Mina'i beaker with narrative scenes
Type:
Drinking vessels,
Ceramics
Date:
Late twelfth century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Iran
Medium:
Stonepaste
Dimensions:
12 × 11.2 × 11.2 cm
Description:
This small beaker was made in Seljuq Iran in the late twelfth century using the mina'i technique popular for contemporary ceramics. It is unique, however, in being decorated with stories of the lovers Bizhan and Manizha and the Iranian hero Rostam. These tales are best known from their codification in the Shahnameh, the Iranian epic poem composed in Persian by Ferdowsi in the late tenth–early eleventh century based Sasanian and even earlier tales. The episodes on the beaker do not correspond precisely to Ferdowsi's version and were likely based on other accounts still in circulation. The cup was probably used during elite feasts when the stories were recited or performed. The scenes unfold from right to left and top to bottom, requiring the viewer-drinker to turn the cup repeatedly to follow the story.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
8
Repository and Online Resources:
• The beaker is at the Freer Gallery, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Museums, Washington, DC
• Watch curator Massumeh Farhad discuss the beaker on the museum's official youtube channel.
• Learn more about mina'i ware on the Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online website.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons; Flickr
