Donate to the MIA ×
Collections / Explore the Collection
Today at the Museum

June 19, 2013

Your MIA, S18 (ages 9-12)

9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Studios 111-113

Full-day camp Kick off summer by finding ways to spend it in and around the museum, solo or with friends. $310; includes a 1-year Student Membership ($20 value) To register, call (612) 870-3000 or register online.

Bowl
Title:Bowl
Artist:Artist Unknown
Date:Seljuk period
Creation Place:, Persia (Iran)
Credit Line:The William Hood Dunwoody Fund
Accession Number:32.32.7
This exceptionally fine bowl shows a courtly scene. An enthroned personage in the central medallion is accompanied by two attendants; ten smaller figures surround the medallion, and the next tier is a row of sixteen even smaller figures. Kufic script decorates the outside of the rim. Minai is the name for this type of overglaze-painted ware. The human, animal, arabesque, and calligraphic themes of minai ware were often comparable to the subjects that miniaturists painted for texts, and several examples directly relate to the stories in illustrated books. The museum owns an outstanding group of minai bowls, including an example of the less common variant with designs executed on a turquoise ground.