#Living art platter full
#Living art platter free

#Living art platter full

Also, the greyish, faded blue is characteristic of plates that predate the second half of the 13th / 19th century, which was a result of the quality of the cobalt oxide which remained full of impurities until 1266 / 1850. How date and origin were established:įrom stylistic and comparative study. Its stylised decoration includes a mirror-image of the word ‘al-Mulk’, understood to mean 'divine power', beneath a representation of a mihrabarch.

#Living art platter free

The free composition of non-radiating decoration is symbolic, epigraphic and architectural. This type of dish was used to serve pies. This type of shallow plate would normally have been used to serve bastila (Moroccan pie), but this example seems to have been more decorative and symbolic than practical. The arcature extends on both sides with consoles that end in fleurons, and the background is covered with floral motifs and Ottoman-style flowers. This theme was inspired by similar designs engraved on wooden lintels from the Marinid and Sa'did eras. This decorative motif with religious undertones was introduced in earthenware in the AH 13th / AD late 18th century and was still in use in the early 19th century. It is framed by a poly-lobed arcature painted in blue and highlighted on the inside with a bright yellow line reminiscent of the mihrab. The central motif, painted in blue and surrounded by a brown line, shows a mirror image of the pious formula ‘al-Mulk’, or 'power' (of God) in very stylised twisted kufic characters. The principal theme is epigraphic and architectural. The decoration is arranged in a fan around a vertical axis, unlike most earthenware dishes. This shallow tabsil dish is one of the few dishes from Fez decorated with a free composition that is neither radial nor with motifs arranged around the centre. Height 10 cm, base diameter 22 cm, diameter 40 cm Period / Dynasty: Glazed earthenware, painted with cobalt oxide for the blue and limonite for the yellow. Hegira 13th / first half AD 19th century Museum Inventory Number: Dish decorated with inscription Location: