Plate

This ceramic plate was made in Iran, possibly at Meshed, in the 17th century. Its body material consists of a small amount of white clay, ground quartz and a soda-lead frit. It is finely textured. Before firing, the vessel was probably covered with a fine slip of the same composition to provide an particularly smooth surface for underglaze painting.

The plate is painted in deep, blackish-blue cobalt, with a seated figure (perhaps a musician holding a tambourine) in a central circular medallion. This is surrounded by a floral border with four quatrefoil panels, containing birds.

In the 17th century, as indeed throughout the previous centuries, Chinese ceramics had a profound influence on the development of Persian pottery. In this period, Meshed and Kerman have been suggested as centres for the production of blue-and-white wares such as this one, made in imitation of contemporary Chinese porcelain which was much desired but expensive. It is interesting to note the fact that the face of the central figure is left blank. Perhaps this might have been done in line with religious conventions within Islam which strongly discouraged figural representation of living beings.

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