View of a cream bowl, decorated with gold paint. The base is small and raised. The interior depicts a bird holding a leaf, enclosed by a narrow band filled with circles. Large gold teardrops alternate direction (pointed in or out) around this band, with the spaces filled with v-shaped marks.
AKM741, Bowl with a bird holding a leaf in its beak, Front

© The Aga Khan Museum

View of the interior of a cream bowl, decorated with gold paint on a cream background. In the centre is a bird holding a leaf, enclosed by a narrow band filled with circles. Around this band is a pattern of large teardrops, alternating direction, with v-shaped marks filling the spaces.
AKM741, Bowl with a bird holding a leaf in its beak, Top

© The Aga Khan Museum

Side view of a cream bowl, decorated with gold paint on a cream background. The base is small and raised. Inside is a pattern of large teardrops, alternating direction, with v-shaped marks filling the spaces. The outside is decorated with four roundels, filled with v-shaped marks, on a dotted background.
AKM741, Bowl with a bird holding a leaf in its beak, Side

© The Aga Khan Museum

Bottom view of a circular bowl, showing the raised base, which is smaller than the rim’s diameter. The base is painted cream, with the Arabic word “barakah” painted on it. The exterior is decorated with four roundels, filled with v-shaped marks, set against a ground of irregular dots.
AKM741, Bowl with a bird holding a leaf in its beak, Bottom

© The Aga Khan Museum

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On Display
Bowl with a Bird Holding a Leaf in its Beak
  • Accession Number:AKM741
  • Place:Iraq, Basra
  • Dimensions:6 x 23.5 cm
  • Date:10th century
  • Materials and Technique:earthenware, with lustre-painting on an opaque white glaze (lustre ware)

  • This bowl was likely produced between about 925 and 975, when the Iraqi production of lustre-glazed ceramics was nearing its end. Clues to this date are the use of earthenware clay, the particular colour of the metallic glaze, and the decoration of a centralized, large-scale motif—in this case, a bird with a leaf in its beak. Many bowls with similar decoration are attributed to Basra, once a major port city in southern Iraq, and their origin there has been confirmed by petrographic analysis. On the base of the bowl is the Arabic word barakah, meaning “blessing,” bestowing good fortune upon its owner. On the sides are four roundels, filled with v-shaped marks, set against a ground of irregular dots.

     

    — Marika Sardar

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