Earthenware bowl, covered with a white slip and painted in manganese, yellow, and green under and in a transparent glaze

North African pottery from the 10th and 11th century bears many similarities to contemporary pottery from Spain, especially with regard to its palette. Related bowls – many of them with birds or other animals as motifs, like this piece – have been found in Sicily, which was under North African or local Muslim dominance until the final Norman conquest of the island in 1091.

The pottery that was made in North Africa – the Maghreb – was not particularly refined, and the rich technical development that took place first in Egypt and then in Spain was not found in the Maghreb until much later.