Table (Tabouret) with Enthroned Prince and Courtiers

This low, four-footed table or stool has a turquoise blue glaze on most of its surface. The raised relief decoration, which was made using molds, shows a large, seated figure surrounded by smaller-scale standing figures. It is repeated on all four sides. Comparing it with other 12th- or 13th-century scenes from Iran (where this is thought to have been made) clarifies the image and indicates that the seated figure is likely a prince surrounded by members of his court. The table, which may also be called a “tabouret,” was probably used for feasts where diners would be seated on the floor or ground.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Dikran Kelekian, Paris and New York, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1925, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.