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Bowl

Title	Bowl
Author	Unknown
Publication Date:	1630
Publication Place	Iran (made) -
Subject	Figures (Representations) Flowering Plant Lozenges Books Tassel Rider Mule Ribbon
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Physical Dimensions	Height: 19.5cm, Diameter: 32.5cm
Library:	Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID	2904-1876
Record ID	2904-1876
Library Location	Middle East Section
Date	1630
Notes	The decoration on this bowl imitates a rare group of Chinese export bowls and dishes, of about 1600-20, with heraldic-style shields containing seven-headed monsters, including five beasts and two human portraits and latin inscriptions. The source of the original commission has not been identified. Examples appear in Lisbon where a dish is in the ceiling of the Santos Palace installed in the 1660s, a bowl appears in a Dutch still-life dated 1638 by Willem Claesz Heda (1594-c.1681) in the Hamburger Kunsthalle (JHH 2009), and there is a bowl in the British Museum (OA 1957,1216.19). As well there was a bowl available to the Iranian potter, who made this bowl. The inscription is 'SAPIENTI NIHIL NOVUM' (sic) (To the wise man nothing is new). The rest of the decoration is Chinese in character with Buddhist motifs and lotus flowers. The Iranian potter faithfully imitates the design, but the inscription is completely illegible as it was in a foreign script. The bowl is an important document in the history of international trade, evidence that a design made for one customer could be copied and sold to others of different nationalities. For an Iranian variation on this design see 2911-1876.
Malzemeler ve teknikler	Fritware with underglaze painting in blue and black Fritware Painted Glazed
Fiziksel açıklama	Bowl of fritware, painted in blue outlined with black under a clear glaze. On the outside four panels are reserve-painted with a winged hydra and its five heads surrounding a couple of busts. Lateral bands simulate the original motto: Sapienti nihil novum . The rest of the surface is painted with ribbons, jewelled strings, pairs of books, lozenges, tassels and flowering branches with finials. Inside are divided into eight panels each with a leafy branch and two flowers rising from a rock. A central medallion with a bald-headed rider on a mule amidst flames. The design is of European origin, with inscription originally in Latin; probably copied from a Chinese bowl with this decoration. Imitation Chinese square mark in black.
Üretim	Label
Üslup	Safavid

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Victoria and Albert Museum

Bowl

Author Unknown

Publication Date 1630

Publication Place Iran (made) -

Subject Figures (Representations) Flowering Plant Lozenges Books Tassel Rider Mule Ribbon

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Physical Dimensions Height: 19.5cm, Diameter: 32.5cm

Library Victoria and Albert Museum

Library Asset ID 2904-1876

Record ID 2904-1876

Library Location Middle East Section

Date 1630

Notes The decoration on this bowl imitates a rare group of Chinese export bowls and dishes, of about 1600-20, with heraldic-style shields containing seven-headed monsters, including five beasts and two human portraits and latin inscriptions. The source of the original commission has not been identified. Examples appear in Lisbon where a dish is in the ceiling of the Santos Palace installed in the 1660s, a bowl appears in a Dutch still-life dated 1638 by Willem Claesz Heda (1594-c.1681) in the Hamburger Kunsthalle (JHH 2009), and there is a bowl in the British Museum (OA 1957,1216.19). As well there was a bowl available to the Iranian potter, who made this bowl. The inscription is 'SAPIENTI NIHIL NOVUM' (sic) (To the wise man nothing is new). The rest of the decoration is Chinese in character with Buddhist motifs and lotus flowers. The Iranian potter faithfully imitates the design, but the inscription is completely illegible as it was in a foreign script. The bowl is an important document in the history of international trade, evidence that a design made for one customer could be copied and sold to others of different nationalities. For an Iranian variation on this design see 2911-1876.

Malzemeler ve teknikler Fritware with underglaze painting in blue and black Fritware Painted Glazed

Fiziksel açıklama Bowl of fritware, painted in blue outlined with black under a clear glaze. On the outside four panels are reserve-painted with a winged hydra and its five heads surrounding a couple of busts. Lateral bands simulate the original motto: Sapienti nihil novum . The rest of the surface is painted with ribbons, jewelled strings, pairs of books, lozenges, tassels and flowering branches with finials. Inside are divided into eight panels each with a leafy branch and two flowers rising from a rock. A central medallion with a bald-headed rider on a mule amidst flames. The design is of European origin, with inscription originally in Latin; probably copied from a Chinese bowl with this decoration. Imitation Chinese square mark in black.

Üretim Label

Üslup Safavid