Earthenware bowl, covered with a brown slip and painted in a white slip under a transparent glaze that is now decomposed
The Samanids ruled large parts of Iran and Central Asia as independent governors for the weakened Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad.
The model for this bowl is in fact Iraqi lustreware, but although the Iranian potters did not master the lustre technique at this time, their decorations were striking, whether they were calligraphic or of the type shown here, with an elegant, almost eccentric abstraction of a bird. Its wings resemble great palmettes and its little head sits on a mannered, long neck. The white decoration stands sharp and bright against the dark, blackish-brown background.
The model for this bowl is in fact Iraqi lustreware, but although the Iranian potters did not master the lustre technique at this time, their decorations were striking, whether they were calligraphic or of the type shown here, with an elegant, almost eccentric abstraction of a bird. Its wings resemble great palmettes and its little head sits on a mannered, long neck. The white decoration stands sharp and bright against the dark, blackish-brown background.