Bowl with an Enthronement Scene

The ruler and courtiers depicted in the outdoor enthronement scene decorating this bowl all wear costumes with embroidered tiraz armbands of the type traditionally given by Muslim rulers as honorific gifts to their subjects. Figures wearing tiraz garments are frequently depicted in ceramics, manuscript illustrations, stucco sculpture, and other figural artworks from the Islamic world during the medieval period. This bowl belongs to a class of enameled ceramics known as haft rang (or “seven-color”) ware, which were produced uniquely in the Iranian centers of Kashan and Rayy between 1185 and 1250. Often, haft rang ceramics are decorated with detailed narrative scenes, such as the one on this bowl. Other examples bear depictions of personified zodiacal or planetary symbols, while still others are decorated with artistic renderings of historical battles.