The first indigenous Muslim dynasty to rule Iran following the Arab conquest, the Samanid Dynasty was founded in 819 A.D. by Saman-Khuda, a Persian vassal of the Abbasid Empire. However, not until the reign of Saman-Khuda’s great-grandson, Ismail I (892-907 A.D.), did Samanid power become extensive, eventually spreading outside of Iran and into Central Asia. The coins of the Samanids were used throughout North Asia, revealing their enormous influence on the region. Today, the Samanid Dynasty is renown as a time of cultural flourishing, especially in regards to the arts of poetry and pottery. The capital of Bukhara was also one of the cultural centers of the empire, along with the cities of Samarkand and Nishapur. Perhaps their most important influence on Islamic art was the Samanid innovation of slip painting that allowed for more refined, controlled glazed decorations on terracotta vessels and tiles. The Samanid Dynasty was a period of nationalism, where the Persian people regained power from the hands of foreign invaders. While Samanid power gradually waned throughout the 10th century in response to the rise of Turkic power in Central Asia and Afghanistan, during their rule the foundations of a native Iranian Islamic culture were firmly established. White slip with black, olive and red slip decoration under a transparent glaze.
Deep bowl, slip-painted polychrome-on-white ware. Buff earthenware, coated with ground white slip and decorated with black, red and white paintings. At the base there is a complex floral in a central medallion and four large palmettes and four blossoming flowers terminating in split palmettes rise from it.
Iran or Central Asia, 10th century. Comparative material: An almost identically decorated slip-painted bowl is in the Al-Sabah collection in Kuwait, cf. Watson, cat.no.Gb.8., inv.no.LNS764C, p.223. Another similar vessel is in the Khalili Collection, cf. Grube, 1994, cat.no.76, p.85.
Prof. Geza Fehervar Prof. Geoffrey Kin