Who made this?
This bowl was probably made in the Black Sea region, perhaps by a Byzantine potter in a Chersonese workshop. As this region opened up to diverse groups of people who were primarily Muslim during the crusades, Byzantine and Islamic culture began to collide. Islamic visual traditions and motifs were adopted by Byzantine potters; for example, the elegant harpy figure on this bowl is primarily an Islamic motif. Aspects of the design and patterns, like the spirals on the back of this bowl and on the legs of the harpy, are also typical of Islamic design. However, the circular and linear designs that describes the feathers on this bowl and the other example from the Karatay Madrasa Tile Works Museum are typical of Byzantine design. The maker of this bowl inhabited a region that had long been under Byzantine control, and the maker of this bowl was also strongly interested in Islamic traditions.