This dish is one group of wares from Nishapur
which distinguishes itself by the use of a black
pigment that during the firing process stains the
glaze around it giving the motif a halo of yellow.
Evidently the potters were pleased with the
effect
as it was also used together with non-staining
black for distinct parts of the decoration, as
evident in the finer elements of scrollwork of this
bowl. The fact that the vessels which use this
technique of the diffusing yellow stain all appear
to have similar shapes and designs implies that
they came from one atelier or group of
workshops.
This remarkable dish illustrates the high degree
of abstraction favored by the slipware potters in
their designs; the stylized wings transformed
here into half palmettes that threaten to
overwhelm the figural representation and that
are in effect quite a distance from the bird’s
body. The design is in white slip with decoration
in the eponymous “yellow-staining black”, which
gave its name to this category, as well as plain
black and red slip under a transparent glaze.
Oliver Watson describes a Nishapur Slip-Painted
bowl in the Al-Sabah Collection. Which also has
an ostrich, clearly related to the subject of this
bowl. He related the origins of this design to
Lustreware of 10th Century Iraq, where such
stylized birds are frequently found. (see Al-
Sabah, Cat.E.15. Collections catalogued in the
Musee d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva, 1981, no.2,…
and others.). The yellow-staining black pigment
here also reflects the brilliance of that original
lusterware.
