A stunning Kashan blue and lustre pottery jug dated to the 13th century. The tall globular body is majestically decorated with ribs and vertical painted bands with foliage motifs against a sumptuous blue glaze. The jug has a relatively long spout, a slightly flaring neck and a handle attached to shoulder of the vessel.

At the beginning of the 11th century CE a new dynasty, the Seljuqs came to Iran and unified the country under their rule, and for a while also brought into their realm Iraq and Syria. Another branch of the Seljuqs, the Rumi Seljuqs, established themselves in Anatolia. This period witnessed great progress in literature, philosophy, in architecture and in all fields of the arts. The Seljuqs became great patrons of the arts and their patronage made it possible for artists to develop new techniques in metalwork and in pottery. The most important achievement in pottery production was the introduction of a new composite white frit material. This new white body made the application of alkaline glaze easier; the actual body of the vessels was considerably thinner, almost translucent. Thus Seljuq potters had nearly achieved the fineness of imported Chinese Sung porcelain which potters of the Near East greatly admired. Cities like Ray, Kashan, Jorjan, and Nishapur became the main centres of pottery production.

Lusterware became one of the main types of ceramic manufactured in medieval Iran. The technique possibly spread from Egypt to Iran in the early 12th century by artisans migrating to set up workshops. Within Iran the town of Kashan was the finest and most important centre for the manufacture of lusterware. The metallic, golden effect is created by painting using a combination of silver and copper oxide, which melts during the second firing of the piece.