A very fine and rare ceramic bowl with flaring sides, the interior decorated with a large central band of angular Kufic script. A large grotesque figure is set on each side, surrounded by chevron motifs. The whole painted in sage-green and outlined in dark brown against a cream-white ground.

The inscription reads:

العلم اشرف الاحساب و الـ[ـمر]وة ...

“Knowledge is the most noble of virtues and chivalry … ”

Note:
For the same saying, see Oliver Watson, Ceramics from Islamic Lands, London, 2004, Cat.Ga.15, p. 216.

Samarkand, Central Asia
12th-13th Century

Diameter: 27cm
Height: 7.7cm

Literature:
Inscriptions on Nishabur pottery, A. Ghouchani, Tehran, 1364 / 1985, pls. 7,15,49, 67, 82 and 108.