Bottle, fritware, painted in underglaze cobalt blue with scholar on a horse, Iran, 1640-1665

Bottle with a straight and plain top. The neck has a trellis design at the top and as it moves down to the main body of the bottle there is a lotus decoration with leaves. Two separate scenes are depicted on the body of the bottle. One showing a pagoda and some huts set against some mountains - this image is reflected. The second scene showing a rider on horseback. The rider has a distinct fringe and one bare leg showing; the rider is carrying a staff or long cane of sorts in his left hand.

Persian blue and white ceramics were primarily produced during the rule of the Safavid Dynasty in Iran (early 16th century - early 18th century). Iranian potters were almost exclusively preoccupied with making wares in the styles of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain some close copies and some more fanciful. Echoes of earlier traditions remained, in particular in the black-under-turquoise colour scheme that dates back in Iran to the end of the 12th century. Towards the end of the 16th century there was a widening of interest that blossomed in the 17th century to a wide range of styles and techniques in which blue and white plays a dominant but not exclusive role.

By the 1620s, Iranian potters were producing convincing copies of the Chinese porcelain imports flooding into Iran since the 1580s. The challenge was to produce well-painted Kraak-style designs on thinly walled vessels. By the 1650s, Safavid potters freely painted their own designs on domestic shapes.

432-1878