rosen ayalon "vivas vita" jsai 9

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358

M

Rosen-Ayalon

Fig

1

On the other hand,

we

can find the same formula repeatedly decorat

ing a somewhat different group of ceramics. Interestingly enough, this is a

family o pottery that seems to belong to another cultural center within

Iran. If the first example cited above originates from the area o Susa,

which

is

part

o

the South-Western cultural region

o

Iran and its Meso

potamian prolongation probably

as

far

as

Samarra),

3

the second group

we

shall examine belongs to the area at the other extreme, the North

Eastern part

o

Iran, more precisely the cultural environment

o

Samarkand-Nishapur. In that area the emphasis of the artistic pottery lies

in a somewhat different scheme and only little

is

known

o

the cobalt blue

3

F. Sarre. Die Keramik

von

Samarra Berlin, 1925, pp. 46-50, pl. XVIII-XX.


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Vivas vita

359

over-white tin-glazed pottery.

4

A very typical family

of

pottery which pre

vails there has - with an ivory white background and dark brown slip

decoration, or later the opposite combination - a dark brown slip with

the white decoration on it. Most of these finds are assigned to the end

of

the IXth century,

or

the beginning

of

the Xth century. We shall concen

trate on some

of

the objects bearing decorative inscriptions

of

the kind

mentioned above, in this new family

of

ceramics.

The first in this group is a plate that belongs to the

L.A.

Mayer

collection (pl. XIII). t reads the same inscription as on the Susa plate,

Kul

Haniyyan Mariyyan,

though in a more stylized script. Contrary to the

Susa plate where the inscription

is

written across the plate, here the

inscription runs around the border as in a large number of Nishapur

plates.

6

Very similar to the L.A. Mayer plate is a small bowl belonging to the

Fouroughi collection.

7

The inscription there is identical,

and so

is also the

central decoration, which looks like a quatrefoil motive,

on

both plates.

The plate was published without, however, giving the reading of the in

scription (pl. XIII). The sentence is the same on both plates, and paleo

graphically there is little difference between them. We can notice the same

distance between the h and the

n

in the word Haniyyan, just as

we

can

see

a similar contraction

of

the

k

in kul; however, the long letters

a if

and

lam

are not straight in the Fouroughi bowl as they are on the

L.A. Mayer plate.

The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has in its collection a similar

plate on which the inscription introduces a variation.

8

Typologically, it

resembles very much the plate

of

the

L.A.

Mayer collection. t is a deen

plate, with a wide rim, the inscription

is

evenly distributed around it (pl.

4 M.

Rosen-Ayalon,

Ibid.,

Appendix

VI;

in the final publication

of

the excavations

of

Nishapur, there s no room for the pottery with cobalt blue decoration; Charles K

Wilkinson,

Nishapur, Pottery of the Early Islamic Period

New York,

1976.

s

A. Lane,

Early Islamic Pottery

London,

1953,

pp.

17-19.

6

There are some cases where we find decorative inscriptions across the Nishapur or

Samarkand type

of

pottery, but most plates or bowls have their inscriptions around the

rim.

7

Published first in the catalogue

of

the Iranian exhibition held in Paris, 7000

Ans d Art

en

Iran Paris,

1961,

·no.

912,

and later iil. Washington,

7000 Years

of

Iranian Art,

Washinj ;ton,

1964,

no.

573,

pi.

158.

s I wish to thank Dr. Lisa Golombek who

was

kind enough to inform me of the exist

ence of this plate, and to provide me with the print.


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360

M.

Rosen-Ayalon

XIV), spreading on the full width with its long lettering. Both scripts are

also closely related even though a impressive variety

of

scripts can be

found on this group of pottery.

9

In the center there is a little patch that is

reminiscent of the quatrefoil we saw on figures on

pl.

XITI. The major

difference here is primarily in the inscription that reads ~ - . r J

introducing the word fihii that did not occur in the former examples.

Another variation is provided by some diacritical signs: one dot on the

f '

and two dots under the

tii ,

but in

Haniyyan

only. This may imply that

the usage

of

the diacritical signs

is

not systematic.

The same inscription can be seen on another plate, on which the

decorative scheme is more elaborate pl. XIV). Basically the distribution is

equally made around the wide rim, as if the four words create a radiating

decoration. Here the letters are thicker, painted in dark brown on white

background, but above each

of

the words an intricate palmette, in tomato

red,

is added.

10

In following the quest

of

the variety

of

inscriptions related to our

original

wish,

we go a step further when we look at a completely different

object - a ceramic jug pl. XV).

It

is

a very impressive piece, also belonging to the L.A. Mayer collec

tion, made of unglazed moulded pottery. All the upper

p r ts

handle,

neck and spout - are restored. But the body, which concerns us directly,

seems

to be intact.

It

is made of two moulded halves, both apparently in

the same mould, and joined in the manner of a pilgrim's flask; the whole

piece

is

mounted on a high rimmed foot. Most

of

the decoration is macte:

up

of

a successive series

of

concentric rows of floral motives, alternating

flat areas and concave ones. Towards the central part, which bulges and

is

made

of

rows

of

rosettes around a central one, there is a beautiful Kufic

inscription pl. XV).

The inscription reads:

~

I l i l ":-""' L,J r :>J

;;s r

wl:-?.

} ~ _ p i . ~ > j.w:.

L

L: :: \:

\ j b. ~ . r ":"_,. I

A stylized rosette, similar to many of its kind decorating both

sides of

the

9

Lisa Volov,

~ P l a i t e d

Kufic on Samanid Epigraphic Pottery ,

AO

vol.

VI,

1966, pp.

107-133.

10

Published in the catalogue

of

Spink and Son Gallery,

Octagon

London, Catalogue no.

40, p. 21,

no. 51.


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M Rosen-Ayalon

have originated in Egypt, and for which the date given is the X Xlth

centuries,

16

though in a somewhat later publication, the same author

assigns them to the XI-XIIth centuries.

17

Out of a great number of such bread stamps, several bear Kufic in

scriptions, including samples with the wish S (pl. XVI). A curious

detail should be mentioned with regard to these bread stamps: some

of

these pieces are decorated in a negative way, just as a stamp is expected

to

be,

but there are also some examples which have their decoration in

positive, and that would imply that when stamped, the ornament and its

inscription will appear in negative, which

is

rather surprising.

18

The last example illustrating the usage of our blessing appears on a

beautiful silver spoon, partly guilded, with a niello decoration pi. XVI).

t

belongs to the former Harrari Collection, and

is

now in the L.A. Mayer

Memorial. Along the handle, runs an inscription of blessings to the owner

(of the spoon), while on the flat bowl, can be clearly read

S

The

back

of

the spoon

is

also richly decorated with peacocks, and other fowls

and animals, but the inscription occurs only on the front of the spoon.

The origin suggested for this piece, which has been discovered in an

unearthed vessel,

is

Iran and its date

is

placed around the Xlth century.

19

Traditionally, a study of art history and research on cultural and

material civilization looks around for origins, or forerunners, that could

be linked with the subject under scrutiny.

So,

it

is

indeed rewarding to

find an abundance of examples of inscriptions of the kind studied here in

the Roman world.

Several pieces of ceramic, particularly within the Terra Sigillata ware,

bear similar inscriptions, such

as BIBE,

VIVAS or VITA.

20

Inscriptions

16

E. Kiihnel, Islamische Brotstempel aus Agypten , Berichte aus den Preussischen Kunst

sammlungen Berliner Museum, 1939,

p.

51.

17

The English edition, E. Kiihnel, Islamic Arts London, 1970, p. 125, fig.

91.

18

In Islamische Brotstempel op. cit. The group of clay bread stamps, reproduced in our

fig. 8,

belongs to the collection

of

the Berlin Museum.

But,

interesting enough, the

Victorian and Albert Museum possesses in its collection a stamp identical to the one

of the Berlin Museum b on our

fig.

8),

and

its

Museum Number is C906-1921. I wish

to thank Mr. D.M. Archer, Deputy Keeper of the Department

of

Ceramics-

of

the

Victorian and Aibert Museum, who kindly provided me with this information.

19

A.U. Pope, SPA vol. ill, pi.

2501,

vol.

IV,

pi.

1351, C.

20

H.B.

Waiters,

Catalogue o the Roman Pottery o the Department

o

Antiquities

o

the

British Museum London, 1908, p, 51, 75,

76.


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Vivas vita

363

that are very close to these, were also written on Roman glass.

21

No doubt

such wishes come very close to our Kul Haniyyan.

t

is true that in the

case of some of the gold glasses, where figures are associated with the

inscriptions, they were interpreted as referring to the funerary feast - the

refrigerium,

celebrated on the tomb of the dead.

22

But the inscriptions on

the Terra Sigillata pieces may very

well be

just common wishes, on com

mon dishes.

As to the clay bread stamps, for them too we encounter examples in

pre-Islamic times. These objects, which seem to have been known in

various parts

of

the Mediterranean basin, originate, in their overwhelming

majority, from Coptic Egypt.

23

In this connection it

is

also most interest

ing to note the evidence related to a rather extraordinary case of usage of

bread stamps. t

is

found in an account containing a detailed description

of

what are called in that case communion wafers seals ,

and

listing their

distribution among Byzantine (Greek), Syrian (Jacobite), Coptic, Ethio

pian, Nestorian, Armenian and Maronite denominations. While enume

rating all these communities, there is a reference that such a stamp

was

found in a village of mixed Bedouin-Christian population,

on

the Leba

nese border.

4

The author specifically states that such seals were used

simultaneously for the Muslim Ramadan feast and for the Christian

Easter. Regretfully, there

is

no mention of any of our inscriptions to be

found on the Egyptian seals, but the fact that these were used for manu

facturing bread (or wafers) for Muslim feasts relates these objects to the

realm

of

food and eating.

Finally, the examination

of

inscribed pre-Islamic spoons illustrates a

very similar process. Indeed, there are several .spoons from the Roman

period that bear inscriptions and

~ e t t r i b u t e d

to the II-IIIrd centuries.

25

One of those spoons, has an inscription that reads POTENS VIVAS pl.

XVI). The blessing runs in a very similar way to that

of

the inscription on

our Islamic spoon (pl. XVI) namely across the bowl; it is dated to the IIIrd

2

R. Pillinger, Romische Goldgliiser ,

Antike Welt

1979, 1 p.

12.

22

M. Simon,

a

Civilisation

de

l Antiquite

et

le

Christianisme,

Paris, Arthaud, 1972,

p.

528, fig.

175.

3

G. Galavaris,

Bread and the Liturgy,

Madison-London, 1970, passim.

24

Waclaw Korabiewicz, Communion Wafers and their Seals ,

Lud,

t 54,

1970.

25

D.E. Strong,

Greek and Roman Goid and Silver Plate

Glasgow, 1966, p. 178.


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M.

Rosen-Ayalon

century.

26

Some spoons of the same type are known to have belonged to

domestic tableware, used as eating implements.

7

Others are known to

have been connected with religious events. Ultimately, they would be

used for Christian purposes down to the VIth century, but then the

scriptions differ.

Having established that these utensils and other kinds

of

objects.

known to

us

in Islamic times have their antecedents

in

the pre-Muslim

period, we may now revert to the examination of the Islamic context

of

this type

of

artistic expression. For it is not sufficient to prove the

existence

of

earlier traditions. We still have to explain their ocurrence

within the Islamic framework.

t is

quite relevant therefore to find some

cases, in the Koran itself, where the combination

of

some

of

the words

referred to in our study appear. Surat al-Nisa' (the Women), no. 4 verse

4 Ku/Uhu Hani an

art

an the relevant words being translated as

enjoy it with satisfaction and advantage .

8

This

is

incidently the only

time where in the Koran this expression includes the word

Mari an.

In

Surat al-Tilr (the Mountain), no. 52, verse 18 we find Eat and drink

with easy digestion .

29

In Sllrat al-Hagga (the Infallible), no. 69 verse

23

we

read exactly the same formula, translated in the same

way

as the

former one; Sllrat al-Mursalat (Those who are sent), no.

77

verse

43 re-

peats the last two.

Each one

of

these Koranic quotations

was

expressed in connection

with a different religious message. In the first case Ku/Uhu Hani an

Marf an, the invocation refers to instructions connected with dowry. In

the second

case

the aim

of

the prophecy has

to

do with Paradise. The

third

case

refers to the Day

of

Judgement, and the last one warns against

prophets who are impostors.

t is

obvious that this

was

regarded

as

a well-known formula that

could easily be used, regardless of specific circumstances. The connotation

could thus be naturally traced back to its Koranic origin, implying a

familiar group of words, which could be introduced into daily

life

and

admitted just

as well

in connection with functional activities, and not

26

Andrew Oliver Jr. and Kurt T. Luckner,

Silver for the

Gods The Toledo Museum of

Art, 1977, no. 107.

7

D.

Sherlock, uAn Early Christian Spoon , Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana,

1974,

Anno

L no. 1-4, p. 376.

28

The Koran translation G. Sale.

29

Ibid.


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Vivas vita

365

necessarily religious, purposes. The existence o a tradition in pre-Islamic

times, using very similar blessings, probably paved the way for the adop

tion of such an artistic expression. Bearing in mind that the phenomenon

is a similar one, i.e. both a religious and a common context for the pre

Islamic objects with inscriptions that correspond to our Kul Haniyyan

Mariyyan those objects reflect repeatedly the later Islamic interpretation.

t is probably the combination of the existing pre-Islamic trend and the

evidence of a Koranic association that fully justified the artistic fashion

which was adopted for some time in Islamic Art.

List of Figures

1. Plate from Susa.

2.

Plate from Nishapur. Courtesy of the

L.A.

Mayer Memorial.

3. Plate from Nishapur. Collection Mr. Fourouhi.

4. Plate from Nishapur. Courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum,

Toronto.

5.

Plate from Nishapur. After Octagon.

6. Jug from Gurgan. Courtesy of the L.A. Mayer Memorial.

7.

Detail of the same.

8. Clay Bread-Stamps. Courtesy of the Islamic Museum in Berlin.

9.

Silver Spoon. Courtesy of the L.A. Mayer Memorial.

10. Roman Silver Spoon. Courtesy of the Petit Palais, Paris.

Recently while visiting the Islamic Museum in Cairo, I discovered another bowl,

belonging to this family with the same inscription. In this case there are diacritical signs

which did not exist in the first example from Susa. Its origin is undoubtedly Mesopo

tamian.


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rosen ayalon "vivas vita" jsai 9

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