Amazon Prime Student 6-month Trial


Try Amazon Audible Plus

An Elephant on a Mina'i Bowl from Kashan. Fritware with Underglaze Cobalt and Overglaze Enamel, 1218AD

A larger image of this Bowl with War Elephant and Kite Shield. Shahdom of Khwarizm, Iran, 1219AD. The Keir Collection of Islamic Art 143

Mina'i Bowl from Kashan Fritware with Underglaze Cobalt and Overglaze Enamel 1218 CE.
On this bowl from Kashan, we see a very rare depiction of an elephant on mina'i ware. Typical scenes include tales from Persian legends, scenes from the hunt with falcons and horses, caravans, or court scenes. These paintings are often compared to those found in the miniatures of manuscript illumination from books of the period. Sometimes, the overglaze enamels were fired atop a turquoise colored glaze as well.
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

---

Bowl with overglaze-painted decoration
DATE: dated Safar 616 AH/April 1219 CE
MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE: Ceramic
CLASSIFICATION: Ceramics
DIMENSIONS: 3 1/4 × 6 7/8 × 6 3/4 in. (8.26 × 17.46 × 17.15 cm)
DEPARTMENT: The Keir Collection of Islamic Art
CREDIT LINE: The Keir Collection of Islamic Art on loan to the Dallas Museum of Art
OBJECT NUMBER: K.1.2014.313
General Description: Keir catalogue number No. 143
Source: Dallas Museum of Art

---

Referenced as figure 393 in The military technology of classical Islam by D Nicolle
393. Ceramic bowl, 1220 AD, Iranian, Keir Coll, no. 143, London (Grub).
p.238: What are not mentioned are a whole series of smaller, often hand- rather than arm-held, kite-shaped shields, many of which have rounded rather than pointed bases, which could provide a logical link between the ancient oval shield and the heavy European kite-shaped cavalry shield of the 11th and 12th centuries (Figs. 149, 154, 159, 161, 204, 220B, 227, 267, 301, 392, 393, 415, 422, 484, 510, 514, 515, 521, 523, 524, 527, 530, 531, 533, 538, 540, 543, 545, 549, 552, 575, 577, 586, 587, 604, 606, 610, 625 and 638).