Bowl

The bowl is complete; a crack has been repaired with wire. The bowl is circular in shape, with an outwardly flared rim, and rests on a circular foot, the base of which is unglazed. The foot is pierced right through, at its junction with the bottom, by two juxtaposed circular holes. Their inner walls are covered with enamel. The body is pinkish-beige with quartz inclusions. The glaze is slightly bluish-white. Three traces of circular, triangular beads are visible on the outer wall, below the rim. The wall is pierced by two circular holes into which a wire is inserted, the ends of which are twisted onto the outside of the bowl. The inner base of the bowl features areas of amati glaze and small linear marks; the decoration is molded and hand-painted in blue and near-black blue under the inner and outer rims and on the inner base; it is of the compartmented braid and floral basket type. The molded decoration is perceptible on the rim of the object, which features a gadrooned edge, while its outer wall is adorned with slightly domed vertical ribs, which are fluted on the inner wall. Below the inner edge, the braid is outlined in dark blue and painted blue; it is trimmed with an elaborate reserve motif, repeated alternately with a tongue. It consists of a central half-flower in reserve, painted blue between mirrored elements: two scrolls flanked by quarter-leaves, a scroll and a final quarter-leaf; the leaves are adorned with small radiating strokes painted blue or dark blue. These motifs are bordered by a half-languette in reserve, with a central cross-shaped core. The background features a central flower basket. The basket is truncated cone-shaped with a flat bottom and rim; it is outlined in blue and divided into vertical sections outlined in black and trimmed with horizontal lines outlined in blue; the basket’s rendering imitates rattan. From the top of the basket emerges a central flower flanked by two flowers arranged in a triangle and surrounded by leafy, flowering branches; the flowers are partially filled with radiating black lines. Two tendrils hang from the sides of the basket, from three grapes arranged in a triangle. The central flower serves as a dividing line between the two areas on either side of this axis, whose elements are mirrored. The basket rests on a flared base. The decoration below the outer rim consists of a thin line in black, bordering a row of five-leaf plant motifs alternating with a downward-pointing triangle. These two motifs are painted in very dark blue with a fine line.