bowl, unknown maker from Persia

Resting on a low pedestal, this shallow bowl exemplifies the artistic achievements that occurred in 13th- and 14th-century Iran. Under Mongol rule, artisans combined techniques and materials from Eastern Asia with traditional Persian aesthetics. Lājvardina (from the Persian lajvard, or lapis lazuli) characterized the deep blue or turquoise glazes that embellished vessels like this one. Like lusterwares produced in Persia, Europe, East Asia, and the United States, this variety of blue-glazed terracotta was often illuminated with metallic enamels.
This Persian bowl can be found on a table in the exhibition Empire of Things. The vibrant colors and intricate geometrics on this bowl disguise its less-than-perfect condition: Like many pieces of ancient art that found their way into private and museum collections, this vessel has been restored from a fragmented to a whole state.

Resting on a low pedestal, this shallow bowl exemplifies the artistic fluorescence that occurred in 13th- and 14th-century Iran. Under the Seljuq sultanate, artisans combined newly acquired techniques and materials from Western Asia with traditional Persian aesthetics. Their products represent the first kernels of a distinctly Islamic canon of art. The vibrant colors and intricate geometrics on this bowl mask its less-than-perfect condition: like many pieces of ancient art that found their way into private and museum collections, this vessel has been restored from fragments to a whole.

Resting on a low pedestal, this shallow bowl exemplifies the artistic fluorescence that occurred in 13th- and 14th-century Iran. Under Mongol rule, artisans combined techniques and materials from Eastern Asia with traditional Persian aesthetics. The vibrant colors and intricate geometrics on this bowl mask its less-than-perfect condition: like many pieces of ancient art that found their way into private and museum collections, this vessel has been restored from a fragmented to whole state.