Lot 254

12th C. Ghurid Pottery Pitcher, Piriform w/ Concentric Circles

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Lot 254
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12th C. Ghurid Pottery Pitcher, Piriform w/ Concentric Circles
12th C. Ghurid Pottery Pitcher, Piriform w/ Concentric Circles
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12th C. Ghurid Pottery Pitcher, Piriform w/ Concentric Circles

Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500

Starting Bid: $450

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT (In Progress)
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Ca. 1200 - 1250 CE. Central Asia, central Afghanistan, Jam in Ghur Province, Ghurid Dynasty. A hand-built pottery pitcher displaying a beautiful and neatly arranged register of concentric circles across the upper body. Above the circular program is a register of zigzagging bands with petite triangles within the wide peaks and valleys, and the rim exhibits a strip of petite protrusions. The broad piriform vessel presents atop a squat foot and has an arching handle stretching between the tapered shoulder and tiered neck. The upper rim is of a slightly narrow form, perhaps meant to accommodate a lid.

Despite scholars knowing little about the Ghurid Dynasty and its artistic stylings, they do know it had a rich heritage and a unique presentation. The area today known as Jam was once called Firuzkuh, the summer capital of the Ghurid sultanate that was destroyed by the Mongols around 1222 to 1223 CE and rediscovered by international researchers in 1957 because of its huge minaret. A wide profusion of different style vessels seem to have been made in medieval Jam during the short Ghurid Dynasty, which enjoyed brief success in the 12th century before collapsing after the death of its most charismatic rulers; indeed, when the Mongols destroyed it, it seems to have already been a city in decline. The pottery made there is all the more remarkable for the brief window in which it was made.

Provenance: Tull collection, Fresno CA 2021; ex-Artemis Gallery; Art for Eternity, New York, NY; ex-private prominent D.K. collection, New York, USA, acquired in the 2000s

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Item # 202495

  • Condition: Good. Good condition. Original lid missing. Small chips to foot, with light abrasions and nicks to body, otherwise intact and very good. Great preservation of geometric motifs across upper body.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000