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Footed Bowl with painted design of birds

Iranian

Artwork Details

Footed Bowl with painted design of birds
11th century - 12th century
Iranian
buff earthenware with underglaze iron painting
5 5/8 x 11 1/16 x 11 3/16 in. (14.29 x 28.1 x 28.42 cm)
Museum Purchase
1957/1.53

Description

Subject Matter:

Among Persian ceramics decorated with incised design, there is a subgroup with a distinctive type of ornamentation made up of birds and green crosshatching. In general the engraved birds are executed with a hasty but vaguely naturalistic intent and they are silhouetted against a filler field of dark green, also applied with a certain spontaneity. The disposition of the birds on the ceramic surface varies from the more or less concentric rows to a large pair of heraldic birds covering the interior of another bowl. 

 

Physical Description:

This footed bowl with painted designs is of 11th-13th century Iranian origin. The object stands upon a broad pierced foot, with a stem extending upwards supporting a shallow dish. It is done in brown, green and gold. The decoration consists of a number of birds compartmentalized by a gold background that serves to set off their shapes and creates a free-form design. Sgraffito cuts through the slip on glaze to a layer of brown that creates part of the form of the bird or its decoration. All of this is set against green cross-hatched areas. 

 

Usage Rights:

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