- Title
- Bowl
- Date Made
- 15th century
- Medium
- Fritware, underglaze-painted
- Dimensions
- Height: 2 1/4 in. (5.71 cm); Diameter: 13 1/4 in. (33.65 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.2002.1.72
- Collecting Area
- Art of the Middle East: Islamic
- Curatorial Notes
From the late eighth century imported Chinese ceramics enjoyed great popularity in Islamic lands while Muslim potters imitated their shapes and developed new ways of emulating the whiteness and lightness of porcelain. It was not until after the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, however, that Chinese designs were widely adopted in Islamic pottery. Motifs such as lotus flowers and peonies, dragons, and, in the case of this bowl, the phoenix, became commonplace not only in glazed ceramics but also in other luxury mediums, such as inlaid metalwork and silk textiles.
- Selected Bibliography
- Carswell, John. Blue and White: Chinese Porcelain and its Impact on the Western World. Chicago: David and Alfred Smart Gallery, 1985.
