30 TALISMANIC BOWL China, ca. 18th century Porcelain with gold and polychrome Diameter 8 in (20.3 cm)
A shallow porcelain bowl decorated on the interior with a series of concentric bands starting with the outermost containing the ‘Throne Verse’ (Qur’an 2:255) and followed by prayers and repetitions of Shahada “There’s no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”. The innermost band contains the popular Shi’i prayer Nadi ‘Aliyan “Call upon ‘Ali, the manifester of miracles”. In the center of the bowl is a magic 4x4 square containing two-digit numbers from the Abjad numeral system. Around the square is the Shi’i epithet, There’s no warrior but ‘Ali and no sword but Dhu’l-fiqar. It is possible that this bowl was made for export to Iran or India where the Shi’a communities lived. A near identical bowl is in the V&A Museum (1944 – 1855). 70