The Lotus

Even one small detail, such as the lotus, speaks of a lengthy history of journeys and exchanges covering a broad geographical region. This motif has been traced from acanthus and vine motifs found in Hellenistic temples in the Middle East to Sassanian Persian silver vessels transported to China, where it was adopted in sculpted decoration. It was then applied to Chinese silver and ceramic vessels traded to Persia, so that it re-entered the repertoire of forms used on earthenware there from the fourteenth century onwards. Even though ‘Chinese’ motifs like the lotus marked the pen case as a luxury imported good, they were not entirely foreign to the Persian market. They formed part of a common visual language that developed through transcultural networks, and would have been very familiar in Persia.