Fine and rare 10th century Nishapur buffware pottery bowl decorated in green yellow and manganese decorated in the interior with stylized motifs and on the outside with a band of scrolls at the rim. Damaged and repaired as usual. From a private Scottish collection of Islamic Pottery formed over 50 years ago. Many similar items can be seen in Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Size 25.5cm diameter, 10 cm high. Price £750
Situated on the great plateau of central Iran, Nishapur was for centuries an important political and cultural centre a seat of governmental power in eastern Islam, a dwelling place for diverse ethnic and religious groups, a trading stop on commercial routes from Transoxiana and China, Iraq and Egypt. Nishapur's most significant period when the buffware was produced extended from the ninth century to 1221, when, after repeated earthquake disasters and military occupations, the city was devastated by the Mongols
