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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.”This footed bowl is a type of mina’i ware called “lavjardina,” a term derived from the Persian word for the blue stone lapis lazuli (lavjard). Rather than firing colors on a white background, lavjardina ceramics glazed color over a dark blue base. A repeated motif of birds encircles the central figure. A kufic inscription lines the inside rim of the bowl, while a stylized floral motif is repeated along the outside body of the bowl.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
36201
label
Bowl with Birds and Floral Motifs
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
7
Source metadata
id
36201
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Bowl with Birds and Floral Motifs
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.”This footed bowl is a type of mina’i ware called “lavjardina,” a term derived from the Persian word for the blue stone lapis lazuli (lavjard). Rather than firing colors on a white background, lavjardina ceramics glazed color over a dark blue base. A repeated motif of birds encircles the central figure. A kufic inscription lines the inside rim of the bowl, while a stylized floral motif is repeated along the outside body of the bowl.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1926, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuq (?))
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
bowls (vessels)
imageCount
7
pageCount
7
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
9.8
height
21.3
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 3 7/8 x 8 3/8 in. (9.8 x 21.3 cm)
Source extras
med
blue underglaze, red and white overglaze enamel, with traces of gilding
creator_ids
6768
collection_ids
none
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
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photo
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