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AN ABBASID CALLIGRAPHIC POTTERY BOWL MESOPOTAMIA 9TH CENTURY

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Ancient Start Price:1,200.00 USD Estimated At:2,500.00 - 3,500.00 USD
AN ABBASID CALLIGRAPHIC POTTERY BOWL MESOPOTAMIA 9TH CENTURY
A RARE ISLAMIC ABBASID CALLIGRAPHIC TIN-GLAZED POTTERY BOWL MESOPOTAMIA CIRCA 9TH CENTURY. the milky white ground with two bands of kufic inscription in cobalt-blue, manganese and green, with many panels of pseudo-Chinese splash effect. Inscriptions: repeat of possibly word 'ghibtah', means 'alacrity' or 'abdahu 'His (God's) servant' . This rare and elegant bowl with its shallow bowl and low foot is based on a Chinese prototype; the splashed design and calligraphic inscription, however, are entirely Islamic. Interestingly, other examples of "Basran" ceramic productions are signed; a fashion which is likely due to the skill and accomplishment of the potter. Size: 24 cm diam. For a Similar Example
see Sothebys Arts of Islamic World 9 April 2008 Auction Lot#177 and was sold for 24,500 GBP ( Around 35,000 USD ) . This bowl belongs to the group of so-called blue-on-white wares (Vera Tamari, "Abbasid Blue-and-White Ware" in James Allan (ed.), Islamic Art in the Ashmolean, Vol.X, Part Two, Oxford, 1995, pp. 117-145). The characteristic feature of these ceramics, produced in Mesopotamia during the Abbasid period, is the striking contrast between the cobalt-blue decoration and the opaque white tin-glazed ground. For a discussion of the group, see Arthur Lane, Early Islamic Pottery, London, 1947, pp. 14-15.