Following the death of the prophet Muhammad in AD 632, the future of Islam lay in the hands of four successive Caliphs, who sought to build on Muhammad’s legacy and expand the frontiers of Islam. The final of these Caliphs, Muhammad’s cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, deposed various regional governors, whom he considered corrupt. This included Mu’awiya, the brother of a previous Caliph; Mu’awiya would not tolerate such an indignity, and began a brutal and bloody civil war, known as the First Fitna. The conflict ended with the assassination of Ali, as he prayed in the Mosque of Kufa, in AD 661. Mu’awiya became Caliph, and founded the Umayyad Dynasty. No longer would the Caliph be chosen by his predecessor, or by a council of leading Muslims. Instead, the Caliphate became a hereditary monarchy, with Mu’awiya at the centre. For a hundred years, Mu’awiya and his successors dominated the Muslim world. But this was not to last; they were overthrown by the Abbasid Dynasty, descended from Muhammad’s uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, and supported by the followers of Ali, who never accepted his assassination or the new Umayyad rule.

The Umayyads and the subsequent Abbasids laid the foundation for Islamic art. At first, the main influences were the Late Antique naturalistic tradition, and the more formal modes of Byzantine and Sassanid art. But gradually, the Islamic world began to formulate its own artistic forms, focussed especially on animal, vegetal and figural motifs. This unusual jug has a narrow foot, a round globular body, an exceptionally tall and thin neck, a small low-slung handle, and a spout in the form of an animal. The foot is undecorated; the lower frieze consists of a border made up of heart-shaped petals, above which are a series of long, twisted motifs. The shoulder of the vessel is decorated with a very fine field of dotted circles, above which is a border of ‘S’-shapes, and a second border of small circles. The tall neck is highly decorated with its own scheme, resembling a tower or minaret. The base of the neck is striated; a series of medallions with pointed centres is next, then wavy patterns, dots, circles with small stars, and finally a border of ‘S’-shapes around the everted rim. The handle, too, is decorated, with a series of concentric circles. But the most remarkable feature of this vessel is the spout, which sprouts from the shoulder. It is in the shape of animal with a long neck, decorated with a rough interweaving pattern, and a short, roughly conical head. It has wide round eyes, and pointed conical ears. The animal’s mouth forms the pouring opening.

Scholarship has been dismissive of the Umayyad and early Abbasid pottery, with one article suggesting that ‘there was little pottery of merit’ from the period. Most scholarly attention is drawn to the later Abbasid: in AD 800, the first traders from Tang Dynasty China made their way to the Abbasid heartland, and brought with them the decorative techniques of the Chinese potters. After then, Islamic pottery is associated with the same ingenious use of glazes, and the same experimentation with form and function, which characterises Chinese porcelain. However, there is much that is noteworthy about these early Umayyad and Abbasid attempts. While it may be unglazed, and the handiwork a little rough and ready, the elegance of the form, and the intricacy of the decoration should not be underestimated. We must especially praise the maker of this vase for his experimentation with unusual animal forms.