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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. These colorful compositions created complex narrative scenes which paralleled manuscript painting. Four horsemen, each individually detailed, are framed by geometric patterns and stylized vines. A kufic inscription around the inner rim of the jug invites a gaze inward, where a stylized flower has been painted along the bottom of the jug. A kufic inscription on a blue background along the outer rim and around the lower half of the jug frame the riders.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
15453
label
Jug with Four Horsemen
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
9
Source metadata
id
15453
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Jug with Four 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. These colorful compositions created complex narrative scenes which paralleled manuscript painting. Four horsemen, each individually detailed, are framed by geometric patterns and stylized vines. A kufic inscription around the inner rim of the jug invites a gaze inward, where a stylized flower has been painted along the bottom of the jug. A kufic inscription on a blue background along the outer rim and around the lower half of the jug frame the riders.
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
jugs
imageCount
9
pageCount
9
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
11.8
height
13.2
dimensionsRaw
H of rim: 4 5/8 × D: 5 3/16 in. (11.8 × 13.2 cm); H of handle: 5 3/8 × W with handle:5 1/4 in. (13.6 × 13.4 cm)
Source extras
med
fritware, white underglaze, black, blue, brown, dark green, pink, red, white overglaze enamel, traces of gilding
creator_ids
6768
collection_ids
none
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
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