NORTH EAST IRAN, 10TH CENTURY

Details

TWO NISHAPUR POTTERY BOWLS
NORTH EAST IRAN, 10TH CENTURY
Of conical form on short foot, the white ground decorated under the glaze with manganese and ochre pigments, one with a band of thick kufic with heavy serifs below a dotted rim, the other with three abstract lancets between brown pseudo-kufic motifs, both with plain exteriors, the larger broken and reassembled with associated restoration, the smaller intact
9 ½in. (24.1cm.) and 7 ¾in. (19.7cm.) diam.

Provenance

The larger excavated Village Tepe, Nishapur, before 1949; the smaller Gurgan, 1946

Engraved

The bowl with a band of continuous kufic below the rim baraka li-sah[hibi] ... surur wa sa'ada 'Blessing for its owner ... joy and happiness'.
The bowl with lancets containing kufic repetitions of undeciphered words.

Further Details

Some countries prohibit or restrict the purchase and/or import of Iranian-origin property. Bidders must familiarise themselves with any laws or shipping restrictions that apply to them before bidding on these lots. For example, the USA prohibits dealings in and import of Iranian-origin “works of conventional craftsmanship” (such as carpets, textiles, decorative objects, and scientific instruments) without an appropriate licence. Christie’s has a general OFAC licence which, subject to compliance with certain conditions, would enable a buyer to import this type of lot into the USA. If you intend to use Christie’s licence, please contact us for further information before you bid.

Conditions of sale

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Sara Plumbly Director, Head of Department

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Lot Essay

The calligraphy on the larger bowl in this lot, as well as the dotted pattern around the rim, resembles that on an example which was excavated by Charles Wilkinson in Nishapur. He finds similarities between the script and that on wares excavated in the Ghaznavid capital of Lashkari Bazaar, and suggests a parallel with Tulunid textiles (Charles K. Wilkinson, Nishapur: Pottery of the Early Islamic Period, New York, 1974, p.99, no.24). The tendency towards greater abstraction in Nishapur pottery is reflected in the smaller bowl, upon which elegant lancets alternate with a brown motif, with heightened shafts resembling a lam-alef ligature.

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