dimensions: H. 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm)
    Diam. at rim 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics
  • Credit Line: Gift of Ernest Erickson Foundation, 1988
  • Object Number: 1988.114.3
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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