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Bowl with a Bird, 10th century. Ceramic; earthenware, painted in luster on an opaque white glaze, Diameter: 10 1/4 in. (26 cm). Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.227.80. Creative Commons-BY.
Contour panels filled with V-shaped motifs enhance the bold shape of the peacock on this bowl. This style of decoration is typical of tenth-century monochrome lusterware production under the cAbbasid rulers of Iraq. The tail of the peacock contains an inscription that, though damaged, still contains the last two letters of the Arabic word baraka, which means “blessing.” Inscriptions wishing good fortune for the owner commonly appear on Islamic ceramics from this time.