Dish with dragon in firey clouds, head and paws of lion
Medium:Ceramic (stonepaste, thrown), with cobalt-blue, and chromium black paint under colourless alkali glaze
Geography: Kirman, Iran
Date: c. 1630 AD
Period: Safavid Period
Object number: 909.25.4
Gallery Location:Wirth Gallery of the Middle East
DescriptionThis is one of the very fine "boutique" wares produced in Kirman. Although the dragon motif came to Persia from China, this grinning fellow has been transformed to suit the Persian love of symmetry and order. The body curls to fill the circle with the head acting as pivot. The Chinese lotus scroll around the walls has become like the border of a Persian carpet. The base has a black seal-mark.
