10/ Plate with epingraphy
Ceramics
10th -11th century
Louvre, Paris
The phase during which the market demand was for items imitating foreign models did not preclude Persian craftmen from marking unprecedented advances in the area of ceramic decoration Among the many and various tyoes , a special place is occupied by serving plates and small basin, in black and nearly always leaving a circular band around the rim . In essence, the texts are exhortations or¬ proverbs analogous to the one on the object shown here that runs something like Magnanimity smacks of bitterness at firt, but its lingering taste is as sweet as honey “ or elsewhere, ‘good planning means no regrets.” and similar aphorisms. The fact that the concem here is more with popular adages than religious quotations implies that such products were destined chiefly for a middle-class urban clientele , even if ithe dot in the white void at the centre could well be seen to stand for the idea of God.