Nishapur bowl with calligraphy

This conical shaped bowl is slip-painted using dilute clay. It is decorated with a motif of a bird in the well and a bold, ornate band of foliated kufic script around the inner wall. The inscription reads: "Generosity is a disposition of the dwellers of Paradise." This phrase is one of the more frequently found sayings on Nishapur pottery from the Samanid period (891-1005). Calligraphy has always been considered the noblest and most featured art in the world of Islam as it transmits the Divine Revelations from God. As one of the main decorative forms in Islamic art, calligraphy can be found a variety of media—from manuscripts to large inscriptions on stone or on ceramics such as this.