Dish

Art Historical Context

This exquisite dish, crafted by an unknown artist in the 12th to early 13th century exemplifies the pinnacle of Islamic artistry from the medieval Islamic world. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department Islamic Art (bequest of Charles K., 1986), it features human figures—a bold motif in a tradition where such imagery often graced secular objects like tableware, evoking scenes of daily life, courtly gatherings, or mythical tales. Made from stonepaste (a fine frit body mimicking porcelain's translucency), the dish is glazed and luster-painted, a sophisticated technique perfected in...