Pear-Shaped Bottle with Birds

Unknown artist

Like so many ceramics produced in Iran during the Safavid period, the style and decoration of this bottle demonstrates an attempt to emulate the highly-regarded Chinese porcelain. Vegetal forms akin to lotus flowers, and the use of underglaze blue and white indicate the Chinese influences. The vessel's weighty shape is charmingly equated with the rotund pot-bellies of the birds.