Albarello with Pseudo-Kufic Letters (1300s): Art, History and Details

Albarello with Pseudo-Kufic Letters (1300s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The Muslim occupation of Spain brought the arts and skills of the Islamic world to Europe and led to the flowering of ceramics throughout the continent. This vessel was made in Paterna, near the Christian port of Valencia. Its design and decoration, featuring a band of pseudo-Kufic (fake Arabic) letters, suggests a strong Muslim influence. The subtle blend of the Islamic and Spanish known as Hispano-Moresque.

Object facts

• Title: Albarello with Pseudo-Kufic Letters
• Date: 1300s
• Culture: Spain, Paterna, 14th century
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
• Dimensions: Overall: 21.6 cm (8 1/2 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1945.28

A detail from the museum

Jars with this cylindrical shape were often used to store spices and herbs as well as pigments. The script on this jar doesn't help in determining its original contents; the text-like lines are completely decorative.

Collection credit

In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Humphreys, gift of their daughter Helen

Further reading listed by the museum

• Foote, Helen. "Gifts to the Majolica Collection." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 33, no. 4 (April 1946): 36-38.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.