AN EXCEPTIONAL CHINESE BOWL WITH ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY, KANGXI MARK & OF THE PERIOD, (1662-1772)The Shahadah; Qur’an, part of surah al-Hashr (LIX), vv.6 and 22; the nada 'ali quatrain; part of surah al-Isra' (XVII), most of v.82; part of surah al-Kafirun (CIX), al-Ilkhlas (CXII), al-Falaq (CXIII) and al-Nas (CXIV); surah al-Baqarah (II), v.255.A bowl in the Sadberk Hanim Museum, Istanbul, is of the same size and very close to the current piece (inv. no.H.K.113-3176, published in Carswell 1985, p.84, no.90). They are both decorated with concentric bands of Arabic calligraphy and have a chevron ring at the rim, with a ground alternatively hatched and plain. They both bear the shahada in the central roundel and surah verses in the concentric bands. The Topkapi Saray Museum holds a set of seven bowls comparable to the present, of the same dimentions and with similar calligraphy (inv. nos.TKS 15/5482, 5484-85, 5487, 5494 and 5496; published in Krahl 1986, pp.1161-2).Diameter: 15cmHeight: 6.5cm