Loading

One of the most important innovations of Iraqi potters during the early 9th century CE was the invention of an entirely new technique known as lustre painting. By using metallic pigments, derived from silver and copper and fired in a reduced oxygen kiln, this revolutionary overglaze technique created a glittering effect; so popular, it was then exported from Iraq throughout the Abbasid Caliphate. This bowl is a fine example of Abbasid lustreware. It is of a rounded form with an everted rim on a short foot. Made of earthenware, the bowl is painted in a brownish, less-shiny lustre, depicting a human figure on a stippled ground. Illustrated in a dynamic pose with a spear in his hand, the figure, possibly a soldier, is finely executed. Figurative decorations became very common on Abbasid lustrewares, mainly representing the pleasurable activities of courtly life. Depicted in a wide variety of poses, these figures are often flanked by palmettes or small cartouches with kufic inscriptions. The man on this bowl might be Central Asian in origin, as the Abbasid court imported enslaved Turks from the Central Asian steppes to serve as mercenaries in the protection of the Caliphs. The reverse of the bowl is painted with concentric circles and stippled dashes, as found on other examples of Abbasid lustreware. This bowl represents an earlier phase in Abbasid lustre production, which craftsmen experimented with for only a short period before developing the yellow-gold lustre intended to imitate precious metals.

Details

  • Title: Abbasid Bowl
  • Date Created: 800 - 900 CE
  • Location Created: Iraq, Basra or Samarra
  • Type: Bowl
  • Rights: © The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha
  • Medium: Earthenware, Tin Glaze, Lustre
  • Text Credit: Simone Struth
  • Size: Dia.20.7 cm
  • Period: Abbasid
  • Object ID: PO.428.2006
  • Image Credit: Nicolas Ferrando

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Flash this QR Code to get the app
Google apps