Dish with a quail, Iran (probably Isfahan), 1675-1725.

Blue and white plate with a brown rim. The central well of the plate includes the whole decoration. A bird (partridge) stands erect in the middle of the dish; its vast body has been reserve-painted laterally with a central lotus surrounded by small veined leaves. The tail feathers consist of two rows of small panels. The clawed feet are ridiculously small in relation to the body. Four main groups of composite scrolls protrude from the shoulders and the lower part of the body of the bird. Four fans with finials decorate the outside between two painted circles. There is one unglazed mark inside the base ring. The dish is heavy and has no mark.

This bird and its pointed beak resembles the partridges painted on bottles from the mid 17th century, such as 448-1874; 1127-1876; 1128-1876; 2495-1876; C.1959-1910.

Dated by Yolande Crowe to the period from the coronation of Shah Sultan-Husayn (in 1694) to the fall of Qandahar (in 1738).

This plate was ultimately inspired by Chinese blue-and-white porcelain but the decoration is typically Iranian. The quail is not represented as a three-dimensional form. Instead it provides an outline which has been filled with a floral pattern in white on blue.

Chinese blue-and-white porcelain had been popular in Iran since the 14th century, and potters there began making imitations soon after. Production rose sharply in the 17th century, perhaps because the Chinese wares were temporarily unavailable.

2749-1876