© Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 283:1951


This item has been added to the Database within the Explore Islamic Art Collections project. Information is available in: English, Arabic.

Name of Object:

Plate with Design of Arabic Inscription in Kufic Script

Location:

Saint Louis, United States of America

Holding Museum:

Saint Louis Art Museum

About Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis

Date of Object:

Hegira Late 2nd to late 4th / AD 10th century

Museum Inventory Number:

283:1951

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Glazed and slip-painted earthenware

Dimensions:

Length: 4.4cm x Width: 37.8cm

Period / Dynasty:

Seljuq

Provenance:

Nishapur, Khorasan, Iran, Asia

Description:

A shallow earthenware plate with inscription in dark brown slip over white slip background and a transparent glaze. The Arabic inscription in Kufic script serves as the main decoration; its elongated horizontal bars and ligatures form a border along the circumference of the plate while the sharply pointed vertical staffs extend towards the central depression to form a radiating design. Translated, the inscription reads "Planning before work protects you from regret! K..." There are many scratches and repaired cracks. At several spots along the edge, the white slip has chipped away, exposing the pinkish buff earthenware.

How date and origin were established:

Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.

How Object was obtained:

Museum Purchase, 1951

How provenance was established:

Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.

Selected bibliography:

Bloom, Jonathan and Blair, Shelia, God is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth: Light in Islamic Art and Culture, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2015.
Speight, Charlotte F. and Toki, John, Hands in Clay, Mountain View, CA; London / Toronto: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1999.

Citation of this web page:

 "Plate with Design of Arabic Inscription in Kufic Script" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;us;Mus24;16;en

MWNF Working Number: US4 16

RELATED CONTENT

 Artistic Introduction

Islamic Dynasties / Period

Seljuqs (Great Seljuqs)


On display in

MWNF Galleries

Calligraphy Ceramics

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