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Plate with depiction of an armoured? musician, 10th Century, Nishapur, Iran
The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
Footed Platter with Scene of Musician
Culture: Persian
Object Date: 10th century C.E. Medium: Earthenware with slip and lead glaze
Dimensions: h x diam: 2 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches (5.72 x 33.66 cm)
Geographic Origin: Tajikistan
Soghd region
Credit Line: Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number: 53-10
Provenance: With Paul Mallon (1884-1975), New York and Paris, by 1953; Purchased from Paul Mallon by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1953
Source: The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
Referenced as figure 352 in The military technology of classical Islam by D Nicolle
352. Ceramic plate, 10th century AD, Kurāsānī, Nelson Gallery of Art, Kansas (Greg B).
Referenced as figure 553 in Arms & Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350: Islam, Eastern Europe and Asia by David Nicolle
553 Painted plate from Nīshāpūr, Sāmānid, 10th century
(Nelson Gallery of Art, Kansas City, United States)
Here a particularly fine representation of a seated warrior playing an ūd or lute shows some form of sleeveless armour worn beneath a broad belt. The surface pattern would usually be taken to represent mail while the shape of the garment would normally indicate a lamellar cuirass. The 'horns' of the helmet might depict raised cheek pieces or a form of crest.
