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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. This footed bowl features relatively rare composition of a single camel at the center surrounded by a camel caravan led by a driver on foot. The bowl also features two pseudo-inscriptions in different calligraphic styles: in kufic on the interior, and naskhi on the exterior.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
8940
label
Bowl with Camel Caravan
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
8
Source metadata
id
8940
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Bowl with Camel Caravan
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. This footed bowl features relatively rare composition of a single camel at the center surrounded by a camel caravan led by a driver on foot. The bowl also features two pseudo-inscriptions in different calligraphic styles: in kufic on the interior, and naskhi on the exterior.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuq (?))
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
bowls (vessels)
imageCount
8
pageCount
8
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
8.7
height
20.7
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 3 7/16 x 8 1/8 in. (8.7 x 20.7 cm)
Source extras
cul
Islamic
med
fritware, white underglaze, black, blue, pink, red, and turquoise overglaze enamel, and gilding
creator_ids
6768
collection_ids
none
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
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