This cup belongs to a remarkable series produced in Khorasan and Transoxiana, the eastern provinces of the Iranian world through which
the Silk Roads ran. These items, made for a cultured clientele, are decorated with proverbs (amthal) in Arabic, sometimes drawn from the sayings of Ali, more rarely from the hadith. Here the contrasting decoration is painted with black or brown slip on a base of white slip and suggests the work of an experienced calligrapher. The circular composition and the sobriety of the decorative and lexical vocabulary enhance the power of the inscription.