Bowl
Unknown Artist
probably 11th century
Medium
Stonepaste; carved, transparent greenish glaze
Dimensions
H. 2 in. (5.1 cm) Diam. 4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm)
Classification
Ceramics
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1938
Accession Number
38.40.177
Art Historical Context
This delicate stonepaste bowl, likely crafted in the 11th, exemplifies the ingenuity of Islamic ceramic artisans during a golden age of innovation. Measuring just 2 inches high 4 inches in diameter, its petite form was ideal for serving sweets, fruits, or beverages in elite households across the Islamic world, from Persia to Egypt. The transparent greenish glaze imparts a luminous, jewel-like quality, evoking the natural hues of turquoise or emerald—colors revered in Islamic art for their symbolic ties to paradise gardens. Stonepaste, a composite of quartz, clay, and glass frit, was a revolut...