Where was this produced?
It is likely that this bowl was made in Chersonese, an ancient city off the Black Sea that was long controlled by medieval Byzantium. In the image above, Chersonese is indicated with a red star icon. The distinct slip-painting of the outside of the bowl was characteristic of this area. The impact of trade within the Black Sea stayed true during the crusades and into our modern age. This ancient city is in modern-day Ukraine, and similar to its significant contribution in production and exportation from the Black Sea today, the ancient city of Chersonese also was a major producer and exporter of portable goods during the crusades. The Black Sea serves as the link between eastern Europe and the rest of world markets within the eastern Mediterranean, a persistently invaluable trading place.
The area this bowl was made is significant to its appearance. The Black Sea area was around the ancient city, Anatolia which is presently known as Turkey today. Anatolia was one of the first major Byzantine territories attacked and conquered by the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century. These military conquests against Byzantine armies inspired Byzantine forces to call upon their Christian allies in Europe. Thus the crusades were initiated with the First Crusade in the year 1095 by Pope Uban II. The image above indicates parts of the Byzantine empire, like Anatolia and Chersonese surrounded by the red line. Despite the incitement of "religious war", after the Seljuk Turks conquered areas surrounding the Black Sea they were open to diverse peoples from Iran and central Asia who were primarily Muslim. Byzantine inhabitants and their incoming Muslim neighbors coexisted peacefully which is exemplified by their participation in the exchange of ideas and designs.