Cup with hunters, 12th–13th centuries, Iran, musée du Louvre

The era of Islamic pottery started around 622. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware Events Religion July 16 — Year one of the Islamic calendar begins during which the Hijra occurs — Prophet Muhammad From 633, Muslim armies moved rapidly toward Byzantine, Persia, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt and later Andalusia. Events By Place Europe Oswald of Bernicia becomes Bretwalda. Osric becomes king of Deira. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Andalusia (Andalucía is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the most populous and the second largest in terms of land area

The early history of Islamic pottery remains somewhat obscure and speculative as little evidence has survived. Apart from tiles which escaped destruction due to their use in architectural decoration of buildings and mosques, much early medieval pottery vanished.

Arthur Lane produced two books which made substantial contribution to understanding the history and merit of Muslim ceramics. The first book was dedicated to the study of early ceramics from the Abbasid period till the Seljuk times, sketching the various events which played a significant role in the rise and fall of particular styles. The Seljuq (also Seljuq Turks, Seldjuks, Seldjuqs, Seljuks; in Turkish Selçuklular; in Ṣaljūqīyān; in In his second work, Lane used the same rhetorical style adopted in the first book, this time devoting his attention to later periods from the Mongols to nineteenth century Iznik and Persian pottery. İznik pottery, named after the town in western Anatolia where it was made is highly decorated ceramics whose heyday was the late sixteenth century

Following Lane's works, numerous studies appeared. The most comprehensive works adopting a general view are those by R. L. Hobson, Ernst J. Grube, Richard Ettinghausen, and more recently Alan Caiger-Smith and Gesa Febervari. Richard Ettinghausen (1906 Frankfurt am Main, Germany - April 2, 1979, Princeton New Jersey) was a historian of Islamic art Alan Caiger-Smith (born 1930 is a British Studio potter and writer on Pottery. Additional contributions were made by those specializing in particular temporal or regional history of Muslim pottery such as Georges Marcais in his work on North Africa, Oliver Watson on Persia and J. Oliver Cyril Spencer Watson VC DSO ( 7 September 1876 &ndash 28 March 1918) was an English soldier in the R. Hallett on Abbasid Pottery.

It seems clear that Muslims inherited the pottery craft from Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt and other cultural regions. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. For example, the origin of glazed pottery has been traced to Egypt where it was first introduced during the fourth millennium BCE. From there it reached most parts of the near east, including Iran and Mesopotamia, in the form of alkaline glazed pottery. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding In Chemistry, an alkali (from Arabic: Al-Qaly القلي القالي) is a basic, ionic salt of an Alkali metal ^[1]

Ceramics from the Islamic era are often divided into three sections:

Early Medieval (622-1200)

Sources indicate that Muslim pottery was not firmly established until the 9th century in Mesopotamia, Syria and Persia. Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية During this period pieces mainly used white tin-glaze. Tin-glazing is the process of giving Ceramic items a tin-based glaze which is white shiny and opaque normally applied to red or buff Earthenware. Information on earlier periods is very limited. This is largely due to the lack of surviving specimens in good condition which also limits the interest in the study of ceramics of these periods. Archaeological excavations carried out in Jordan uncovered only a few examples from the Umayyad period, mostly unglazed vessels from Khirbat Al-Mafjar. ^[2][3]

From between the eighth and eighteenth centuries, the use of glazed ceramics was prevalent in Islamic art, usually assuming the form of elaborate pottery. Glaze is a layer or coating of a Vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color decorate strengthen or waterproof it Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware ^[4] Tin-opacified glazing was one of the earliest new technologies developed by the Islamic potters. The first Islamic opaque glazes can be found as blue-painted ware in Basra, dating to around the 8th century. Basra ( BGN: AlBasrah also called Basorah Abillah and Uruk or IRAQ The name that British colony has adopted for Basra The 8th century is the period from 701 to 800 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Another significant contribution was the development of stonepaste ceramics, originating in 9th century Iraq. Stoneware a Vitreous or semivitreous ceramic ware of fine texture made primarily from nonrefactory fire clay The 9th century is the period from 801 to 900 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. ^[5] Other centers for innovative ceramic pottery in the Islamic world included Fustat (from 975 to 1075), Damascus (from 1100 to around 1600) and Tabriz (from 1470 to 1550). Fustat (also Fostat, Al Fustat, Misr al-Fustat and Fustat-Misr, and in Arabic الفسطاط was the first Capital of Egypt Events By Place Europe King Edward the Martyr is crowned in England. Tabriz ( تبریز, تبریز) is the largest city in northwestern Iran. ^[6]

During the Abbasid dynasty pottery production gained momentum, largely using tin glazes mostly in the form of opaque white glaze. Some historians, such as Lane, attribute the rise of such industry to Chinese influence. Evidence from Muslim manuscripts, such as Akhbar al-Sin wa al-Hind (circa 851) and Ibn Kurdadhbih’s Book of Roads and Provinces (846-885), suggest that trade with China was firmly established. Events By Place Europe Vikings plunder London and Canterbury. Events By Place Europe Nominoe occupies Nantes and Rennes, he makes raids in Anjou and threatens Bayeux Events By Place Europe The Vikings besiege Paris. Godfrith the Sea King is killed in Lobith. Lane also referred to the passage in a work written by Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Baihaki, (circa 1059) where he stated that the governor of Khurasan, ‘Ali ibn ‘Isa, sent as a present to the Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786-809), “twenty pieces of Chinese Imperial porcelain (Chini faghfuri), the like of which had never been seen at a Caliph’s court before, in addition to 2,000 other pieces of porcelain”. For the processors see 80786 - 7th generation x86 like Athlon and Intel Pentium 4. Events By Place Asia Emperor Saga succeeds Emperor Heizei as Emperor of Japan.

According to Lane, the influence of Chinese pottery progressed in three main phases. The first contact with China took place in 751 when the Arabs defeated the Chinese at the Battle of Talas. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Events By Place Europe Pepin the Short is elected as king of the Franks by the Frankish nobility marking the end of the The Battle of Talas in 751 CE was a conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control It has been argued that imprisoned Chinese potters and paper makers could have taught the Muslims the art of pottery and paper-making. In 800’s Chinese stoneware and porcelain reached the Abbasids.

The second phase took place in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, a period noted for the decline of pottery industry following the fall of the Seljuk dynasty. This period also saw the invasion of the Mongols who brought Chinese pottery traditions.

The third phase was in the fifteenth century, when much of this influence came through imports made from Tang, Song and Ming dynasties at the hand of Zheng He. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed The influence of ceramics from the Tang dynasty can be seen on lustrewares, produced by Mesopotamian potters, and on some early white wares excavated at Samarra (in modern-day Iraq). The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by Lusterware is a type of Pottery or Porcelain with a Metallic glaze that gives the effect of Iridescence, produced by metallic Oxides Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Sāmarrā ( Arabic, سامَرّاء) is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Ceramics from this period were excavated at Nishapur (in modern-day Iran) and Samarkand (in modern-day Uzbekistan). Nishapur, or Neyshābūr ( is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Samarkand (Samarqand Самарқанд سمرقند UniPers: "Samarqand" is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi or Ўзбекистон Республикаси is a doubly

The Hispano-Moresque style emerged in Andalusia in the 8th century, under the Fatimids. Hispano-Moresque ware is a style of Islamic pottery created in Andalusia. Andalusia (Andalucía is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the most populous and the second largest in terms of land area

Middle (1200-1400)

Albarello with fleur-de-lys decoration, early 14th century, Syria, musée du Louvre

Beginning in the early ninth century, Muslim ceramic production gradually developed. This led to the establishment of a reputable industry in the East (Iraq) which later spread to the rest of the Muslim world. In the account of Ibn Naji (circa 1016) the Caliph sent, in addition to tiles, “a man from Baghdad” to Qairawan to produce lustre tiles for the mihrab of the Great Mosque (still well preserved). Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous A mihrab (محراب pl محاريب is a niche in the wall of a Mosque that indicates the Qibla, that is the direction of the Kaaba Georges Marcais suggested that Iraqi potters indeed came to Quairawan. The arrival of this Baghdadi potter must have led to the establishment of a satellite centre for the production of ceramics in Quairawan, but no information has yet been developed to confirm or deny this suggestion. ^[7]

In the East, evidence shows that a production centre was set up in Samarkand under the Samanid dynasty who ruled this region and parts of Persia between 874 and 999 C. Samarkand (Samarqand Самарқанд سمرقند UniPers: "Samarqand" is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of The Samanids (819–999 ( Sāmāniyān) were a Persian dynasty in Central Asia and Greater Khorasan, named after its founder Saman The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia E. The most highly regarded technique of this centre is the use of calligraphy in the decoration of vessels. Calligraphy (from Greek kallos "beauty" + graphẽ "writing" is the art of writing (Mediavilla 1996 17

The events leading to the collapse of the Fatimid reign in 1171 caused ceramic production to move out to new centres, via processes similar to those described above with respect to Iraq. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. As a result, Persia became a centre of revival under the Seljuk rule (1038-1327). This is not coincidental as the Seljuks expanded their rule over Persia, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine, as well as Anatolia and Muslim Asia Minor. Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black All of these had been, for some considerable time, centres of old pottery.

The Seljuks brought new and fresh inspiration to the Muslim world, attracting artists, craftsmen and potters from all regions including Egypt. In addition to continuing the production of similar (although more refined) tin and lustre glaze ceramics, the Seljuks (in Persia) were credited for the introduction of a new type sometimes known as "Faience". Tin-glazing is the process of giving Ceramic items a tin-based glaze which is white shiny and opaque normally applied to red or buff Earthenware. This is made from a hard white frit paste coated with transparent alkaline glaze. A frit (sometimes spelled fritt is a ground Glass or glaze used in Pottery. In Chemistry, an alkali (from Arabic: Al-Qaly القلي القالي) is a basic, ionic salt of an Alkali metal

In a rare manuscript from Kashan compiled by Abulqassim in 1301, there is a complete description of how faience production was carried out. Frit was made of ten parts of powdered quartz, one part of clay and one part of glaze mixture. Quartz (from German) is the most abundant Mineral in the Earth 's Continental crust (although Feldspar is more common in The glaze itself is “formed of a roughly equal mixture of ground quartz and the ashes of desert plants which contain a very high proportion of alkaline salts. These act as a flux and cause the quartz to vitrify at a manageable temperature. In the various subfields of Physics, there exist two common usages of the term flux, both with rigorous mathematical frameworks The two alone will produce a transparent glaze”. ^[8] Lane compared this material with the French pâte tender, which was used by potters as recently as the eighteenth century. This body material and the new glaze offered the potter a greater handling and manipulation ability. This allows the potter to improve the quality and appearance of the vessel, including more refined decorative designs and patterns. The result was a substantial variety of products such as bowls of different size and shapes, jugs, incense burners, lamps, candlesticks, trays, tiles and so on. These advantages also allowed greater control of carved decoration, the use of which the Seljuks refined and extended during the twelfth century. ^[9]

Carved decoration in ceramics is an old tradition used in ninth century Muslim pottery known as Sgraffiato, which is an engraving technique based on incising the design with a sharp tool through a white slip to reveal the red earthenware body. A slip is a suspension in water of clay and/or other materials used in the production of Ceramic ware Earthenware is a common Ceramic material which is used extensively for Pottery tableware and decorative objects The vessel is then coated with glaze.

The Seljuks also developed the so-called Silhouette wares which are distinguished by their black background. These are produced by a technique which consists of coating the white fritware body with a thick black slip, out of which the decoration is then carved. Fritware is a type of Pottery in which Frit is added to Clay to reduce its fusion temperature A slip is a suspension in water of clay and/or other materials used in the production of Ceramic ware Later, a coat of colourless or coloured, usually blue or green, transparent glaze is applied. According to Lane, this technique was used, in a simpler form, in Samarkand between the ninth and tenth centuries. Samarkand (Samarqand Самарқанд سمرقند UniPers: "Samarqand" is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of The method then consisted of mixing the colours with a thick opaque clay slip instead.

Late/Post-medieval (1400-onward)

The influence of Blue and white porcelain of the Yuan and Ming dynasties is evident in many ceramics made by Muslim potters. The Yuan Dynasty ( Pinyin: Yuáncháo Dai Ön Ulus (Дай Юан Улс was a ruling Dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led Wares made in the town of Iznik in Anatolia, are particularly notable and had major influence on European decorative arts, for example on Italian Maiolica. İznik pottery, named after the town in western Anatolia where it was made is highly decorated ceramics whose heyday was the late sixteenth century Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black

See also

• İznik pottery
• Islamic art
• Islamic architecture
• Arabesque
• Calligraphy
• Kiln

References

• Mason, Robert B. (1995). "New Looks at Old Pots: Results of Recent Multidisciplinary Studies of Glazed Ceramics from the Islamic World". Muqarnas: Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture XII. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9004103147.  

Many people believe it helps to keep spirits away from there homes by creating decrotive pots and other like ceramics.

External links

• Islamic Pottery Art review
• The pottery of Islam
• The 8th Research Seminar The history of middle eastern ceramics
• Early Medieval Islamic Pottery The eleventh century reconsidered (PDF document)
• Pottery of the Islamic period On the Karak Plateau
• Examples of Islamic period Pottery Glazed & unglazed Pottery
• Pottery found in Abu Dhabi Emirate Discovery and excavation