St. Louis Art Museum (slam.org) - Kufic Plate from Samarqand or Nishapur, Persia between the 9th and 10th centuries.

Inscription reads, "Planning before work protects you from regret."

E-Museum Description: Plate 9th–10th century Persian

glazed and slip-painted earthenware
1 3/4 x 14 7/8 in. (4.4 x 37.8 cm)


Museum Purchase
Accession Number: 283:1951
On view in Gallery 224

Place of origin: Nishapur or Samarkand, Persia (Iran), Middle East

Painted in the long, elegant strokes of Kufic script, this plate's inscription is among the most beautiful examples of calligraphy from the early Islamic period. The elegant inscription decrees that "Planning before work protects you from regret." The plate is one of a group of vessels that admonish the owners and their guests to be assiduous, careful, and virtuous in simple yet profound mottoes by which one might live a good life. The white slip body on which the calligraphy appears is related to Chinese porcelains and stonewares imported to Baghdad, the seat of power and commerce in the early Islamic world. The white slip, or liquefied clay, was painted over the surface of the vessel to mask its coarse body and to suggest coveted Eastern porcelains. Applying ornamental calligraphy to the expansive white surface created designs that were bold and appealing.

Provenance:
- 1951 Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, USA

1951 - Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Heeramaneck Galleries [1]

Notes: [1] Invoice dated December 13, 1951 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, November 8, 1951.

http://stlouis.art.museum/emuseum/code/emuseum.asp?style=text¤trecord=1&page=collection&profile=objects&searchdesc=Islamic Art...................&newvalues=1&newstyle=single&newcurrentrecord=13

St. Louis Art Museum (slam.org) - Kufic Plate from Samarqand or Nishapur, Persia between the 9th and 10th centuries.

Inscription reads, "Planning before work protects you from regret."

E-Museum Description: Plate 9th–10th century Persian

glazed and slip-painted earthenware
1 3/4 x 14 7/8 in. (4.4 x 37.8 cm)


Museum Purchase
Accession Number: 283:1951
On view in Gallery 224

Place of origin: Nishapur or Samarkand, Persia (Iran), Middle East

Painted in the long, elegant strokes of Kufic script, this plate's inscription is among the most beautiful examples of calligraphy from the early Islamic period. The elegant inscription decrees that "Planning before work protects you from regret." The plate is one of a group of vessels that admonish the owners and their guests to be assiduous, careful, and virtuous in simple yet profound mottoes by which one might live a good life. The white slip body on which the calligraphy appears is related to Chinese porcelains and stonewares imported to Baghdad, the seat of power and commerce in the early Islamic world. The white slip, or liquefied clay, was painted over the surface of the vessel to mask its coarse body and to suggest coveted Eastern porcelains. Applying ornamental calligraphy to the expansive white surface created designs that were bold and appealing.

Provenance:
- 1951 Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, USA

1951 - Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Heeramaneck Galleries [1]

Notes: [1] Invoice dated December 13, 1951 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, November 8, 1951.

http://stlouis.art.museum/emuseum/code/emuseum.asp?style=text¤trecord=1&page=collection&profile=objects&searchdesc=Islamic Art...................&newvalues=1&newstyle=single&newcurrentrecord=13