Bottle with Long Neck
Iran, about 1173-86
H. 29.8cm
Miho Museum, Shiga
This bottle has a long neck and rounded torso, with a band of circular protrusions around the mouth rim area. The entire bottle has been coated in blue glaze, and the immediate interior edge of the neck and the middle of the foot have also been coated in blue glaze. Three-dimensional designs are covered by gold foil which was then outlined in red. The designs are a repetition of characters, with differences seen in each character form thought to indicate that the characters were shaped after they were attached to the clay. Designs include round leaves above the round protrusions on the neck, with lozenge-shaped decorations on the back surface, and spiraling lines arranged on the top and bottom of the long neck. Arabesques were drawn between these spiraling forms. The torso is decorated with, from the top, human-faced birds, sphinxes with wings facing each other and thrones, and a band of lettering covered with gold foil. Beneath this lettering band, sphinxes facing out towards the viewer are surrounded by arabesque designs. The central band of lettering is a dedicatory inscription which states "Ordered by the Lord, the Learned, the Just, the Mighty, the Strength of State and Religion, the Guardian (?) of Islam and the Muslims, the Sovereign of the World, the King of the East, Abu Bakr Tughanshah ibun al-Mu'ayyad, the Victorious (?)." This inscription was deciphered by Stefano Carboni of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, who noted that inscription details require further confirmation. (See Ancient Art from the Shumei Family Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1996, p. 160, note 2.)
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