Mid 13th Century CE
Gift from the Art Fund from the bequest of Henry Van der Bergh
DUROM.1983.24
The 'Object of Desire' that I have chosen is 'a deep bowl on circular foot decorated blue ground (turquoise glaze), with gold and black with foliage and interlaced scrollwork on a strapwork ground'.
The 'gilt foliage decorating the interior of this exquisite bowl combined the beauty of representational art with the elegance of geometry' is typical of much Iranian art work. Although the bowl is reconstructed from fragments, with some areas missing including two interior sections and two rim sections, it is still in fairly good condition - in fact this fragmentation allows us to delve deeper into the technical details used to construct the bowl. Its function is unknown and undocumented, however likely to be purely decorative.
The bowl itself came to the Durham Oriental Museum as part of a collection of 9 pots at the bequest of Henry Van der Bergh, and hails from the mid-13th Century CE. It has a diameter of 7 inches and is made of a medium called Fritware with Minai-Lajuardina decoration, with the style a transition between the two techniques. There is one area of dark yellow staining on the outside, and several similar smaller areas on the inside.
On first look around the museum, there were a couple of objects that piqued my interest. However, none more than this stunning turquoise bowl. The color was immediately eye catching to me, and having had a long-standing interest with Islamic and Persian art, I knew that the history behind it was likely to be personally fascinating. On deeper reflection, the fragmentation of the bowl really appealed to me, as it seemed to suggest a deeper history, and the chance to delve into this really excited me.
I organized a meeting with Rachel Barclay at the Oriental Museum as soon as I was decided on my object, to enquire some more about the bowl in question. She was kind enough to supply me with the full history on file about the bowl, as well as some surrounding documentation about how it, and the 8 other pieces of connected pottery, came to be a part of the permanent collection here in Durham. She also pointed out some useful sources of information surrounding the history and period the bowl came from to further explore the genre, techniques and themes that surrounded it's creation.
The existing information that the museum holds on my object is rather limited. We know the period in which it was produced, but not the artist, which could potentially be problematic in my research as it could give further detail and clarification about the history of the bowl. The style, paint and calligraphy decorating the bowl, however, are all details which can be researched further and likely to throw up some interesting themes to explore. After choosing my object, I have also written to the NACF to see whether they have any more details to supply me with and intend to research previous owners in further detail.
In terms of wider reading and research I have put together a bibliography to begin reading. The University Library, Jstor and Metropolitan Museum website all have many books, articles and essays available, and fascinating resources which I shall try and put to good use. In terms of further sources, the 8 other pieces of pottery which the bowl arrived with will serve as excellent points of comparison. I also intend on extending my research further with reference to the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, The Met and the V&A from past trips and during the Christmas break. Rachel has also suggested looking at the online resources of V&A website, which has a comprehensive list of reading for me to carry out.
There are a number of interesting ways to approach the object, however I would like to explore the bowl specifically in terms of the following topics:
- Techniques
- Ceramics
- Colour
- Decorative motifs
- Calligraphy
- pre-Islamic art and the spread of Islam
- Repairs and damage
Post Comment
Post a Comment