Inscribed Mina'i Bowl with an Enthroned Figure and Narrative Scenes in Three Registers
Islamic (Probably Kashan)
Seljuq dynasty (1037–1194), Late 12th/early 13th century
- Medium
- Mina'i ware, fritware with polychrome painting over an opaque white glaze
- Classification
- Ceramics
- Dimensions
- 9.6 × 20.3 cm (3 13/16 × 8 in.)
- Culture
- Iran
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Asia
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. Andrew Dole
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Iranian 12th- and 13th-century overglaze-painted ceramics, or mina'i (meaning enameled), are particularly opulent and luxurious objects due to their broad color palette. Prior to the late 12th century, colors applied to ceramics were generally limited to one or two per vessel. This example, however, has a much wider range of color, including red, blue, purple, black, and beige. The use of multiple colors applied over the glazed allowed for the depiction of increasingly complex scenes on ceramic vessels. Note the variety of figural decoration on the bowl, which is derived from stock imagery dealing with courtly culture.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
