Author
Unknown
Publication Date
1400
Publication Place
Samarqand (made) -
Subject
Vine Scroll
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Diameter: 38.5cm, Height: 6.4cm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
C.206-1984
Record ID
C.206-1984
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
1400
Notes
A pottery workshop was established at the court at Samarqand around 1401 under the patronage of Timur, the Uzbek ruler. Timur had invaded Syria, and forced potters from Damascus to move to Samarqand. Timur was a great patron of art and culture, and having established his court, he needed craftsmen to supply luxury wares. At the time, Chinese porcelain was available in sufficient quantities to be used as tablewares for dining, but supplies had ceased with the fall of the Yuan dynasty. This dish is a close copy of Chinese Yuan dynasty originals, possibly imitating examples included in the spoils from his campaigns in Syria. Fritware shards painted in blue imitating Chinese prototypes have been found in Samarqand (cf. C.189-1911). The petrofabric of this dish reveals that the quartz, a crucial component, was derived from sand rather than the usual river pebbles used in Iranian technology to make the body. This confirms that the potters from Damascus working in Samarqand, had brought their technology with them.
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Fritware with underglaze painted decoration Fritware Underglaze
Fiziksel açıklama
Dish, fritware, with flat rim, underglaze painted in cobalt blue under a thick, uneven green-tinged glaze. The decorative scheme after Chinese Yuan and early Ming dynasty originals: the central motif depicting a scholar's rock enclosed by a scrolling vine, possibly convolvulus, with borders of continuous flowering scrolls.
Üretim
Made by Syrian potters transplanted from Damascus to Samarqand by Timur in 1402.
Üslup
Islamic
