The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Inside of a ceramic bowl colored in green, yellow, and brown and with a circular base with a cheetah standing on the back of a horse, both stylized against a brown background. Against yellow, four men with light skin tones circle the rim, as wide as the base. They have dark beards, wear trousers or wraps and shirts patterned with polka-dots and crosses, and gesture towards the center. Animals, birds, and angular script surround them.

Nishapur Figural Bowl

900s

Iran, Nishapur, Samanid period

(819–1005)
Earthenware with underglaze decoration
Overall: 8 x 35.6 cm (3 1/8 x 14 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1959.249
Location: 116 Islamic

Description

Nishapur was founded as a Sasanian imperial city and ceramics produced here regularly incorporate elements from Sasanian metalware. The lively decoration on this bowl features four bearded figures surrounded by animals, birds, and angular script (possibly extending baraka, blessing). The central horse with a cheetah on his back suggests an imperial hunt, a common theme in Sasanian and Islamic art. The decorative motifs and figures employed on Nishapur polychrome ware reflect the rich cultural traditions in this part of northeastern Iran. Some vessels, like this one, depict the pastime of hunting, others reflect festivals celebrated by Muslims and Zoroastrians, and a few display Christian symbols.
  • ?-1959
    (Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1959-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 46, no. 10 (December 1959): 210–231. Reproduced: p. 214; Mentioned: p. 230 www.jstor.org
    Shepherd, Dorothy G. “Bacchantes in Islam.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 47, no. 3 (March 1960): 42–49. Mentioned and Reproduced: cover, pp. 42–49 www.jstor.org
    “Annual Report for the Year 1959.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 47, no. 6 (June 1960): 111–158. Mentioned: p. 134 www.jstor.org
    Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. Iranian Ceramics: [Catalogue of an Exhibition]. New York: Distributed by H.N. Abrams, 1963. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 22, p. 123
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 211 archive.org
    Grube, Ernst J. The World of Islam. London: Paul Hamlyn, 1966. Reproduced: p. 21, fig. 6
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 211 archive.org
    Atil, Esin. Ceramics from the World of Islam. Freer Gallery of Art Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition, vol. III. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1973. Comparative Material Reproduced: no. 6
    Zick-nessen. Johanna. "Figuren Mittelalterlich-Orientalischen Keramikschalen un die 'Sphaera Barbarica.'" Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran N.F. Bd. 8 (1975), pp. 217–240. Reproduced: pl. 50, no. 3
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 267 archive.org
    Neils, Jenifer. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 21, fig. 23
    Soustiel, Jean, Charles Kiefer, and Henry Pierre Fourest. La céramique islamique: le guide du connaisseur. Paris: Office du Livre, Éditions Vilo, 1985. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 62, no. 44
    Grabar, Oleg. The Formation of Islamic Art. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. Reproduced: fig. 111
    Baer, Eva. The Human Figure in Islamic Art: Inheritances and Islamic Transformations. Bibliotheca Iranica 11. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2004. Reproduced: fig. 8
  • Art of the Islamic World (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 21, 2021-May 31, 2022).
    Iranian Ceramics. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (October 2-December 15, 1963).
  • {{cite web|title=Nishapur Figural Bowl|url=false|author=|year=900s|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1959.249