An important Kashan Lustre Pottery Bowl signed by the artist Muqri and dated Muharram 603 AH/ August-September 1206 AD

of unusual form with a flat base, flaring cavetto and straightened vertical rim, painted in golden lustre with a transparent glaze, in the central roundel two delicately painted birds face one another on a white ground enclosed by a reserve band of Kufic, the cavetto with a line of naskh script, the rim with a further reserve-decorated Kufic band, naskh inscriptions in Persian and Arabic around outer rim above a wide band of fleshy palmettes reserved in lustre, naskh inscription in Arabic around the outer base

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

O. Pancaroglu, Perpetual Glory, Medieval Islamic Ceramics From The Harvey B. Plotnick Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2007, pp.146-147, no.95

overall good condition, minor chips to rim, craquelure, 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."

inscriptions
Around inside of bowl, in Persian:
bar 'arez-e ziba-ye bot-e yaghma'i
an khal-e siyah negar bedan ziba'i
hamchun sar-e angosht ki az ra'na'i
bar 'anbar-e tar nahi o bar ... sa'i
'On the ravishing beauty of my beloved's face,
Look at that black mole, so beautiful
That the tip of my finger would, in graceful gait,
Anoint it with ambergris and rub it on...'
[Note: A similar quatrain has been attributed to Sadr Khujandi].

fakhr al-din mobarkshah guyad
khali ke vatan chehre-ye khub-e to guzid
dani be-che manad o chera gasht padid?
gu'i kaz golzar-e rokh-e khorram-e to
zangi bache'i berehne gol khwahad chid
'Fakhr al-Din Mubarakshah says:
That mole that chose your beautiful face as its home,
Do you know what it was like and why it appeared?
It is as if from the blooming flower garden of your face
A naked young boy would pick a flower.'

[Note: Fakhr al-Din Mubarakshah ibn Husayn Marv-Rudi (in the north of Herat) was a twelfth-century poet (d. Shawwal 602 [March 1207]) who lived under the patronage of the Ghurid rulers, particularly Ghiyath al-Din Abu al-Fath (558-599 AH/ 1162-1203 AD). He is reported to have been a poet who wrote varieties of verse, but was most famous for his ruba'is (quatrains), which were known all over the world. The quatrain above appears in Shirvani, J.K., Nuzhat al-Majalis, Tehran, 1375/1996, p.384, no.1834, see also pp.116-117.

katabahu muqri
'Muqri wrote it.'

In the band around the inner rim, in Kufic:
'Perpetual glory and increasing prosperity and triumphant victory and constant splendour and good fortune and happiness and well-being and generosity and generosity and good fortune and happiness to him.'

Around the inner base, in Kufic:
'Perpetual glory and increasing prosperity and triumphant victory and constant splendour and good fortune.'

Around the exterior rim, a Persian quatrain, an Arabic quatrain (not fully deciphered):
ta ba gham-e 'eshqat in del parvardam
khosh bud be-nazhash mi-parvardam
emruz be ahi ki ze bidad-e to kard
khun gardesh ze dide birun kardam
'As long as I nourished my heart with care of your love
It was happy and I nourished it with fondling.
Today, with a sigh that came from my heart because of your iniquitous manner, I send blood out round my eyes.'

nasim al-saba an razzat ard uhibbni (?)...
wa in gharami fawq kull gharami
'If a gentle breeze (zephyr) blew on earth, it would endear me [?]...
And if passionate, above all is my love.'

And signed and dated:
katabahu muhammad bin abi'l-hasan al-muqri fi muharram sana thalath [wa] sittami'a
'Muhammad ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Muqri wrote it in Muharram the year six hundred and three' (August-September AD 1206).

Around the base, in Arabic:
'Perpetual glory and increasing prosperity and triumphant victory and constant splendour and rising good fortune and wealth and happiness and well-being and generosity and wealth and long life to its owner.'