Earthenware jar painted with blue in and with lustre over an opaque white glaze 

After the Christian reconquest of Islamic Central and Southern Spain between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, many Muslim potters remained in the area and continued their production of lustreware with Islamic ornamentation. Known as Hispano-Moresque ware, such pottery was a coveted luxury item in Spain and in the rest of Europe.

With its blue and copper red colours on a white background, this jar is a typical example of Muslim pottery from the town of Manises, close to Valencia (14/1990 and 32/2005). As in much Islamic art, the decorations are abstract, combining zigzag and herringbone patterns with highly stylised plant ornamentation. The vessel also has a field with pseudo-calligraphy, a meaningless sequence of Arabic letters with purely decorative function. Arabic calligraphy and pseudo-calligraphy were popular forms of ornamentation in the Christian states of Spain and also appear on textiles from the period (2/1989 and 25/2007).