The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

White, cylindrical, ceramic cup flaring slightly at the rim with patterns and stylized people in dark blue, dark red, grey and brown. People circle the cup's body, 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 with eyes, noses, and no mouths. White, squared, Kufic script circles the cup's rim against blue.

Mina'i Beaker with Seated Princes

1180–1220

Iran, Kashan, Seljuq period of Iran

(1037–1194)
Fritware with overglaze design, mina’i ware
Overall: 13.3 x 12.3 cm (5 1/4 x 4 13/16 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1917.977
Location: 116 Islamic

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.
  • Purchased by the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust for the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1917-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 705 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 212 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 212 archive.org
  • Art of the Islamic World (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 21, 2021-May 31, 2022).
    Persian Decorative Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 15-March 16, 1952).
  • {{cite web|title=Mina'i Beaker with Seated Princes|url=false|author=|year=1180–1220|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1917.977