A COPPER LUSTRE-PAINTED POTTERY BOWL WITH FIGURES AND VEGETAL MOTIFS
Kashan, Iran, 12th - 13th century

Of typical rounded shape, resting on a tall flared foot, rising to a slightly everted rim, painted in ruby copper lustre on a white ground, the decoration following the standards of the third category of Kashan wares ('Kashan style') featuring an exterior with four roundels containing large seated figures clad in dotted robes, interspersed amidst interlocking stylised vegetal meanders and pseudo-calligraphic clusters, the decoration of the interior of the bowl plainer, with a central geometric star pattern crossed by diagonal lines, 18.5cm diam. and 11cm high.

Lustre-painted pottery is an overglaze technique that was perfected by potters working in the medieval Islamic world. Metallic oxides were applied to a previously fired tin-glazed ceramic body and further fired in a reduced oxidation process. An expensive and highly complex process, lustre-painted pottery from the Seljuk period often features distinctive moon-faced characters depicted in courtly or hunting scenes.