Calligraphic Dish

Inscribed Dish

The phrase at the center of this was intended to convey the message, "There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God, ‘Ali is the regent of God." Read line by line, however, the words state: "There is no god but ‘Ali/God, Muhammad is the regent of God/The messenger of God." These central inscriptions interweave the two phrases in a manner seen in several other vessels, likely to intensify their esoteric qualities. Around the rim of the dish are the verses, "And we reveal of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers, and it adds only to the perdition of the unjust" (Qur’an 17:82); "Peace, a word from the Lord of mercy" (Qur’an 36:58); "Peace, it is until the break of dawn" (Qur’an 97:5); and "finished" (tammat).[1] Another unpublished dish in a private collection contains virtually the same design and was likely issued from the same rubbing.

Abdullah Ghouchani and Marika Sardar in (Haidar and Sardar 2015)

Footnotes:

1-The inscriptions were read by Annemarie Schimmel, 1986.

Inscription: Arabic inscription in thuluth script:
- Center: There is no god but ‘Ali/God, Muhammad is the regent of God/The messenger of God.
This phrase was intended to convey: There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God, 'Ali is the regent of God

- Around rim: verses from the Qur'an:
And we reveal of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers, and it adds only to the perdition of the unjust (Qur’an 17:82); Peace, a word from the Lord of mercy (Qur’an 36:58); Peace, it is until the break of dawn (Qur’an 97:5); and "finished" (tammat)
(Transl. Annemarie Schimmel 1986)

[ Bashir Mohamed Ltd, London, 1982–83; sold to MMA]

New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Art of the Deccani Sultans," March 21–August 25, 1996.

New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Nature of Islamic Ornament Part I: Calligraphy," February 26–June 28, 1998.

New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Courtly Radiance: Metalwork from Islamic India," September 25, 2001–May 5, 2002, no catalogue.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Balcony Calligraphy Exhibition," June 1–October 26, 2009, no catalogue.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy," April 20–July 26, 2015, no. 155.

Zebrowski, Mark. Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India. London: Laurence King Publishers, 1997. pp. 339–40, ill. pl. 553 (b/w).

Haidar, Navina, and Marika Sardar. "Opulence and Fantasy." In Sultans of Deccan India 1500–1700. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015. no. 155, p. 263, ill. (color).