  About the Artwork
  
  
  In their desire to imitate contemporary Chinese Song ceramics, the Seljuks were responsible for the most important innovation in early medieval Islamic pottery. They rediscovered a frit body of clay, quartz, and potash, an ancient Egyptian invention that permitted a variety of color and decoration.
 
Mina’i (enameled) was the most elaborate Seljuk pottery style, requiring several firings for pigments and gold leaf. Its figural style, derived from wall and miniature painting, preserved in a durable medium an almost vanished aspect of Seljuk art. This luxury ware was produced in Kashan for an emerging wealthy middle class.
  
  
  Title
  Bowl Inscribed &quot;Wealth&quot;
  
  
  Artwork Date
  early 13th century
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Iranian
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Composite body, opaque white glaze, polychrome underglaze and overglaze painted decoration
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 3 7/8 × 8 1/4 inches (9.8 × 21 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Ceramics
  
  
  Department
  Islamic Art
  
  
  Credit
  City of Detroit Purchase
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  30.421
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
