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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.
Page data
- Page
- 4
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- 60fc7cd904e71da3
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 30451
- Core
- obj
- Type
- object
DTO data
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"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 (?))",
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Context sent to Scholar
Document identity
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Document source metadata
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"contentType": "object",
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"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 (?))",
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Document source extras
{
"med": "fritware, white underglaze, black, blue, dark purple, pink, red, turquoise overglaze enamel, traces of gilding",
"creator_ids": [
"6768"
],
"collection_ids": [],
"exhibition_ids": []
}
Page context
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