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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.”This footed bowl is a type of mina’i ware called “lavjardina,” a term derived from the Persian word for the blue stone lapis lazuli (lavjard). Rather than firing colors on a white background, lavjardina ceramics glazed color over a dark blue base. Gilded diamond shapes and red circles are surrounded by stylized floral motifs. This pattern is repeated across the body of the jug, separated occasionally by columns of red, blue, and gilt.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
28806
label
Jug with Geometric Patterns
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
5
Source metadata
id
28806
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Jug with Geometric Patterns
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.”This footed bowl is a type of mina’i ware called “lavjardina,” a term derived from the Persian word for the blue stone lapis lazuli (lavjard). Rather than firing colors on a white background, lavjardina ceramics glazed color over a dark blue base. Gilded diamond shapes and red circles are surrounded by stylized floral motifs. This pattern is repeated across the body of the jug, separated occasionally by columns of red, blue, and gilt.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1930, [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuq (?))
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
jugs
imageCount
5
pageCount
5
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
19.2
height
13.4
dimensionsRaw
H: 7 9/16 × Diam: 5 1/4 in. (19.2 × 13.4 cm)
Source extras
med
fritware, blue underglaze, overglaze enamel with red and white, with traces of gilding
creator_ids
6768
collection_ids
none
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
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type
photo
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photo
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