Footed bowl with inscriptions and figural scenes

The shape and decoration of this bowl is typical for a type (jam, in Persian) seen during the Safavid period in the seventeenth century. Distinctive features include a wide profile that narrows to a low footed base; a plain interior; and exterior decoration of an inscription band and figural scenes.

The figural scenes represent bazm o razm (feasting and fighting), two complementary pursuits of Persian kingship. We see people conversing over food, pairs of animals, and riders. Also included is the astrological symbol for Sagittarius as it typically appears in Islamic art, as a centaur with a dragon’s head at the end of its tail.

The inscription along the rim, written in elegant nasta’liq script, invokes God’s blessings on the Fourteen Immaculate Ones (chaharda ma’sum), which include the Prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and the Shi’a Imams. It reads as follows:

“O God, may your blessings descend upon al-Mustafa Muhammad, al-Murtaza Ali, Fatima Batool, [the grandsons] Hasan and Husayn. Blessings upon Zayn al-Ibad Ali, al-Baqir Muhammad, al-Sadiq Jafar, al-Kazim al-Musa, al-Reza Ali, al-Taqi Muhammad, al-Naqi Ali al-Zaki, al-Askari al-Hasan; and blessings upon al-Mahdi, the Guide, Master of the Age.”