Earthenware bowls covered with a whitish slip and painted with colored slips under a transparent glaze

This bowl is “Sari ware,” the traditional term that refers to the town of Sari in northern Iran where it was previously assumed that pottery of this distinctive type was made. This has not been confirmed, and modern excavations have in fact shown that the type was made in Gorgan among other places.

Sari ware is known for its characteristic palette and monumental figurative depictions, especially of birds. Sari ware does not, however, have the same high quality as other Samanid pottery, and it is assumed that it was a fairly late, provincial product.