Description

Alternating leaves and pomegranates circle the rim of this dish, emerging from the swirling vegetal motif in the background. The pomegranate is a common decorative element in Islamic art. It is mentioned in the Qur’an as one of the fruits of paradise and is prized for its beauty and nutritional benefits. The use of the pomegranate on this luminous dish may indicate that it was produced for the court of the Nasrid dynasty (1232–1492) in Spain. The palace of Alhambra, the seat of power for the emirs, dynastic Muslim rulers, from the early 1300s, is in Granada, which translates to pomegranate.