Bowl with an Arabic Inscription and Palmettes Maker: Unknown

9th century c.e.

Asian Art

On view, 2nd floor, Asian Art

Written in cobalt blue, the inscription reads “Blessings to the owner, made by.” Other bowls of this type were signed by the artists, which speaks to the recognition awarded to potters in Iraq in the ninth and tenth centuries C.E.. This bowl might have been signed at the time of purchase, thereby enhancing its value. The use of a white glaze to cover the yellowish-gray pottery body, and that of cobalt blue, appears in Basra in Iraq in the early ninth century C.E. in response to white wares from China, some of which were also painted with cobalt blue.

Medium

Earthenware with cobalt blue over opaque white glaze

Dimensions

2 3/8 × 9 1/16 in. (6 × 23 cm)

Credit Line

Hobart and Edward Small Moore Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. William H. Moore

Accession Number

1951.51.65

Geography

Iraq

Culture

Iraqi, Islamic

Period

Abbasid dynasty (750–1258)

Classification

Containers

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Purchased in London by Arthur. Upham Pope for Mrs. Moore, 1932; Mrs. William H. Moore (Ada Small Moore) (1858–1955) New York; given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.,1951
Bibliography
  • Phyllis Ackerman, Guide to the Exhibition of Persian Art, 2, exh. cat. (New York: The Iranian Institue, 1940), 146, label MWH 22, fig. 8
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

bowls (vessels)

Inscriptions

In Arabic "Baraka li-ṣāḥibihi" Blessings to the Owner\r\nبرکھ لصاحبھ\r\nعمل \r\n\r\nʿamel … (The work of … [illegible])

Technical metadata and APIs

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