Islamic Buff Ware Slip Paint Ceramic Bowl with Animate Design Nishapur

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An earthenware pottery bowl supported on a short ring base decorated with polychrome slip paint. This type of buff ware … Read more An earthenware pottery bowl supported on a short ring base decorated with polychrome slip paint. This type of buff ware bowl is identified as classic Nishapur ware circa 10th century (in nowadays Iran). The colored slip paint depicts a galloping antelope with straight horns (possible desert Oryx) and distinct skin markings. The majestic animal occupies the entire center of bottom of the bowl surrounded by smaller geometrical motifs. Two bands of linked chains circumvent the interior walls under the rim. On the exterior surface, leaf motif alternates with stacked short lines. The colors were restricted to black outlines with green and yellow infills, typical of the Nishapur ware from that period.
Nishapur buff ware bowls with vivid figurative design, human and animals alike are one of the most unique and extraordinary Islamic ceramic ever made. They strike the viewer with being hasty and unconsidered but at the same time, an undeniable charm and energy. Among many bowls with animated design in museum collection, we can compare this bowl with item AKM754, a closely related example with a similar antelope in the collection of Agar Khan Museum in Toronto.
Reference: see Chapter 1 Buff ware in book "Nishapur Pottery of the Early Islamic Period" by Charlie K. Wilkinson. See less