Scallop-Rimmed Charger with Courtly Couple

34 Scallop-rimmed charger with courtly couple Iran, Seljuk-Atabeg period, early 13th century Fritware painted with luster (copper and silver) over white lead alkali glaze opacified with tin 6.3 × 26.4 cm (2 1/2 × 10 3/8 in.) 2002.50.56 Published: McWilliams 2002a, 12, fig. 2; Harvard University Art Museums 2003, 19; McWilliams, 2003, 243, 245, fig. 25; Harvard Art Museum and Wolohojian 2008, 45. The interior of this impressive vessel is decorated with two large-scale, seated figures whose long-sleeved garments signal their courtly status. Ṭirāz bands on the upper arms of one figure’s caftan offer an additional indication of wealth and prestige. A bird in the tree between the pair and a second bird below them suggest a garden setting. The background is decorated with tiny spirals incised in the luster. These background spirals, combined with the representation of the figures in reserve, are characteristic of the so-called Kashan style of luster ceramics.[1] Bands on the wall and rim of the vessel contain Persian words that are mostly illegible due to the compromised condition of the dish. The inner inscription is written in luster on a white ground; the one on the rim is incised on a luster ground, now quite abraded. All that can be deciphered of the inner inscription is “Rustam from an infatuated heart . . .” (Rustam zi dil-i shaydā dar nakard . . .).[2] A courtly couple with similar facial features and details of costume appears on a luster bowl dated to 1211 and signed by the artist Muhammad ibn Abi al-Hasan.[3] Prior to its arrival at the Harvard Art Museums, cat. 34 was reconstructed from many small pieces and the entire inner surface covered in clear varnish. The rim and walls are nearly half recomposed from plaster and alien bits of ceramic. The center has been reassembled from original fragments, although the fish on the left side may come from another luster vessel. The exterior of the charger is decorated with loosely painted circles. The base is smoothed with a modern layer of clay. Ayşin Yoltar-Yıldırım [1] See Watson 1985, 86–109, for the use of the term “Kashan style” and examples of ceramics belonging to this group. [2] We are grateful to Wheeler M. Thackston for this reading and transliteration. [3] Iran-i Bastan, Tehran, 8224, illustrated in Watson 1985, fig. F.