Bowl with Radial Design

28 Bowl with radial interlace design Iran, Seljuk-Atabeg period, late 12th–early 13th century[1] Fritware painted with black (chromium), blue (cobalt), turquoise (copper), and brownish-red (iron) over white lead alkali glaze opacified with tin 8.5 × 22.1 cm (3 3/8 × 8 11/16 in.) 2002.50.114 Published: McWilliams 2003, 243, 247, fig. 29. From the six-petaled ornament at the center of this bowl radiates an exquisite maze of arabesques and interlaced lines reminiscent of the plaited ascending letters in some Kufic inscriptions. Blue, black, light turquoise, and brownish red are painted over the opaque white glaze. The exterior bears a scrawled cursive pseudo-inscription. There are several cracks and repairs. Although mīnāʾī bowls with abstract decoration are rarer than those with figural designs,[2[ similar examples can be found in the Khalili Collection, London, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.[3] Ayşin Yoltar-Yıldırım [1] The bowl was last fired between 400 and 800 years ago, according to the results of thermoluminescence analysis carried out by Oxford Authentication Ltd. in 2011. [2] Grube 1994, 216. [3] Ibid., 216, fig. 237; McWilliams 2003, 248, fig. 31.