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Ewer

Title	Ewer
Author	Unknown
Publication Place	Iran (made) -
Subject	Ceramics
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Physical Dimensions	Height: 20cm, Width: 19cm, Diameter: 14cm
Library:	Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID	924-1876
Record ID	924-1876
Library Location	Middle East Section
Notes	The decoration on this ewer is a combination of dense lustre over clear and cobalt blue glazes. This is a feature of many lustre wares produced in Iran during the period 1650-1700. Around 1650, a group of Iranian potters revived the technique of lustre decoration. First the potter made a glazed vessel or tile with little or no decoration in the normal way. When the piece had cooled, the potter painted a design over the glaze in metallic compounds. The pot or tile was then fired again, this time with a restricted supply of oxygen. In these conditions, the metallic compounds broke down, and a thin deposit of copper or silver was left on the surface of the glaze. When polished, this surface layer reflected the light. This technique had not been used on any scale in Iran for three centuries. We do not know how the technique was revived, or where the potters produced their distinctive wares.
Tarihsel bağlam	The designs of Safavid lustre owe nothing to the Chinese, but are purely Iranian. Their source is not precisely identifiable, the motifs are a mixture of the sort of decoration found in contemporary manuscript illumination, see Pope (1939; pls 892-93, 896-98. 974-75 etc.) and designs developed specifically for ceramics, such as the arabesques and floral designs found on slip-painted wares (cat. U.25.U26). The relationship ends there though. The range of shapes, the materials and details of making indicate that it is a separate production.
Malzemeler ve teknikler	Fritware, underglaze and lustre decoration
Fiziksel açıklama	Deep cobalt blue lustre jug. Rounded body narrowing to neck with flared rim. The spout of the jug is set on the shoulder and curves gently at the tip. The handle starts right under the rim of the jug and curves slightly inwards before meeting the shoulder of the base. The lustre is a deep ruby red. In ceramic production, compounds of copper and silver were used to create the shiny, metallic decoration known as lustre. It was a two-stage process. In the first stage, the glazed pot was produced in the normal way by firing in a kiln. In the second, a design was painted over the glaze using the metallic compounds, and the pot was refired at a lower temperature in a kiln with a restricted supply of oxygen. During this second firing, the heat converted the metallic compounds into oxides, and the carbon monoxide produced by the fire then drew the oxygen out of the oxides, leaving the metal as a thin deposit on the vessel. The result was a surface with an attractive golden glow. Both these forms of decoration - blue-and-white and lustre - were to have a very long history, and they are both still in use today.
Üslup	Safavid

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Victoria and Albert Museum

Ewer

Author Unknown

Publication Place Iran (made) -

Subject Ceramics

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Physical Dimensions Height: 20cm, Width: 19cm, Diameter: 14cm

Library Victoria and Albert Museum

Library Asset ID 924-1876

Record ID 924-1876

Library Location Middle East Section

Notes The decoration on this ewer is a combination of dense lustre over clear and cobalt blue glazes. This is a feature of many lustre wares produced in Iran during the period 1650-1700. Around 1650, a group of Iranian potters revived the technique of lustre decoration. First the potter made a glazed vessel or tile with little or no decoration in the normal way. When the piece had cooled, the potter painted a design over the glaze in metallic compounds. The pot or tile was then fired again, this time with a restricted supply of oxygen. In these conditions, the metallic compounds broke down, and a thin deposit of copper or silver was left on the surface of the glaze. When polished, this surface layer reflected the light. This technique had not been used on any scale in Iran for three centuries. We do not know how the technique was revived, or where the potters produced their distinctive wares.

Tarihsel bağlam The designs of Safavid lustre owe nothing to the Chinese, but are purely Iranian. Their source is not precisely identifiable, the motifs are a mixture of the sort of decoration found in contemporary manuscript illumination, see Pope (1939; pls 892-93, 896-98. 974-75 etc.) and designs developed specifically for ceramics, such as the arabesques and floral designs found on slip-painted wares (cat. U.25.U26). The relationship ends there though. The range of shapes, the materials and details of making indicate that it is a separate production.

Malzemeler ve teknikler Fritware, underglaze and lustre decoration

Fiziksel açıklama Deep cobalt blue lustre jug. Rounded body narrowing to neck with flared rim. The spout of the jug is set on the shoulder and curves gently at the tip. The handle starts right under the rim of the jug and curves slightly inwards before meeting the shoulder of the base. The lustre is a deep ruby red. In ceramic production, compounds of copper and silver were used to create the shiny, metallic decoration known as lustre. It was a two-stage process. In the first stage, the glazed pot was produced in the normal way by firing in a kiln. In the second, a design was painted over the glaze using the metallic compounds, and the pot was refired at a lower temperature in a kiln with a restricted supply of oxygen. During this second firing, the heat converted the metallic compounds into oxides, and the carbon monoxide produced by the fire then drew the oxygen out of the oxides, leaving the metal as a thin deposit on the vessel. The result was a surface with an attractive golden glow. Both these forms of decoration - blue-and-white and lustre - were to have a very long history, and they are both still in use today.

Üslup Safavid