MATERIALS

Materials

Ceramics

Ceramics

Within the field of ceramics, China was the great source of inspiration for the Middle East. Although Muslim potters never managed to make coveted porcelain, they did invent tin-glazed earthenware: faience. They further developed fritware, introduced lusterware and underglaze painting, and mastered many other decoration techniques.

In 13th-century Iran, there were so many different types of ceramics that no comparable variation was found until the 19th century, in Europe.

Although ceramics can break, it does not decompose and cannot be recycled, so this is the group of works of art from the Islamic world that is best preserved.

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ISLAMIC ART: CERAMICS

Islamic Art: Ceramics

Item no. 11 of 52
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Earthenware bowl, covered by a white slip with incised ornamentation and decorated with splashes of color in a transparent glaze

Eastern Iran or Central Asia; 10th century
H: 7.5; Diam: 25.5 cm

The decoration on this bowl, like so much Samanid art, was inspired by decoration from Abbasid Iraq, and Iraqi potters, in turn, might have been inspired by Chinese models, i.e. Tang splashed ware.

The green, yellow, and brownish splashes run out into the transparent glaze and create a seemingly random yet planned pattern. The underlying incised decoration, in the russet color of the clay against the white slip, is purely Islamic. This sgraffito technique was later to become a popular form of decoration, which was exported to Europe.

Inv. no. 2/1965