Bowl with design of warrior on horseback

Who is this rider holding a long sword or staff? He could be a descendant of the royal hunters depicted on metal bowls of the pre-Islamic Sasanian empire (224–651). Or he could be a mythical hero of Iranian folklore, or an Arab invader (Nishapur, where the bowl was made, fell under Arab control in the 700s). He is possibly a member of the hunting and polo-loving nobility of the region. As yet researchers have reached no consensus.

Surrounding the rider are birds, rosettes, and abstract kufic script, probably an abstraction of the Arabic al-baraka (blessings.)