Bowl, 10th Century

Unknown artist

10th Century

Earthenware, polychrome slip decoration under a transparent glaze

Aga Khan Museum

A circular earthenware bowl decorated with a red, winged creature and intricate knotwork patterns in white, yellow, and black slip. The rim features a border of stylized text or symbols. Further Reading This bowl [2] in the Aga Khan Museum Collection combines all three design types. Pseudo inscriptions run along the bowl’s rim. Abstract motifs surround a stylized bird—perhaps a peacock—with a long tail raised above its back. Enclosed in an almond-shaped interlace pattern, this tail expands across the bowl’s centre. The bird walks to the left with its head slightly bowed in a gesture that accentuates the graceful curve of its neck. Native to India, peacocks have long held a place in Iranian culture. Since the pre-Islamic period, they have been associated with the concepts of Paradise and royalty.[3] After