Page 49 - ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND INDIAN WORLDS Carpets, Ceramics Objects, Christie's London Oct..27, 2022

*35
A NISHAPUR MOULDED POTTERY STORAGE JAR
IRAN, 12TH CENTURY
Of bulbous form with a straight neck and everted mouth, covered with a
cobalt-blue glaze, a band of moulded decoration below the neck with four
sphinxes alternating with arabesques, a band of kufic below
10in. (25.5cm.) high
£10,000-15,000 US$12,000-17,000
€12,000-17,000

PROVENANCE:
*34 Excavated Rayy, 1943
A KASHAN MOULDED POTTERY BULL INSCRIPTIONS:
(GAV) WITH HOWDAH With a band of kufic calligraphy around the body, (undeciphered)
IRAN, 12TH CENTURY
The introduction of fritware to Iranian pottery greatly increased the
In the form of a bull with a howdah on its back, with
a turquoise glaze all over, intact possibilities of ceramic art since stonepaste offered a better adhesive
8in. (20.3cm.) high; 6¿in. (15.5cm.) long surface than natural clays (E. J. Grube, Cobalt and Lustre, Oxford, 1994,
p.147). Monochrome wares like this were produced using a transparent glaze
£25,000-35,000 US$29,000-40,000
coloured with cobalt which was mined near Kashan although it was used
€29,000-40,000
in pottery centres across Seljuk Iran. Vessels such as the present lot were
created out of two horizontally-joined hemispheres, the lower one turned on
PROVENANCE:
the wheel and the uppermost moulded to incorporate a decorative band. On
Excavated Awdan Tepe, Gurgan, 1946-7
the present lot, this band features running animals and a particularly elegant,
though illegible, band of kufic calligraphy. A similarly-shaped jar, produced in
Although monumental sculpture is virtually
the same technique and with a purely figural decorative band, sold in these
non-existent in the Islamic world, small scale
Rooms, 23 October 2007, lot 82
modelling was a common product of potters in
Iran in the pre-Mongol period (Oliver Watson,
Ceramics of Iran, London, 2020, p.318, no.161).
Lions and bulls/cows (gav), such as that offered 35
here, were amongst the most popular subjects
– perhaps with astrological significance as Leo
and Taurus are zodiacal signs and the domicile of
the benevolent planets the Sun and Venus (Toby
Falk, Treasures of Islam, exhibition catalogue, New
Jersey, 1985, p.233). These sculptures all appear *36
to have some function - the type of which survives A KASHAN POTTERY JUG
in most plentiful numbers are aquamaniles. The IRAN, 13TH CENTURY
mouth of our gav is formed as a spout and was
White slip with clear glaze, the vertical bands of white naskh incised on a black
probably intended for such a purpose. ground with cobalt-blue edges alternating with cobalt-blue bands with black
vine, the straight neck decorated with fish, below a band of cobalt-blue at the
Our gav is a particularly interesting hybrid. mouth, the handle painted black, on slightly splayed foot
Although the monochrome turquoise glaze, 8in. (20.3cm.) high
and the curled horns are fairly standard and
£8,000-12,000 US$9,200-14,000
associated with the production of Kashan, no
€9,200-14,000
other examples of a gav are known with a howdah
on their back. The howdah on our gavis of a
PROVENANCE:
type frequently found on elephant figures which
Excavated Awdan Tepe, Gurgan, 1946-7
Gibson associates more with Raqqa because of
an example in the Khalili Collection which has INSCRIPTIONS:
Down the bands on the sides, repeats of: al-'izz al-da'im wa'l-iqbal al-za'id,
a ‘laqabi’ glaze (inv. POT 1285; Melanie Gibson,
'Perpetual glory and increasing prosperity'
Takũk and TImthal: A Study of Glazed Ceramic
Sculpture from Iran and Syria circa 1150-1250, PhD
The early 13th century saw the appearance of underglaze-painted pottery in
thesis, SOAS, 2010).
Iran, the production of which was centred on Kashan. Black and cobalt-
blue pigments were applied to a stonepaste body before a turquoise or
transparent glaze was applied. The chemical reaction between the black
pigment and the glaze ensured the crisp definition of the designs in spite
of the slight run to the blue which is characteristic of this group. Another
typical feature are the black ‘waterweed’ motifs which run down the blue
stripes. There is a larger jug with a very similar profile to the present lot in
the Sarikhani collection (Oliver Watson, Ceramics of Iran, New Haven CT,
2020, p. 305). A jug belonging to the same group with a wider neck was sold
in these Rooms, 25 June 2020, lot 4. 36
46 In addition to the hammer price, a Buyer’s Premium (plus VAT) is payable. Other taxes and/or an Artist Resale Royalty 4 477
fee are also payable if the lot has a tax or λ symbol. Check Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of this catalogue.