*A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN BOWL AND SAUCER PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION Persia and China, dated 1260 AH (1844) Comprising a hemispherical bowl, on a very short circular foot, the white porcelain body polychrome-painted in a variety of overglaze enamels in hues from pink to green, cobalt blue, copper red to gold, the decoration consisting of a shamsa-shaped calligraphic medallion with 5ll. of nasta'liqpoetryto the centre, surrounded by a continuous band of polychromeboteh(paisley design), below the rim several lobed cartouches inscribed with Persian verses in cobalt blue against a golden ground, the exterior and saucer replicating the same design, the text on both the bowl and saucer of Shi'a content by the renownmarsiya (elegiac) poets Wisal al-Shirazi (1783 - 1846) and Mohtashem Kashani (1500 - 1588), an eulogy to the great Imam Husseyn, his martyrdom in Kerbela and his thirst, with specific hints to the use of this bowl for ice water and to the act of commemorating the Kerbela's massacre when drinking from this bowl, with an ownership inscription and date to the outer rim of the saucer, the bowl 17cm diam. and the saucer 21.8cm diam. Inscription: By order of Mirza Bozorg Shirazi, 1260.