Scallop-Rimmed Charger with Courtly Couple
early 13th century
Description
The interior of this impressive vessel is decorated with two large-scale, seated figures whose long-sleeved garments signal their courtly status. Tiraz bands on the upper arms of one figure’s caftan offer an additional indication of wealth and prestige. A bird in the tree between the pair and a second bird below them suggest a garden setting. The background is decorated with tiny spirals incised in the luster. These background spirals, combined with the representation of the figures in reserve, are characteristic of the so-called Kashan style of luster ceramics. Bands on the wall and rim of the vessel contain Persian words that are mostly illegible due to the compromised condition of the dish. The inner inscription is written in luster on a white ground; the one on the rim is incised on a luster ground, now quite abraded. All that can be deciphered of the inner inscription is “Rustam from an infatuated heart . . .”. Prior to its arrival at the Harvard Art Museums, this chrager was reconstructed from many small pieces and the entire inner surface covered in clear varnish. The rim and walls are nearly half recomposed from plaster and alien bits of ceramic. The center has been reassembled from original fragments, although the fish on the left side may come from another luster vessel. The exterior of the charger is decorated with loosely painted circles. The base is smoothed with a modern layer of clay.
Dimensions
6.3 x 26.4 cm (2 1/2 x 10 3/8 in.)
Provenance
[Mansour Gallery, London, 1973], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (1973-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.
Related Artworks
View MoreShufu ware: molded porcelain with pale sky-blue glaze; with molded characters reading "Shu Fu" incorporated into the design
12th-13th centuryChineseCizhou ware: light gray stoneware with decoration painted in iron-brown slip on a white slip ground under a clear glaze
13th-14th centuryChineseJun ware: light gray stoneware with robin's-egg blue glaze
12th-13th centuryChineseTurned bronze
12th-13th centuryKoreanYaozhou ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze over carved and incised decoration. From the Yaozhou kilns near Tongchuan, Shaanxi province.
12th-13th centuryChineseFritware with overglaze painted luster decoration
12th-13th centuryPersianMisfired Jian ware: dark brown stoneware with misfired glaze turned olive
12th-13th centuryChineseEarthenware
10th-13th centurySyrianQingbai ware: molded porcelain with off-white glaze over trailed ribs of porcelain slip
12th-13th centuryChineseMottled grayish white nephrite
11th-13th centuryChineseJian ware: dark gray stoneware with dark brown glaze enlivened with markings in overglaze iron-brown slip; the lip banded with metal. From the kilns at Shuiji, Jianyang county, Fujian province.
12th-13th centuryChineseLongquan celadon ware: molded light gray stoneware with grayish olive celadon glaze
12th-13th centuryChinese