Kushan Turquoise-Blue Glazed Footed Bowl, Twelfth to Thirteenth Century AD
Stonepaste, Pigment
Diameter: 19 cm
CB.3138
This superb turquoise-blue glazed bowl originates from Western Asia, probably made in Khorassan, east Persia (Iran) / west Afghanistan and it is dated to the Seljuq (Saljuq/Seljuk) period, ca. 12th...
This superb turquoise-blue glazed bowl originates from Western Asia, probably made in Khorassan, east Persia (Iran) / west Afghanistan and it is dated to the Seljuq (Saljuq/Seljuk) period, ca. 12th to 13th century CE. The glazed bowl has the typical conical shape, a rounded base resting on a short cylindrical foot, and the interior decorated with a moulded continuous pseudo-calligraphic band on the cavetto, and star-like geometric interlace motifs in the medallion at the centre. The glaze covers all of the interior and nearly half of the exterior.
The present bowl is an example of the technological innovations in ceramic decoration which were established in Persia by the end of the twelfth century. New techniques were developed as ceramics started to be made using a white frit mass instead of red clay, allowing the potter to have a brilliant white ground on which he could apply a decoration such as the present blue glaze. The blue colour of the glaze was obtained using copper as a colourant. Pieces like the one showed here may have been inspired by the blue and white glazed pottery that travelled the Silk Road from Tang Dynasty, China, leading to the development of a new distinctive style which blossomed in Nishapur. Indeed, fritware or stonepaste was invented to produce vessels with a strong white body, which, combined with the tin- glazing on the surface, allowed them to approximate the result of Chinese porcelain. True porcelain was not manufactured in the Islamic world until several centuries later whereas in the meantime the finest Islamic pottery was made of fritware.
In the 13th century the town of Kashan in the Isfahan region in today- Iran was an important centre for the production of fritware. A wide variety of forms are included to the ceramic production attributed to Kashan, from vessels of closed forms such as bottles through plates and bowls to tilework of various dimensions. The town was well situated for the development of this industry, being located near sources of some of the materials necessary for manufacturing the fritware. The high quality wares produced in the late 12th to 14th centuries in Iran, particularly those decorated with luster, are notable for the loquacity of their inscriptions.
The present bowl is an example of the technological innovations in ceramic decoration which were established in Persia by the end of the twelfth century. New techniques were developed as ceramics started to be made using a white frit mass instead of red clay, allowing the potter to have a brilliant white ground on which he could apply a decoration such as the present blue glaze. The blue colour of the glaze was obtained using copper as a colourant. Pieces like the one showed here may have been inspired by the blue and white glazed pottery that travelled the Silk Road from Tang Dynasty, China, leading to the development of a new distinctive style which blossomed in Nishapur. Indeed, fritware or stonepaste was invented to produce vessels with a strong white body, which, combined with the tin- glazing on the surface, allowed them to approximate the result of Chinese porcelain. True porcelain was not manufactured in the Islamic world until several centuries later whereas in the meantime the finest Islamic pottery was made of fritware.
In the 13th century the town of Kashan in the Isfahan region in today- Iran was an important centre for the production of fritware. A wide variety of forms are included to the ceramic production attributed to Kashan, from vessels of closed forms such as bottles through plates and bowls to tilework of various dimensions. The town was well situated for the development of this industry, being located near sources of some of the materials necessary for manufacturing the fritware. The high quality wares produced in the late 12th to 14th centuries in Iran, particularly those decorated with luster, are notable for the loquacity of their inscriptions.