Bowl (1000s): Art, History and Details

Bowl (1000s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Lusterware The theme of light is a dominant element in Islamic art. In ceramics, works made with a reflective metallic glaze, known as luster, were prized throughout the Islamic world and beyond. Developed first in Basra, Iraq, during the 700s with the rise of Islam along with sumptuary laws prohibiting the use of precious metal vessels, lusterware techniques soon spread to different regional centers, notably Málaga and Valencia in Spain. Lusterware ceramics were created through a double-firing process: the first firing of the vessel with a lead and tin oxide glaze produced the smooth white ground, meant to emulate Chinese porcelain. Patterns were then painted on the white vessel with a glaze of copper and other metal oxides. Refiring at a low temperature yielded an iridescent luster. Tonalities varied from one region to another.

Object facts

• Title: Bowl
• Date: 1000s
• Culture: Fatimid Egypt, Fustat
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: earthenware with luster-painted design
• Dimensions: Diameter: 12 cm (4 3/4 in.); Overall: 4.6 cm (1 13/16 in.)
• Collection: Islamic Art
• Department: Islamic Art
• Accession number: 1915.642

Collection credit

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust

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.