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Bowl

Title	Bowl
Author	Unknown
Publication Date:	1180
Publication Place	Iran (made) Jurjan (found) -
Subject	Medallion Water Weed Foliated
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Physical Dimensions	Diameter: 14.5cm, Height: 7.7cm
Library:	Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID	C.168-1977
Record ID	C.168-1977
Library Location	Middle East Section
Date	1180
Notes	This small bowl is made from fritware (also called stone paste and quartz paste), an artificial ceramic body developed by Middle Eastern potters around the middle of the 11th century to imitate the hard, bright white body of imported Chinese porcelains. The main ingredient in fritware was fine quartz powder made by grinding sand or pebbles. Small quantities of white clay and a glassy substance known as frit were added â the clay to give plasticity, the frit to bind the body after firing. In the 12th and early 13th centuries, fritware was used in Kashan and other pottery centres in Iran to produce fine wares decorated in an astonishing range of styles. This bowl is decorated with underglaze painting, which was another technique that was perfected in Iran at this time. It probably developed from earlier techniques of painting with slip, but the Kashan potters realised they could apply the slip very thinly, directly on to the ceramic body, which they did with extremely artistic results. The 'waterweed' was a characteristic design of Kashan underglaze ceramics. The row of fishes around the interior of the rim may suggest that this bowl was used for serving water. This vessel was part of a hoard that was deliberately buried by its owner, probably a merchant who lived in Jurjan in north-east Iran, or who was passing through the city. In 1220, Jurjan was threatened by a Mongol invasion. The merchant packed the vessels in sand inside large storage jars and buried them for safekeeping. Soon afterwards, Jurjan was completely destroyed by the Mongols, and the owner never returned to recover the hoard. As a result, the vessels in this hoard survived together for almost 800 years, and in relatively good condition. The probable date of their burial also gives us a good indication of when the vessels in the hoard were made, as well as showing the wide variety of types of decoration that were used to make Iranian pottery at this time.
Malzemeler ve teknikler	Fritware painted in blue and black under a turquoise glaze Fritware Painted Glazed
Fiziksel açıklama	Bowl of fritware with a ring foot and straight sides that flare out slightly towards the rim. Decorated with cobalt blue and black under a turquoise glaze. Interior has a dark blue rim, and is divided into four panels by thick cobalt blue lines, each section filled with a water weed design in underglaze black. Exterior is decorated with a few foliate sprigs in black under the turquoise glaze.
Üretim	Probably Kashan
Üslup	Seljuk

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Victoria and Albert Museum

Bowl

Author Unknown

Publication Date 1180

Publication Place Iran (made) Jurjan (found) -

Subject Medallion Water Weed Foliated

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Physical Dimensions Diameter: 14.5cm, Height: 7.7cm

Library Victoria and Albert Museum

Library Asset ID C.168-1977

Record ID C.168-1977

Library Location Middle East Section

Date 1180

Notes This small bowl is made from fritware (also called stone paste and quartz paste), an artificial ceramic body developed by Middle Eastern potters around the middle of the 11th century to imitate the hard, bright white body of imported Chinese porcelains. The main ingredient in fritware was fine quartz powder made by grinding sand or pebbles. Small quantities of white clay and a glassy substance known as frit were added â the clay to give plasticity, the frit to bind the body after firing. In the 12th and early 13th centuries, fritware was used in Kashan and other pottery centres in Iran to produce fine wares decorated in an astonishing range of styles. This bowl is decorated with underglaze painting, which was another technique that was perfected in Iran at this time. It probably developed from earlier techniques of painting with slip, but the Kashan potters realised they could apply the slip very thinly, directly on to the ceramic body, which they did with extremely artistic results. The 'waterweed' was a characteristic design of Kashan underglaze ceramics. The row of fishes around the interior of the rim may suggest that this bowl was used for serving water. This vessel was part of a hoard that was deliberately buried by its owner, probably a merchant who lived in Jurjan in north-east Iran, or who was passing through the city. In 1220, Jurjan was threatened by a Mongol invasion. The merchant packed the vessels in sand inside large storage jars and buried them for safekeeping. Soon afterwards, Jurjan was completely destroyed by the Mongols, and the owner never returned to recover the hoard. As a result, the vessels in this hoard survived together for almost 800 years, and in relatively good condition. The probable date of their burial also gives us a good indication of when the vessels in the hoard were made, as well as showing the wide variety of types of decoration that were used to make Iranian pottery at this time.

Malzemeler ve teknikler Fritware painted in blue and black under a turquoise glaze Fritware Painted Glazed

Fiziksel açıklama Bowl of fritware with a ring foot and straight sides that flare out slightly towards the rim. Decorated with cobalt blue and black under a turquoise glaze. Interior has a dark blue rim, and is divided into four panels by thick cobalt blue lines, each section filled with a water weed design in underglaze black. Exterior is decorated with a few foliate sprigs in black under the turquoise glaze.

Üretim Probably Kashan

Üslup Seljuk