Artwork Page for Mina'i Beaker with Seated Princes

Details / Information for Mina'i Beaker with Seated Princes

Mina'i Beaker with Seated Princes

1180–1220
Measurements
Overall: 13.3 x 12.3 cm (5 1/4 x 4 13/16 in.)
Public Domain
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Location
116 Islamic
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Did You Know?

A band of Kufic runs around the outside of the rim and another one is around the inside of the rim.

Description

Mina’i ware takes its name from the Persian word for enamel. It was a luxurious type of pottery and used enamel painting to create true polychrome ceramic for the first time. Mina’i ware frequently combines blues, greens, and purples with sharp black and red executed with precise control. Figural scenes are quite common for these vessels and often recall book illustrations including rows of seated court members, sometimes flanking an enthroned ruler, and princely scenes of hunting or falconry.
A cylindrical white ceramic cup flares slightly at the rim with patterns and stylized people in dark blue, dark red, gray, and brown colors covering the cup's body. Each person is seated in the center of a continuous pattern of loosely outlined, circular shapes coming to points at the top and bottom and overlapped with organic shapes. Brief lines suggest the people's basic facial features. Dark-outlined Kufic script encircles the cup's rim in white against blue.

Mina'i Beaker with Seated Princes

1180–1220

Iran, Kashan, Seljuq period of Iran (1037–1194)

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