Bowl with Four Phoenixes
Iran, 14th century
Fritware, underglaze painted
Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection,
Gift of Joan Palevsky (M.73.5.215)
cat. 134
Photo @ 2003 Museum Associates/LACMA
[click images for full object view]

This bowl belongs to a general category of Persian ceramics known as Sultanabad ware, after the western Iranian city (between Hamadan and Isfahan) [map] where many similar objects were found, although there is no proof that any of them were actually made there.

The phoenix motif, in which the mythical birds are depicted in pairs or groups of three or four (here), typically arranged in the form of a revolving design emphasized the birds’ long, curving tail feathers, may also represent a Chinese import, such as the Lacquer Tray with Phoenixes and Canopy with Phoenixes at right.

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