Bowl with Horse and Rider

• Accession Number:AKM693
• Place:Iran
• Dimensions:9.2 x 21.6 cm
• Date:late 12th–early 13th century
• Materials and Technique:fritware, painted in lustre on an opaque white glaze

• In the Aga Khan Museum Collection is a set of ceramics representing the wide spectrum of lustre-glazed vessels from the Islamic world. Producing the glaze required knowledge of special formulas and access to scarce materials; firing it required mastery of a particular sequence of firings at certain temperatures and levels of oxygen. For these reasons, we can trace the movement of this highly specialized technique from one area to the next with some specificity. We can conclude, for instance, that this bowl depicting a horseman and his spotted mount, accompanied by a hunting dog was made after the lustre-glazing technique had developed in Iraq, moved to Egypt, and then travelled again to Iran. Partially restored, the bowl clearly reveals the influence of 12th-century Persian painting on ceramic production, an influence also evident in manuscripts. A band of stylized Kufic-style writing decorates its rim.

   

  — Marika Sardar