Lot Essay
This is a very unusual bowl. Its shape relates to the ceramics found at Nishapur, with is flat foot. It is, however, tin glazed on a buff body as opposed to the slip-painted wares on a red body of Nishapur. The central motif seems to have been painted into the opaque glaze in a manganese purple. Furthermore, a splash of turquoise is found at the tip of the creature's wing. This, on the other hand would seem to link this piece to the 12th century Kashan "silhouette" wares which were painted in black slip underneath a clear colourless or turquoise glaze, although again there are marked technical differences (cf. Fehérvári, Géza: Islamic Pottery, a Comprehensive Study based on the Barlow Collection, London, 1973, nos.87-90, pp.84-85 and pls.38 and 39). The present pieces should therefore be considered transitional or experimental.