Bowl

Numerous pieces of written evidence, including names of potters inscribed on vessels, suggest that Kashan in central Iran was an important production center for stonepaste and luster wares. While stonepaste is known to have been produced elsewhere in Iran, at least with a monochrome glaze, lusterware is only associated with Kashan. Scientific analyses carried out on luster objects from the 12th to the 14th century identified only one type of fabric associated with luster – implying that only one production center might be associated with the production of this technique.

The combination of a stonepaste fabric, in-glaze and luster-painting, does not appear to have been used in the Iranian territories before the 12th century. On this bowl, the blue under-glaze painted radial design helps to divide the areas for the luster decoration, which is lavishly painted over almost all the surface and, on the exterior, bears a Persian inscription (most probably a poem).