'Seljuk-White' Dish - AMD.82, Origin: Central Asia, Circa: 1100 AD to 1200 AD, Dimensions: 3.1" (7.9cm) high x 5.9" (15.0cm) wide, Collection: Islamic Art, Style: Seljuk, Medium: Fritware/Composite. The so called Seljuq White-wares were very popular in Iran in the 12th and 13th Centuries and were made of composite white clear glazed fritware in Bamiyan as well as other locations. This is a Bamiyan type bowl molded with a central arabesque figure, intricately decorated with mottled and scrolling designs throughout the bowl. It has straight flaring sides on a low footring. The inside of the bowl is decorated with a generous draping design that follows through all the way around the rim and down the sides of the bowl in manganese purple, and three festive vertical splashes in a beautiful green-blue color from the mouth to the bottom of the bowl. There is a final purple flourish at the center of this highly unusual molded vessel. This piece shows striking color and form very much in line with the Bamiyan style. These fritwares form a distinct group of pottery, unified by their fabric, shapes techniques of making and decorating and their motifs. Bamiyan frit tends to be very fragile with numerous fire cracks; their method of making, with molded ornament in relief on the interior of small bowls; and in the designs themselves, linear in character, which has not been paralleled closely on any other type of wares. During the manufacturing process, they were stacked on tripods which left distinctive scars on the inside of the bowls.

Antiquities
Ancient Near East