ISL, NP, 16/17.

Flange and well are plain with moulded overlapping scales. There is a slight upturn to the rim probably shaped on the wheel. An eleven-bracket frame encloses a delicately painted if whimsical vase composition. The upper half consists of three veined Kraak flowers with leaves, a long box and possibly three round bottles. They all fit into the narrow striped neck of a flattened vase. Elongated pearls frame its body which is painted with flames. The base is made up of three cash shapes from which emerges a root system. Additional jewelled tassels and ribbons fill the rest of the space. The outside is plain except for a band of ten reciprocal half flowers and S-knotted scrolls above the base ring. The mark is illegible.

Historical significance: Safavid tile decoration in Isfahan bears witness to the general appeal of vase compositions which have always been popular in Asian cultures. Evidently these Kraak wares also appealed to the European market.

From the last quarter of the 16th until mid 17th century Chinese dishes with petal panels were the common export wares. The striking effect of the new style of decoration made the design popular not only with the Persian potter but also across western Europe. The design originated in the Tang dynasty when the flattened petals of the lotus decorated Buddhist paintings, stone tiles and various artefacts. The outline was also used on Central Asian slip-painted wares and possibly Sultanabad dishes. The occasional late Yuan dish brings the design forward in time and as a single unit it is used in bands of panels on the shoulder or the base of 15th century Chinese ewers and vases. Plain dividers between the panels first appear on jars around 1500 and more often during the Jiajing rule. The panels are eventually enhanced with jewel symbols and flowers when used as a framing device on Kraak dishes.

In addition to the regular demands of the Asian market, specific orders, first from the Portuguese then the Dutch, called for an increased production of large dishes and eventually new shapes. At this stage these striking bands of petal panels reappear and are copied with gusto by the Persian potter along with other Chinese ornaments. These panels vary in number but they are usually six or eight according to the size of the dish. Flowers, fruit, birds and sacred emblems are adopted as decorations and the simplified leafy peach motif becomes especially popular in both China and Persia. In the 17th century Persian potters reinterpret the human figures copied from Chinese models in a comic manner.

In the Safavid period moulded patterns appear on the undecorated white part of dishes in Kraak style. Because of the awkward consistency of a Persian stone paste body, most dishes would have had to be made with the use of a mould. Patterns were then carved inside the mould. For more detailed decoration the potter might have done the carving on the leather-hard body itself. These patterns adapted freehand to suit Persian taste either decorate the well of a dish or more often both well and flange. Most dishes are fairly large which allows enough space for composite repeat patterns such as a lotus with or without its leaf, ruyis heads or lappets, overlapping scales or waves. Chinese rows of petals become a plain gadroon pattern filling the white well of a few smaller dishes.

894-1876