Swatow enamelled dish with Arabic calligraphy

This dish has nine circles containing Arabic script, was most likely based on the Sultan of Aceh’s seal—Cap Sikureueng (Seal of Nine). The eight surrounding roundels bear the names of preceding sultans. Commonly found in Indonesia, such dishes were symbols of the sultan’s status and power and were used as serving platters during grand feasts. This ware was previously thought to be from the port of Swatow (Shantou) in Guangdong province, thus was called ‘Swatow ware’.

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