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拍品專文
Samanid potters can be credited with the invention and perfection of slip-painted pottery – in which clarity of design was achieved by painting brownish pigment mixed with slip on a white engobe which is painted over the red earthenware before being covered by the completely clear glaze. These ceramics are amongst the first pieces produced in the Islamic world where epigraphy is the sole ornament. Large numbers of them were excavated at Nishapur and Samarqand (Afrasiyab) and although none are dated, they are generally attributed to the 10th century - a period that corresponds to Samanid rule (874-1005).
An elegant Arabic inscription gives startling splendour to this jug. Written in black, the words are powerfully balanced around the bulbous body. The black slip is raised slightly above the white surface; a carving tool has been used to sharpen its contours.
There are relatively few known examples of Samanid jugs as compared to dishes, making this particularly rare. Oliver Watson suggested that this was due to the fact that such forms tend to shatter more than dishes (Oliver Watson, Ceramics of Iran. Islamic Pottery from the Sarikhani Collection, London, 2020, p.60). Our jug is closely related to one in the Harvard Museum of Art (2002.50.91). Another is in the Sarikhani Collection (Watson, op.cit., pp.60-61. no.18). Other Samanid jugs have sold at Sotheby’s London, 3 October 2012, lot 10 and, more recently, in these Rooms, 28 October 2020, lot 7.
An elegant Arabic inscription gives startling splendour to this jug. Written in black, the words are powerfully balanced around the bulbous body. The black slip is raised slightly above the white surface; a carving tool has been used to sharpen its contours.
There are relatively few known examples of Samanid jugs as compared to dishes, making this particularly rare. Oliver Watson suggested that this was due to the fact that such forms tend to shatter more than dishes (Oliver Watson, Ceramics of Iran. Islamic Pottery from the Sarikhani Collection, London, 2020, p.60). Our jug is closely related to one in the Harvard Museum of Art (2002.50.91). Another is in the Sarikhani Collection (Watson, op.cit., pp.60-61. no.18). Other Samanid jugs have sold at Sotheby’s London, 3 October 2012, lot 10 and, more recently, in these Rooms, 28 October 2020, lot 7.