Three-color Luster Bowl with Stylized Tree

Unknown

9th century · Earthenware; polychrome luster-painted on opaque white glaze · Islamic Art

Abbasid artists experimented in figural and geometric ornament in a number of media, including woodwork, glass, stucco, and ceramics. This bowl shows the artist’s interest in the complexities of abstraction and rhythmic patterning. The motifs here include wings, a tree-like central divide, and floral elements, all set against a white background that makes it possible for the eye to read the patterns more easily

Artist

Unknown

Date

9th century

Medium

Earthenware; polychrome luster-painted on opaque white glaze

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

H.O. Havemeyer Collection, Gift of Horace Havemeyer, 1941