Lobed footed dish, Iran, approx. 1150-1250. Glazed fritware. H. 2 1/4 in x Diam. 6 1/2 in, H. 5.7 cm x Diam. 16.5 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P1890 © 2017 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture

The form of this small footed dish with petal shapes along the rim is a rarity for Persian ceramics and it may be a direct imitation of imported Chinese wares known in Persia by the twelfth century. Two other aspects of the dish are hallmarks of Persian ceramics, however: the turquoise glaze and the incised decoration, which imitates kuficstyle Arabic inscriptions but does not actually say anything.