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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.”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. The combination of leisurely activities with more warrior-like occupations, such as the hunt, was frequently used in the medieval Persian iconography of kingship. This is referred to as bazm wa razm, or feasting and fighting. These range of courtly activities can be seen in the decoration of this bowl, as two horsemen face each other while a female figure dances in the center. Their audience consists of four pairs of courtiers. The interior rim bears an inscription in kufic with benedictions to the owner.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
30451
label
Bowl with Two Horsemen
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
6
Source metadata
id
30451
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Bowl with Two 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. The combination of leisurely activities with more warrior-like occupations, such as the hunt, was frequently used in the medieval Persian iconography of kingship. This is referred to as bazm wa razm, or feasting and fighting. These range of courtly activities can be seen in the decoration of this bowl, as two horsemen face each other while a female figure dances in the center. Their audience consists of four pairs of courtiers. The interior rim bears an inscription in kufic with benedictions to the owner.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, Constantinople and Paris, [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase [said to have been found at Rhadjes]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1914, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuq (?))
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
bowls (vessels)
imageCount
6
pageCount
6
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
7.9
height
19.6
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 3 1/8 x 7 11/16 in. (7.9 x 19.6 cm)
Source extras
med
fritware, white underglaze, black, blue, dark purple, pink, red, turquoise overglaze enamel, traces of gilding
creator_ids
6768
collection_ids
none
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
f29ddfed7ef1ec37
hasOcr
no
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no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
3098ade779ccfef0
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
7532c7cfc9727643
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
60fc7cd904e71da3
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no
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no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
ad082188a5074c7f
hasOcr
no
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no
seq
6
type
photo
mediaId
3e02bf25adf953b6
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no