Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Islamic Middle East, Room 42, The Jameel Gallery

Dish

17th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This blue dish has an incised design decorating its centre. It is one of the pieces produced by Iranian potters in the period 1600-1700. In the 16th century, ceramic production in Iran was on a modest scale. When the capital moved to Isfahan around 1600, the production of luxury dishes and wall tiles in a wide variety of styles and techniques rapidly increased.

We cannot identify a particular centre of production of ceramic vessels. Surviving pieces illustrate the many techniques the potters used. These included underglaze painting and coloured glazes, and lustre, which was revived after 1650.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Fritware with glazing
Brief description
Large blue dish with incised floral-geometric design in white, Iran, 17th century.
Physical description
Shallow dish in fritware, with incised decoration of a geometric and floral design in white showing through a wash of blue under a transparent glaze. It is thought that this technique is not Chinese but Islamic, suggesting that this was the invention of Persian potters.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 50.4cm
  • Height: 8cm
Style
Gallery label
Jameel Gallery Safavid Ceramics and Colour Safavid potters created brilliantly coloured ceramics. The effect was often achieved with glazes of a single colour. Many of these wares have moulded or carved decoration. The most unusual appears on bottles made in the 17th century, which bear scenes of people and animals. A second technique used coloured slips, or liquid clay, under the glaze. Potters sometimes carved the slip away to reveal the white body beneath. In other cases, they added designs in white and other slips. 4-5 Blue Dishes Iran 1600-1700 Fritware under slip with carved decoration Museum no. 1288, 2813-1876(Jameel Gallery)
Summary
This blue dish has an incised design decorating its centre. It is one of the pieces produced by Iranian potters in the period 1600-1700. In the 16th century, ceramic production in Iran was on a modest scale. When the capital moved to Isfahan around 1600, the production of luxury dishes and wall tiles in a wide variety of styles and techniques rapidly increased.

We cannot identify a particular centre of production of ceramic vessels. Surviving pieces illustrate the many techniques the potters used. These included underglaze painting and coloured glazes, and lustre, which was revived after 1650.
Bibliographic reference
Watson, Oliver: Ceramics from Islamic Lanes: Kuwait National Museum, Al-Sabah Collection, London, 2004, p. 476 cat. no. U.31 (similar dish with good technical description).
Collection
Accession number
1288-1876

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Record createdFebruary 24, 2005
Record URL
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