Brass gilt? covered bowl, signed middle eastern?

I imagine this type of bowl has a name or a purpose but I'm not having luck finding another like it. It doesn't look too old to me, maybe India? It is a bright shade of gold rather than being too brassy.

It's signed on the rim in a language I don't know, is about 7" in diameter and has three legs with birds.

 

Looks to me like somewhat better quality than most India-made items; and the signature looks like it might be Arabic, which would argue against Indian origin.
I'm sure others will have some ideas....

 

My first guess would be Persian.

 

The inscription might be the Arabic word for Iran/Persia, though I don't read Arabic very well:
ایران or ایران
‎‎

 

looks like a caviar bowl, from saudi arabia......but that's a wag !

 

All good thoughts. Persian/Iranian is a good thought. This was one of those things that just looked different enough to drag home to research.

I found a similar shape piece but without it being much help as far as information. I also found something with a mark that looks similar but not sure.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/152244380052?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gorgeous-La...630020?hash=item51ed107644:g:f2IAAOSw-CpX-D3H

 

That's a Persian name on the one you found. It's not conclusive, but the odds are good they come from the same place.

 

An bespoke artisanal butter bowl?

 

Remember, Iran/Persia is caviar country (borders on the Caspian Sea):
http://ancientpoint.com/inf/111421-persian_caviar_bowl.html

 

I have seen similar bowls called Tombak bowls. Look at Ottoman tombak, Egyptian Tombak.

 

ok then !
maybe not that wild !!!!

 

Not at all, it was your comment that made the penny drop for me. With the Iranian name and caviar....

 

Ah here we go. Here is an ad for a Caviar/Sugar bowl that is similar and for sale from Iran so I guess that's probably about right.

http://persiatours.com/store_iran_metalwork.htm

 

Small point. The inscription will be in Farsi rather than Arabic.

 

I really wish I could read a language not written in our alphabet but then I struggle just to learn a language written in letters I know.

 

I can pick out a few words, a very few, in Hebrew but that's about it. Otherwise anything I can parse is in the Latin alphabet.

 

Fair point, of course it is Farsi. Farsi script is mainly Arabic though, with a few additional letters. Although there were several old Persian scripts, Arabic script was introduced after the Muslim conquest of Persia.
The word Farsi itself is Arabic, the Persian word is Parsi.

Learning several languages can be confusing. During the last language course I took, my brain simply went on strike. I think I struggle to speak any language properly now, even my native Dutch. Surprisingly, people still understand me. Maybe they just humour me.