Turquoise Glazed Mina'i Bottle with Sphinxes and Seated Figures
Date12th - 13th century
PeriodSeljuq Legacy
MediumStonepaste, polychrome pigments, gilding
Dimensions9 3/16 x 5 in. (23.3 x 12.7 cm)
ClassificationsCeramics
Object number48.207
DescriptionMina’i (“enameled” in Persian) is a ceramic painting technique used during a very specific period of time (1170-1220 CE) in a very specific place (Iran, most probably in the city of Kashan). It has clear links with manuscript painting, but because no examples of illustrated works on paper or vellum survive from this early period, we cannot know for certain. There are also clear connections with the much larger-scale wall paintings found throughout pre- and early-Islamic Central Asia. On this bottle, we see the typical courtly scenes commonly painted on mina’i ware: richly-dressed courtiers speak in pairs, underneath a colorful register of prancing sphinxes.On View
On viewCollections
12th - 13th century
12th - 13th century
19th - 20th century
19th - 20th century
12th - 13th century
Dated AH 1031 (1622 CE)
