A LARGE COBALT BLUE AND BLACK-PAINTED KASHAN POTTERY BOWL
Kashan, Iran, early 13th century

Of typical deep conical shape, resting on a tall straight foot, the fritware body painted in black and cobalt blue under a transparent glaze against a white ground, the interior decorated with a radial pattern stemming from the centre and spreading towards the rim featuring black bands of white free-flowing Persian naskh calligraphy reserved against black, alternating stylised vegetal and arabesque motifs in-filled with miniature crosses, the exterior decorated with the traditional water-weed pattern in black, 28cm diam. and 12.5cm high.

Oliver Watson, a major Islamic art scholar and expert in Persian ceramics, describes Kashan vessels of this style and period as the ultimate embodiment of the Persian potters' mastery of and predilection for underglaze painting technology. The pigments tend to be stable, with very little tendency to run, enabling the craftsmen to draw very fine and minute details and decorative motifs with great precision (O. Watson, Ceramics of Iran, 2020, p. 301). For further reference, please see an analogous pottery dish part of The Sarikhani Collection (Ibidem, cat. 152), featuring analogous dimensions and decorative motifs to our lot.