Kashan glazed deep figural bowl, 1100 CE - 1200 CE
Earthenware
RL.1505
Description A fantastic and museum-quality example of a stonepaste deep bowl, luster-painted on opaque white glaze with the central figure of a men in dense decorative vegetation motifs. During the...
Description
A fantastic and museum-quality example of a stonepaste deep bowl, luster-painted on opaque white glaze with the central figure of a men in dense decorative vegetation motifs. During the late 9th and the beginning of the 10th century AD, Iraqi potters were responsible for a major technological achievement: the development of lustre painting on ceramics. Lustre was already known in the glass-making industry, but it was brought to its full potential on ceramics. Potters applied metal oxides to the opaque surface of ceramics which had already been fired. These pieces were then fired a second time in a kiln with low oxygen levels. At the end of this process, made riskier and more expensive by the double firing, the painted decoration assumed a distinctive metallic sheen.
Over the second half of the century, the lustre palette was refined with potters using a single colour instead of a multi-coloured scheme. A parallel change can be seen in the nature of the decoration, which became increasingly figural. Lustre gives the ceramic surface a bright, metallic gleam. Due to its flat base and wide rim, the shape of this echoes the design of a metal vessel. The lustre also suggests the sheen of gold. This splendid stone paste bowl, with overglaze luster-paint on an opaque white glaze, is dated to the 12th century. It can be associated with the city of Kashan in Iran, which emerged as the most prominent centre of lustre production between the 12th and early 14th century.
Although unsigned, the bowl's accomplished design and technical execution make this piece stand out for its technical and stylistic perfection among 13th century Iranian lusterware.
A fantastic and museum-quality example of a stonepaste deep bowl, luster-painted on opaque white glaze with the central figure of a men in dense decorative vegetation motifs. During the late 9th and the beginning of the 10th century AD, Iraqi potters were responsible for a major technological achievement: the development of lustre painting on ceramics. Lustre was already known in the glass-making industry, but it was brought to its full potential on ceramics. Potters applied metal oxides to the opaque surface of ceramics which had already been fired. These pieces were then fired a second time in a kiln with low oxygen levels. At the end of this process, made riskier and more expensive by the double firing, the painted decoration assumed a distinctive metallic sheen.
Over the second half of the century, the lustre palette was refined with potters using a single colour instead of a multi-coloured scheme. A parallel change can be seen in the nature of the decoration, which became increasingly figural. Lustre gives the ceramic surface a bright, metallic gleam. Due to its flat base and wide rim, the shape of this echoes the design of a metal vessel. The lustre also suggests the sheen of gold. This splendid stone paste bowl, with overglaze luster-paint on an opaque white glaze, is dated to the 12th century. It can be associated with the city of Kashan in Iran, which emerged as the most prominent centre of lustre production between the 12th and early 14th century.
Although unsigned, the bowl's accomplished design and technical execution make this piece stand out for its technical and stylistic perfection among 13th century Iranian lusterware.