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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. At the center of this bowl is a recurrent motif of two standing birds set in star-shaped frames. The exterior rim features an inscription in kufic.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
6066
label
Bowl with Pattern of Peacocks
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
6
Source metadata
id
6066
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Bowl with Pattern of Peacocks
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. At the center of this bowl is a recurrent motif of two standing birds set in star-shaped frames. The exterior rim features an inscription in kufic.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1928, 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
8.5
height
21.2
depth
20.9
dimensionsRaw
H: 3 3/8 × W: 8 3/8 × D: 8 1/4 in. (8.5 × 21.2 × 20.9 cm)
Source extras
med
fritware, white underglaze, black, blue, red, and turquoise overglaze enamel, traces of gilding.
creator_ids
6768
collection_ids
none
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
dab3239a609cf19d
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no
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no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
a5e19e22240af71b
hasOcr
no
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no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
36ff2ca2959146d0
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
d18a8cc9bde45a30
hasOcr
no
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no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
571eaaf52cc94303
hasOcr
no
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no
seq
6
type
photo
mediaId
a4370613fa974732
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no