The writing is on the bowls: Hebrew

The Hebrew letters have been executed with greater precision than the Arabic letters. This does not necessarily mean that the craftsman was more familiar with the Hebrew alphabet.

Arabic letters are objectively more of a challenge, given the curvy and stacked character of the calligraphic style employed here (a style known as naskh).

By comparison, the Hebrew letters are straightforward, and were it not for their leaf decoration they would look naked. But what do those beautifully decorated letters tell us?

The words read pōrat yōsef paʿōt yōsef pōt yōsef, the first part of which, pōrat yōsef, is biblical (Genesis 49:22) and may be translated as ‘the fruit of Joseph’. That was the easy part (though only because I am skipping an ancient discussion as to the meaning of this phrase, relating to kabbalah and Sephardic folk Judaism).

For the second part I have not found a convincing translation, but it has to mean something that belongs to Joseph. The third part of the writing means ‘the vagina of Joseph’. This gives us “The fruit of Joseph, the [unclear] of Joseph, the vagina of Joseph”. This preliminary translation indicates in both its chant-like wording and in its content, a magical setting. The threeway chant that opens with three p’s, followed by three t’s and ends with a triple Joseph: say it out loud, and you will hear it sounds like an incantation. An incantation seeking what? Something to do with fruit-bearing, I would say. Magical practices are often related to fertility and so is Joseph. Things are starting to fall into place!