Large Middle Eastern Islamic Pottery Zoomorphic Bowl With Farsi Or Arabic Script

For sale is this beautifully ornate glazed pottery dish from the Middle East. This dish is made of a clay based pottery, and is glazed with a glass like coat that has crackled from the years of wear. The glaze is in the design of a bird-like zoomorphic figure in the center, with a primitive writing (possibly a Farsi or Arabic relative) around the rim of the bowl.

The bottom of the bowl is glazed in a plain white glaze. This is relatively a large bowl (study the photos carefully though so you have a good idea of the exact size). Please note from the photos, this piece does have some flaws and blemishes from the years of being used/buried.

There are some light chips to the glaze on the inside of the bowl, and out. Note some small chips on the zoomorphic figure itself The crackles of the bowl seem to have some of the clay rising above the glaze.

With a wet finger or wet rag, this can be easily removed, however I believe that this might damage the glaze by eroding under or around each "crackled" piece. For this reason, I have opted out of any cleaning to it (even something light and non-abrasive).

There are other minor bubbles in the glaze, stain, and other blemishes throughout. Please study the photos very carefully so that you will know exactly what to expect. This piece of antique pottery originated in the central Middle East. The design appears to be Islamic in style, and is similar to known examples that are estimated to date back to the 11-16th centuries.

After some online research, I believe that this piece may have originated in the central Middle Eastern region North or Northeast of the Arabian Peninsula. The collector provided that they acquired this piece from a collector in Dubai prior to that (they previously had worked in the UAE). This piece was ethically acquired. It is made in an obvious design that originated in the Middle East in the 11th Century AD, however this design has continued with varying popularity from then until modern times.

The wear of this piece supports this age, along with its style roughly. There are some slight discrepancies in its design, however. The fresh bottom makes me wary of this piece being medieval.

Many period examples that I have seen have a darker toned base clay. Also some of the smoothed lines in the design seem to support the use of technology used from the 1500's and more recently.

I believe I can rule out this piece being pre 1500's for sure. The crackled texture looks period consistent on the underside, but the upper side is suspicious. The clay from in between the cracks being so soft makes me wary that this piece is ancient or medieval also.

For these reasons and many others, my personal opinion is that this piece is post-medieval. On one hand, most of it checks out to be remarkably consistent with known period examples (maybe 95% consistent).

On the other hand, I don't have provenance that dates before the pieces previous owner (or have official collection names), nor do I have the way it was discovered (only told that it was long ago). This makes me suspicious, but doesn't necessarily mean it isn't genuine (as this is the case with many authentic pieces on the market). The glaze is a tone that is easily reproducible, and with lack of heavier damage or faults could have been replicated. It being a near prime condition piece is also suspect. Officially I make no claims of its authenticity.

It may be an ancient piece, or may be a completely modern piece (museum reproduction, souvenir, or general cultural collectible). In addition to that, this piece may have undergone some kind of restoration at some point (it is difficult to tell for sure). This is an incredible find, as these are seldom offered on the open market. This would be a great teaching tool, research piece, gift, display piece, conversation piece, decor piece, or addition to any collection!

Don't pass it up! Be sure to check over the details and look at all of the photos so you will know exactly what you'll get! Sometimes the photos include a picture of the item next to a ruler so that you can better tell the size of the item.

This way we can avoid any accidental sizing issues. My goal is to make you happy!

I love being able to help in any way, so if for some reason something isn't clear, then please don't hesitate to ask!! If you see an error in any listing then please let me know, so that I can fix it immediately! I don't want to be dishonest even on accident!

And I LOVE learning about antiques, so if you have anything extra I can add to a listing, then feel free to let me know! Please contact me if there is a problem and I would be happy to help!!

It's my pleasure to be serve you an any way I can! All items come from a smoke free pet free home. Some Is bought in bulk so I can offer you great prices, and some are rare and I only have one!

Let me know if I can help you in any way and I'd be happy to! This item is in the category "Antiques\Asian Antiques\Middle East". The seller is "worleyenterprisesinternationalllc" and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, Sweden, Korea, South, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Africa, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Norway, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Republic of, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, French Guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macau, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Peru, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Vietnam, Uruguay.

• Primary Material: Porcelain & Pottery
• Type: Bowl