During 12th and 13th century there is a distinct effort in reviving the decoration of unglazed wares with elements heavily borrowed from Persian metalwork. The Sassanian(224-651 AD.) is the last Iranian empire before the advent of Islam and it is within their art where the prototypes of such geometric and interlacing motifs originate.
Buff earthenware bowl with wide opening and four simple handles, two of which with a free-moving ring; the mould-made upper half of the body is decorated in varying levels of relief by three horizontal registers: the lowest with a beautiful intertwined guilloche motif, the middle carries a trefoil decorated undulating band; on the upper register, epigraphic band written in cursive style Kufic reading “O Glory and Blessing,”; the lower wheel-made body, standing on a circular flat base, remains undecorated. The inscription is distinguished by clarity, with graduating levels of relief form shadows that exemplify the reading of the words, and intended to be the most important element of the decorative scheme. Secondary motifs are also cast in graduated relief but to a lesser extent, whereas the scroll decorating the flattened rim is entirely in low relief. The rings through the handles suggest that the vessel was originally intended to be suspended and formed also part of an array of ordinary receptacles meant to be used daily - though one can only wonder if the handles were really strong enough to hold such weight, once the vessel had been filled. Our piece is testament to a longstanding ceramic praxis in the Islamic world, as the material used and the shape of these vessels barely changed over the centuries. In terms of decoration however, we notice an amalgam of different influences, encompassing both Islamic and pre-Islamic traditions.
Probably Syria, 12th – 13th century (LO.1412);