Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 6 pages
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
Mina’i is a modern collectors’ term for ceramics made in Iran during the late 12th to early 13th centuries. The term mina’i, translates as “enamelled” in Persian, designating the colored glass pigments used to paint detailed figural decoration on vessels or tiles, which were then fixed on the ceramic base by multiple firings. The use of a wide range of colors, including turquoise, red, green, purple, and black, also led these types of ceramics to be called by the Persian term “haft rang,” or “seven colors.”Mina’i ware scenes often depict courtly pursuits, such as feasting, fighting, or poetry and music performances. These colorful compositions created complex narrative scenes which paralleled manuscript painting. An enthroned prince is attended to by five courtiers in the central and upper registers of the bottle. Separated by a dark band with geometric patterns, a group of horsemen hunt in the lower register of the bottle. The combination of leisurely activities with more warrior-like occupations, such as hunting, was frequently used in the medieval Persian iconography of kingship. This is referred to as bazm wa razm, or feasting and fighting.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
2008
label
Bottle with Enthroned Prince with Horsemen
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
6
Source metadata
id
2008
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Bottle with Enthroned Prince with Horsemen
description
Mina’i is a modern collectors’ term for ceramics made in Iran during the late 12th to early 13th centuries. The term mina’i, translates as “enamelled” in Persian, designating the colored glass pigments used to paint detailed figural decoration on vessels or tiles, which were then fixed on the ceramic base by multiple firings. The use of a wide range of colors, including turquoise, red, green, purple, and black, also led these types of ceramics to be called by the Persian term “haft rang,” or “seven colors.”Mina’i ware scenes often depict courtly pursuits, such as feasting, fighting, or poetry and music performances. These colorful compositions created complex narrative scenes which paralleled manuscript painting. An enthroned prince is attended to by five courtiers in the central and upper registers of the bottle. Separated by a dark band with geometric patterns, a group of horsemen hunt in the lower register of the bottle. The combination of leisurely activities with more warrior-like occupations, such as hunting, was frequently used in the medieval Persian iconography of kingship. This is referred to as bazm wa razm, or feasting and fighting.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1922, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuq (?))
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
bottles
imageCount
6
pageCount
6
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
30.3
height
19.8
dimensionsRaw
H: 11 15/16 × Diam: 7 13/16 in. (30.3 × 19.81 cm)
Source extras
med
fritware, white underglaze, black, blue, brown, dark green, dark purple, red, and white overglaze enamel, with traces of gilding
creator_ids
6768
collection_ids
ISL
exhibition_ids
548
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
eac711a0292780e0
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
dc8419fd63cdbc0f
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
cfd6f3f7e07a0241
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
f790770831db698b
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
96f09cf5f8c02868
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
6
type
photo
mediaId
2aa1ad62f6010968
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no