Rider's cup with minaï decoration Iran, Kashan, circa 1200

Rider's cup with minaï decoration Iran, Kashan, circa 1200
Siliceous paste with polychrome decoration and on glaze.
This ceramic is decorated in polychrome of small fire, known as minaï. A large central medallion with non-figurative decoration is surrounded by a register of nine figures on horseback. On the inner rim is a frieze of arabesques and calligraphy or pseudo-calligraphy that is difficult to decipher, probably consisting of blessings intended
for the owner of this beautiful bowl. There is a similar frieze on the outer rim of the
bowl. Broken and glued, two small lacks restored and old deformation probably appeared
during the second firing called "petit feu".
D. 21 H. 8.5 cm
A bowl with a completely non-figurative minaï decoration, comparable to the central medallion of our bowl, is kept
at the Metropolitan Museum (Inv. N°12.49.1). For a chapter on minai ceramics, see :
Watson, O. (2004) Ceramics from Islamic Lands, The Al- Sabah Collection, Kuwait National Museum, London:
Thames and Hudson, Chapter P, pp. 362-371.

Private Collection, Paris Automatically translated by DeepL. To see the original version, click here.