Small bowl with metallic lustre decoration, Abbasid Iraq, Basra, 9th century Clay ceramic flared-lip bowl with bichrome metallic lustre decoration of a stylized plant fleuron garnished with ocelli, four roundels decorating the outer wall. Diameter: 15.4 cm Restorations. The vegetal decoration, as well as the ocelli filling and the bichromatic palette of this bowl, are characteristic of the early metal lustre technique in Abbasid Iraq and Iran before the 10th century. The floral motif dominating the composition seems to echo the sculpted stucco decorations on the walls of the Abbasid palace in Samarra, Iraq (9th century). A similarly decorated bowl is in the collections of the Tareq Rajab Museum in Kuwait (CER44TSR). A Tiny Abbasid Luster Cup, Iraq, Basra, 10th century Philippe Magloire Collection - Lots 132 to 207