*A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN DISH
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
Iran and China, dated 1260 AH (1844)

Of rounded shape, on a very short circular foot, the white porcelain body polychrome-painted in a variety of overglaze enamels in hues from pink to green, cobalt blue, copper red to gold, the decoration consisting of a shamsa-shaped calligraphic medallion with 4ll. of nasta'liq poetry to the centre, surrounded by a continuous band of polychrome boteh (paisley design), below the rim several lobed cartouches inscribed with Persian verses in cobalt blue against a golden ground, the exterior replicating the same design, the text of Shia content by the renown marsiya (elegiac) poet Wisal al-Shirazi (1783 - 1846), an ownership inscription and date to the outer rim, 21.7cm diam.

Inscription: Donated by Mirza Bozorg Shirazi, 1260.

The dish must have been a commission from a wealthy Shia Muslim in either Iran or India; a commemorative tribute to the great Imam Husseyn, his martyrdom in Kerbela and his thirst. In the poetical quatrains decorating the dish, there are specific hints to its use for a bowl of iced water and to the act of commemorating the Kerbela's massacre when drinking. Part of a set, a bowl with saucer decorated in the same style and with the same inscriptions and date was successfully sold in these Rooms on 25 October 2019, lot 219. A matching dish to ours is exhibited at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore (inv. no. 2011-01521), supporting the hypothesis of a larger service.

Dimensions: 21.7cm diam