Lot 146. A large and rare Kashan lustre sweetmeat pottery dish, Persia, circa 1200. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 GBP. Unsold. © Sotheby's.

the fritware body with seven circular compartments to centre, lustre painted with figures in monumental style interspersed with leafy fronds, exterior with cobalt blue alkaline glaze, two holes on either side through shallow bowl; 8.8cm. height; 31.4cm. diam.

Note: A very similar dish is in the Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, inv. no. 2002.50.59. The Harvard museum website features a video demonstrating the interior of their dish as well as how it would have been constructed: http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/165023. 

Sweetmeat Dish, Seljuk-Atabeg period, c. 1200, Middle East, Iran, Kashan. Fritware painted with luster (copper and silver) over blue (cobalt) transparent alkali glaze and white lead alkali glaze opacified with tin, 29.8 x 7.2 cm. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art, 2002.50.59 

This style of construction, which includes seven circular compartments, must have been reserved for the celebration of 'Haft Sin' associated with the Persian New Year (Nowruz). Traditionally, seven items beginning with the letter 'sin' would be placed in each section, notably: sabzeh (wheat or barley, samanu (sweet pudding), senjed (dried olive), seer (garlic), seeb(apple), somaq (sumac) and serkeh (vinegar).