A Monumental Samarqand Pottery Bowl with Kufic Inscription, Transoxiana, 10th century

the earthenware body of truncated conical form with straight flaring sides on short foot, painted in black slip on white ground under transparent glaze, featuring a radial Arabic inscription in the cavetto below rim

Perpetual Glory, Medieval Islamic Ceramics From The Harvey B. Plotnick Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2007.

J. Ilyasov and S. Ilyasova, "Arabskie nadpisi na glazurovannoy keramike Maverannahra IX-X vv.", [Arabic inscriptions on glazed pottery of Mawara al-Nahr, 9-10th century], Epigrafika Vostoka 26 (2001), pp.19-30).
J. Ilyasov and R. Imamberdyev, "Nov'ie arabskie nadpisi na glazurovannoy keramike Binketa", [New Arabic inscriptions on glazed pottery of Binkath.] Zapiski Vostochnogo Otdeleniya Rossiyskogo Arkheologicheskogo Obshchestva. N.s., vol. 1 (XXVI), Saint Petersburg, 2002, pp.124-133, fig.a).
S. Ilyasova and R. Imamberdyev, "Eine Sammlung glasierter Keramik aus Taschkent", Tribus: Jahrbuch des Linden-Museums 54 (2005), pp.91-101 (p.92, no.3, fig.3).
O. Pancaroglu, Perpetual Glory, Medieval Islamic Ceramics From The Harvey B. Plotnick Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2007, pp.66-67, no.24

Overall good condition, broken but complete, restored from fragments with associated overpainting, abrasions of the glaze on rim and reverse of bowl, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

inscription

la khayr [fi] al-mal idha lam yakun 'inda hawadh (sic) [jawad] al-kaqq (sic) [al-haqq] wahhab. bi'l-yumn [wa] baraka

"There is no good [in] wealth unless it belongs to a generous person. The true God is munificent. With Good Fortune [and] Blessing."

The powerfully abstracted designs on Samarqand calligraphic dishes convey a confidence and clarity that is rarely equalled in Islamic pottery. In the words of Arthur Lane: "Their beauty is of the highest intellectual order; they hold the essence of Islam undiluted" (Lane, A., Early Islamic Pottery, London, 1947, p.18).