Green-glazed Flat Pot with Green Arabian Inscription

Unearthed in the Tang-dynasty Wood-coffin Tomb in Dongfeng Brick & Tile Factory of Yangzhou city in 1980, this pot is a testimony to the mingling of Chinese and Western cultures in the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) as its shape, inscriptions and decoration are all typical of Western Asian ceramics while it was actually made in Changsha Kiln of China. It has an opening with a curly rim, upright neck, slanted shoulders, olive-shaped flat belly and a flat bottom. Four knobs sit in symmetry on its two sides to be hung with belts. Covered with green glaze all over, this pot features S-shaped cloud patterns in green on one side of its belly while on the opposite side there is an Arabian inscription meaning “Allah is greatest”.