A Samanid epigraphic bowl with Kufic inscription: ‘Greed is a Sign of Poverty’
10th century
Nishapur or Samarkand
24.5 cm (diameter); Conical, earthenware bowl with flat base, raised on a low, unglazed earthenware foot; the body covered with white slip, kufic inscription in dark brown/purple manganese slip, fired underneath a clear lead glaze. In
This bowl is a superb example of black-on-white wares manufactured in the East Persian world during the reign of the Samanid Dynasty (204/819-395/1005). The spare, white-slipped wares with purplish-black calligraphic inscriptions produced in and around the pottery-making centres of Nishapur and Samarkand under the aegis of the Samanid dynasty (819-999 AD) are renowned for their stark elegance and the precision of their design.
