Platter (Tabaq) with Chinese Landscape
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Caption
Platter (Tabaq) with Chinese Landscape, first half 17th century. Ceramic; fritware, molded and painted in cobalt blue under a transparent glaze, Gr. diam.: 19 in. (48.3 cm) Diam. at foot: 10 in. (25.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund, 73.166. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 73.166_top_PS2.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Title
Platter (Tabaq) with Chinese Landscape
Date
first half 17th century
Dynasty
Safavid
Period
Safavid
Medium
Ceramic; fritware, molded and painted in cobalt blue under a transparent glaze
Classification
Dimensions
Gr. diam.: 19 in. (48.3 cm) Diam. at foot: 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Credit Line
Carll H. de Silver Fund
Accession Number
73.166
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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Frequent Art Questions
Tell me more.
Chinese ceramics, which arrived via the Silk Road, had a big impact on the designs of ceramics produced in Iran, like this one.This platter comes from Mashhad, which is in northeastern Iran, in the early 17th century. The ceramic industry had just restarted at that time. The Chinese scene and the three dimensional pattern on the walls are characteristic of this early period of production.Wonderful!What is fritware?
Fritware is a type of ceramic material similar to the ancient Egyptian faience. "Frit" is a finely ground, glassy substance often made from quartz. Potters add an oxide to the frit which functions as a "flux" and lowers the melting point of the frit. This mixture can then be melted into a more fluid state and formed into tiles or vessels like you see in our gallery.Fritware is stronger than traditional clay meaning that it can produce a greater variety of forms with thinner and more decorative walls. Fritware is also naturally white which, of course, takes color much more easily than a brown, earthenware body.Tell me more.
Interestingly, though the techniques of blue-and-white pottery were first developed in the Near East and transmitted to China, it was Chinese designs that became the standard on both sides of the Silk Road. While Chinese makers on porcelain, Persian potters in the Near East used fritware.This plate was made in Mashhad in modern Iran. There was a major ceramic industry there during the Safavid period. The incised designs in white band are characteristic of this industry.Why was this plate designed?
The plate itself was made for much the same reason they are made today! People in Iran at the time used them for serving and eating food.As for the design, it was heavily inspired by Chinese ceramics which arrived via the Silk Road.In what year was this plate made?
In what year was this plate made?This plate was made in the first half of the 17th century (1600-1650).Much like in other areas of the world at the time, Chinese blue and white porcelain became the gold standard. Iranian potters began producing near-exact copies of the imported Chinese wares in fritware, a material that was much easier to produce (than porcelain) with the raw materials available in the region.
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