拍品專文
Jars with a similar decoration applied and stamped were excavated in Ghubayra in south-eastern Iran and Malwand in Afghanistan. An unglazed jar of 37cm. high in the Kuwait National Museum displays a very close decorative scheme with panels with diagonal intersections over a dot-punched ground with small rosettes and almond-shaped elements applied around the shoulder and the neck (Oliver Watson, Ceramics from Islamic Lands, London, 2004, p. 107, cat. Ab.2).
However, the faces applied to this jar are very singular. If it is possible to recognize the conventional 'moon face' common in 13th century Iran and Syria, the bearded and horned devil faces ornamenting the present jar are very unusual. The large jars found in Syria and Mesopotamia, some datable to the Zangid period (1170-1220), although slightly different in decoration and shape, have large figures and faces applied around the neck to which apotropaic properties were probably associated. It is not impossible that this was the case for this jar although the rich decoration remains its most striking feature.
However, the faces applied to this jar are very singular. If it is possible to recognize the conventional 'moon face' common in 13th century Iran and Syria, the bearded and horned devil faces ornamenting the present jar are very unusual. The large jars found in Syria and Mesopotamia, some datable to the Zangid period (1170-1220), although slightly different in decoration and shape, have large figures and faces applied around the neck to which apotropaic properties were probably associated. It is not impossible that this was the case for this jar although the rich decoration remains its most striking feature.