In the Islamic world, the technique of painting in thick coloured slips, or wet clays, on earthenware ceramics was restricted to Iran and Central Asia in the 10th and 11th centuries under the rule of the Samanid Empire. As with this bowl, the decoration was often an elegant black design against a white background. From looking at other bowls from the same period, it is clear that the black brushstroke at the center of the bowl is an abstracted bird.<BR> <BR> The simple designs of these slipware ceramics were often coveted by European collectors for their affinity to modernist aesthetics.<BR> <BR> See Oliver Watson, Ceramics from Islamic Lands (New York: Thames & Hudson, 2004), 205 -- 217.