The entire body of the bowl is lobed and moulde with human heads. Their feature correspond to a physical type depicted in bot Seljuk painting and sculpture. Namely, hig cheek bones, a flat nose, small mouth and stron chin. The flaring foot on this bowl remain unglazed. There is a striking resemblance between th crowned heads and the faces that appear on number of “bird bowls” (Grube. Cat.209), som of which have been interpreted as part of th iconography of the “Royal Wine Boat." This suggest that they had a specific meaning which is yet t be deciphered. A few examples suggest suc figures were meant to represent Harpies, that is,
human faced birds with wings at both sides an the ends fashioned in the form of tail feathers.
The significance of the Harpy is well noted i Islamic legend in that the Prophet Muhammad' ascension to heaven was made with the aid o "Buraq"- a Harpy. Lobed cups with faces ar also found decorating the tops of bottle forms o the same period, both moulded and painted.

The Barakat Collection also includes a 'master' mould which is very similar in design (see item no. GD.037R). Oliver Watson illustrates another mould of this type in the Al-Sabah collection (‘Ceramics from Islamic Lands’ (2004), pp. 140-141, Cat. AF.3.)
For comparative items see G. Fehervari, 'Ceramics of the Islamic World in the Tareq Rajab Museum’, (2000) pp.101-102, no.111 and ‘The Arts of Islam: Treasures from the Nasser D Khalili Collection,’ (2007), p. 109, fig. 121.