Bowl with Arabic inscription

This bowl shows the same characteristic design as that to the left. However, the Arabic here was written in florid kufic script, unlike the linear kufic on the other object. A central dot gives a focus to the overall design. The fine white lines in the script were added by scratching through the black slip with a sharp instrument. This bowl then received a coating of clear glaze to seal the slip decoration.

The inscription is a proverb reading: Surely knowledge is the noblest of the innumerable virtues, and manliness is the most intricate of lineages.