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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. This footed bowl’s interior features a central figure on horseback, framed by two armed figures hoisting weapons. With seated figures above the horseman, surrounded by stylized vines, and two sphinxes detailed beneath the fighting figures, this bowl is an example of bazm wa razm, or feasting and fighting. The combination of leisurely activities with more warrior-like occupations, such as hunting, was frequently used in the medieval Persian iconography of kingship. A kufic inscription surrounds the upper rim of the bowl while the exterior is adorned with a naskhi inscription.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
19671
label
Bowl with Fighting Horsemen, Armed Figures, and Sphinx
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
7
Source metadata
id
19671
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Bowl with Fighting Horsemen, Armed Figures, and Sphinx
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. This footed bowl’s interior features a central figure on horseback, framed by two armed figures hoisting weapons. With seated figures above the horseman, surrounded by stylized vines, and two sphinxes detailed beneath the fighting figures, this bowl is an example of bazm wa razm, or feasting and fighting. The combination of leisurely activities with more warrior-like occupations, such as hunting, was frequently used in the medieval Persian iconography of kingship. A kufic inscription surrounds the upper rim of the bowl while the exterior is adorned with a naskhi inscription.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1927, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuq (?))
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
bowls (vessels)
imageCount
7
pageCount
7
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
8.5
height
20.4
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 3 3/8 x 8 1/16 in. (8.5 x 20.4 cm)
Source extras
med
fritware, white underglaze, black, blue, brown, dark green, dark purple, pink, red, and white overglaze enamel, traces of gilding
creator_ids
6768
collection_ids
none
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
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type
photo
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type
photo
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type
photo
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type
photo
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type
photo
mediaId
25ca686eef207018
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no
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no
seq
7
type
photo
mediaId
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hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no