Nishapur began to assume some major influence
from the mid-ninth century A.D., becoming in
the tenth through twelfth centuries one of the
great political, commercial, and cultural centres
in Central Asia and the Islamic world. Nishapur
was well situated along the Silk Road across
which goods were exchanged between the Far
and Near East.
Special mention should be made of the advanced
development of the underglaze-painting
technique seen in Nishapur’s ceramic wares.
Thanks to the application of the slip, both on the
surface of the vessels and in the pigments,
pottery decorators were able to adorn the vessels
with refined and intricate designs.
Perhaps no ground is more beautiful than that
where the decoration was painted in manganese
purple on a white creamy ground. Then the
surface, often on both sides, was coated with a
clear glaze. The decoration on this bowl is
epigraphic. The inscription runs around the
cavetto. Occasionally, in addition to the
inscription in the cavetto, there may be a simply
rendered small bird at the vase, seen on this
bowl.
Usually the inscriptions found on such vessels
allude to faith, generosity and noble qualities,
often in a context of food or eating.
