Dish, fritware, underglaze painted in blue and black with a seated scholar and another figure; Iran, 1630-60.

Dish of fritware, painted in blue and outlined with black under a clear glaze. The flange is emphasised by a pattern of eight separate scrolling foliage with two florets. Linked moulded lappets fill the plain well. A nine-bracket frame encloses the intricate decoration of the centre. On the left a tall pine tree stretches towards Kraak clouds, shading a complex mound with two figures. One hatted figure in dark clothing is seated by a tall table. A squat vase on the table contains perhaps a small leafless branch. A flower spray in Kraak style rises from behind it. Further to the right two lions with added ribbons, one with a brocaded ball, are crouching on the mound below an elegant vase holding three lotus flowers. Three birds in flight fill the sky. The outside is plain except for a reserve-painted band of nine knotted scrolls and lappets above the base ring. There is a dip at the centre of the dish. Imitation Chinese square mark in black

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.

666-1889