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Abbasid Lustre Bowl with figure holding a Jewel, Central Asia, 9th/10th Century.
Christie's Sale 7428, Lot 145.

AN ABBASID LUSTRE POTTERY BOWL
PROBABLY CENTRAL ASIA, 9TH/10TH CENTURY
Estimate GBP 15,000 - GBP 20,000
Price realised GBP 36,500

Of rounded form with slightly everted lip on short foot, the off-white interior painted in two tones of lustre with a central large seated human figure wearing a yellow robe, a small jewel held in the raised right hand, a small floral spray on each side, the rim with alternating brown and yellow lustre lobes, the exterior plain, repaired breaks, slight restoration.
5 5/8in. (14.2cm.) diam.

This is a most unusual bowl. Its potting is relatively heavy for the size and the exterior is left completely undecorated. Yet the figure on the interior is drawn with a clarity and assurance that is frequently missing on early lustre pottery. It does not seem to relate closely in style or technique to Abbasid bowls attributed to Iraq, and certainly not to those from Egypt. The strong drawing is closer to the delineation found on Nishapur and Central Asian pots, a number of which depict human figures, but not quite in this technique. The strongest stylistic indications are the small floral designs. The rosette under the raised elbow is very similar to those on "Sari" wares, and are also found on slip painted wares from Samarkand and Nishapur. And there is certainly a similarity of the small floral sprays on each side of the figure to those on an imitation lustre bowl in the Khalili Collection that is attributed to Nishapur (Ernst J. Grube, Cobalt and Lustre, London, 1994, no.46, p.63).
Again this reinforces an attribution to North East Iran or Central Asia.
Source: Christie's. Sale 7428 / Lot 145