tarcbmont Public Library Larchmont, Hew York Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/parishwatsoncollOOpari THE PARISH-WATSON COLLECTION OF MOHAMMADAN POTTERIES Frontispiece. Number 42. Large Pottery Vase with Relief Decoration. Persia, about 1300 A. D. Parish-Watson Collection. THE PARISH-WATSON COLLECTION OF MOHAMMADAN POTTERIES By R.MEYER RI EFSTAHL, Ph.D. E. WEYH E 710 LEXINGTON AVE. NEWYORK • MCMXXII THIS BOOK HAS BEEN PRINTED IN FIVE HUNDRED COPIES. THE PRESENT COPY IS NUMBER 3? PREFACE BESIDES their beauty, important works of art convey important facts of history and civilization. Therefore the present publication of Mohammadan potteries in the collection of Mr. M. Parish-Watson ought to be not only a descriptive catalog, but also a guide to the amateur who approaches this interesting field of art with the desire of artistic enjoyment and the will to learn. In the first place, this book is written for American readers. The art lover in Europe has friends of similar interests, museums and libraries everywhere within reach. Many of the art lovers in America are pioneers in the field and would have to travel hundreds of miles to the sources of information. Therefore I thought it advisable to start from a broad basis and to answer all questions which might be asked by an attentive reader who has no reference library at hand. Besides sketching a general historic background, I tried to connect Mohamma- dan pottery with its Assyrian, Achaemenid, Roman and Sassanian predecessors and to show its influence on European art. I also tried to give a vivid picture of Persian civilization in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by using the informa- tion contained in these charming paintings on pottery. Futhermore, it is impos- sible to understand or appreciate a work of art without knowing how it is made. y\I therefore tried to explain the technique as simply, clearly and completely as possible. All information of general interest is condensed in the first part of the book. vr-With the help of the index the reader will easily find a discussion of details which may arouse his interest when he studies the pieces of the collection. J The commentaries upon the different specimens compare them with other pieces in American and European collections. The publication of a number of potteries in other great American collections may be particularly welcome to the European ^reader. Important points of comparison have doubtlessly been omitted. When j America possesses such an immense collection of photographic material as the Bib- liotheque Jacques Doucet in Paris, all such study will be much easier. Fortunately, the gathering of such a treasure ofinformation now seems under way in New York. Another difficulty was the color reproductions. The Europeans have reached a perfection which, as we often hear, is unattainable in the United States "where work has to be done quickly and in huge quantities, or it would not pay." The Co] J q o o q i Q (J O Cj J. PREFACE beautiful "Ceramique Orientale" by M. Riviere has set a standard which we tried to attain. The engraving of the color plates of the present volume are certainly unequal, but the reproduction of Number 42, which was made by the DeVinne Press, may be shown as an example of sincere and thorough workmanship. As far as possible we tried to set the potteries in a definite atmosphere on a background of drapery. One of the fundamentals of Persian art is the desire for strong color. In the thirteenth century these mediaeval potteries were seen in combination with strongly colored fabrics, not with pale grays, tans and browns. I have, therefore, not hesitated to put a brilliant turquoise bowl or pitcher on a deep red velvet (Number 16 and Number 37). The gay glitter of colors in bowl Number 3 3 was intentionally set on crimson red, and the cobalt blue bottle, Number 3 9, on burnt orange. With the experience now gained, I am more and more in favor of such strong color harmonies instead of the "neutral" backgrounds. Working on this book was a pleasure. The specimens of the collection were selected with such discrimination that they represent the height of mediaeval Mohammadan pottery art. First of all, I wish to thank the owner of the collection for his far-sighted co- operation, which made it possible to illustrate the book with much interesting material from other collections. Professor Sprengling in Chicago gave his valuable advice on some of the inscriptions. I also wish to thank Mr. Mortimer Schiff for permission to reproduce a fine Rhages bowl from his collection. To Dr. Frank Weitenkamp of the Art Department of the Public Library in New York and to Mr. William Clifford, Librarian of the Metropolitan Museum, I am indebted for kind assistancein my researches; to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and to the firm of F. Bruckmann in Munich for photographic material. I finally wish to thank Mr. A. S. Witherspoon of the DeVinne Press, Mr. J. F. Osbourne of Norman T. A. Munder & Co. of Baltimore, and my assistant, Miss Mary Morsell, for their cooperation. Ripton, Vermont September J y IQ2I [h] TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE g LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS k INTRODUCTION i Glazed Potteries Before the Sassanian and Early Mohammadan Period. n The Basis of Mohammadan Art in Sassanian and Early Mohammadan Pottery iv Importation and Imitation of Chinese Tang Wares in the 9th century, vn Lustre Technique and Its Earliest Specimens ix Sgraffito Technique and Its Early Specimens x Diverse Other Late Sassanian and Early Mohammadan Pottery Types. xi Mesopotamian Potteries of the 1 2th and 1 3th centuries xn The Reawakening of the Persian Spirit xiii Persian Potteries of the 10th and 1 ith centuries xiv Pottery Technique During the Classic Period in Persia . . . . . xvi The Rhages Polychrome Technique xvni Miniature Painting and Pottery Decoration xix Economic Aspects xxn Sultanabad Potteries xxiv Later Evolutions • . . . xxiv Pictorial Representations on Rhages Pottery xxv The Story of Bahram Gur xxxix Textile Patterns on Mohammadan Potteries lxvi DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF PLATES 73 BIBLIOGRAPHY 253 SURVEY OF DATES REFERRED TO 255 INDEX 257 CO LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE Number 42, Large Pottery Vase with Relief Decoration. Persia, about 1 300 A.D. Parish- Watson Collection Frontispiece 1 Sassanian Silver Platter. Hermitage Museum, Petrograd. After Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 125 5 2 Pottery Plate with Sgraffito Decoration, late Sassanian or early Mohammadan. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York .... 5 3 Pottery Bottle. Persia, 13th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 29 4 Detail of Pottery Ev/er Number 3 8. Persia, 1 3th century .... 29 5 Detail of Pottery Ewer Number 3 8. Persia, 1 3th century . . . . 31 6 Miniature Paintingfrom Manuscript of ManafialHayawan, dated 1 295. Collection of J. P. Morgan, New York 31 7 Rhages Polychrome Pottery Bowl with Representation of Bahram Gur Hunting. Mortimer SchifT Collection, New York 41 8 Pottery Relief Tile with Representation of Bahram Gur Hunting. Persia, 14th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York . . 45 9 Rhages Polychrome Pottery Bowl with Bahram Gur Hunting. Persia, 13th century. Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 98 ... 45 10 Polychrome Pottery Bowl. Rhages, 13th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 51 11 Pottery Bowl. Rhages, Persia, 12th- 13th century. Peytel Collection, Paris. Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 96 55 12 Pottery Bowl, Turquoise Glaze. Rhages, Persia, 12th- 13th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York . 55 13 Relief Tile. Persia, 14th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 5 7 14 Silk Brocade, Sassanian, 6th century A.D.Berlin Kunstgewerbemuseum After Falke, "Seidenweberei," Figure 107 57 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE 15 Pottery Ewer with Relief Decoration. Persia, about 1 300 A. D. Metro- politan Museum of Art, New York 61 16 Textile with Interlaced Diaper Pattern. Detail of Number 33 . . 63 17 Textile with Honeycomb Diaper Pattern. Detail of Number 3 3 . . 63 18-22 Textile Patterns taken from Potteries of Parish-Watson Collection 67 23 Textile Patterns from a Miniature of the "Treatise on Automata," about 1 180 A. D 67 24-25 Textile Patterns taken from Potteries of Parish-Watson Collection 71 26 Textile Design, taken from Dioscorides Manuscript, dated 1 2 2 2 A. D. 71 2 7 Textile Design, taken from Manuscript "Treatise on Automata," about 1 1 80 A. D 71 28 Number 1, Turquoise and Black Pottery Bowl. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 77 Number 2, Lustre Pottery Bowl with Neskhi Characters. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 77 Number 3, Black and Green Lamp Shaped Pottery Vase. Syria, 13th- 14th century 77 29 Number 4, Turquoise and Black Pottery Bowl with Palmetto Decora- tion. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 81 Number 5, Turquoise and Black Pottery Ewer. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 81 Number 6, Turquoise and Black Arabesque Pottery Bowl. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 81 30 Number 7, Turquoise and Black Deep Pottery Bowl. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 85 Number 8, Turquoise and Black Pottery Bottle. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 85 Number 9, Turquoise and Black Pottery Dish. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 85 31 Number 10, Rhages Polychrome Pitcher with Sphinx Decoration. Persia, 12th- 13th century 89 [l] LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE 3 i Number 1 1, Rhages Pottery Goblet (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century 89 Number 1 2, Rhages Pottery Pitcher with Galloping Cavaliers. Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 89 32 Pottery Pitcher. Rhages, 13th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 93 33 Pottery Pitcher. Rhages, 13th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 93 34 Number 1 3, Rhages Pottery Bowl, "The Sultan in the Garden." Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 95 35 Number 14, Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century 99 36 Number 1 5, Rhages Pottery Jar (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 103 3 7 Number 1 6, Rhages Pottery Bowl, "The Entertainments of a Sultan." Persia, 12th- 13th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, now in the Mortimer SchifT Collection, New York 107 38 Mossoul Bronze Candlestick, 14th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 109 39 Pottery Plate. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, I2th-i3th century. Boston Museum of Fine Arts 109 40 Bronze Mirror. Mossoul, 1 3 th century. After Schulz "Miniaturmalerei," Plate G 109 41 Number 17, Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 111 42 Number 1 8, Rhages Pottery Bowl, "Scenes of Royal Life." Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 117 43 Number 19, Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, now in the Mortimer SchifT Collection 121 44 Number 20, Rhages Pottery Bowl, "The Two Lion Hunters." Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 127 [m] LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE 45 Number 21, Rhages Pottery Bowl, "The Seven Horsemen." Persia, 1 2 th- 1 3 th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, nowinthe Mortimer Schiff Collection, New York 129 46 Number 22, Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 135 47 Number 23, Rhages Pottery Bowl, "The Persian Caravan." Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 137 48 Number 24, Rhages Pottery Bowl with Delicate Arabesque Decoration. Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, now in the Mortimer Schiff Collection, New York 137 49 Number 25, Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century 141 50 Number 26, Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, now in the Mortimer Schiff Collection, New York 145 5 1 Number 27, Rhages Pottery Bowl (Gilt and Relief Decoration). Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 149 5 2 Number 2 8, Rhages Pottery Bowl (Gilt and Relief Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, now in the Mortimer Schiff Collection, New York 153 53 Number 29, Rhages Pottery Bowl (Gilt and Relief Decoration). Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 159 54 Number 30, RhagesPottery Bowl (Polychrome and Relief Decoration). Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, now in the Mortimer Schiff Collection, New York 161 5 5 Number 3 1 , Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome and Relief Decoration). Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 165 56 Number 32, Rhages Pottery Jar (Polychrome and Relief Decoration). Persia, 12th- 13th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, now in the John N. Willys Collection, Toledo, Ohio 169 57 Number 33, Rhages Pottery Bowl, "A Musical Entertainment." Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, now in the Mortimer Schiff Collection, New York 173 [n] LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE 5 8 Number 3 4, Rhages Pottery Bowl, "A Falconer on Horseback." Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, now in the Mortimer Schiff Collection, New York . . . 177 59 Number 35, Rhages Pottery Bottle (Polychrome and Relief Decora- tion). Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 181 60 Number 36, Rhages Pottery Pitcher (Relief Decoration). Persia, 1 2th- 13th century 185 61 Pottery Pitcher, Enameled on Biscuit. Rhages, 12th- 13th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 189 62 Number 37, Pottery Ewer with Relief Decoration. Persia, 13th century 191 63 Mossoul Bronze Ewer. Upper Mesopotamia, 1 2th- 1 3th century. For- merly Homberg Collection, Paris, now Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 195 64 Mossoul Bronze Ewer. Upper Mesopotamia, 1 ith-i2th century. Sarre Collection, Berlin. After Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 141 195 65 Number 38, Pottery Bottle with Relief Decoration. Persia, late 13 th century 197 66 Number 39, Pottery Bottle (Relief Decoration). Persia, 13th century 201 67 Number 40, Pottery Vase (Relief Decoration). Persia, early 14th century 205 68 Number 41, Large Pottery Vase (Relief Decoration). Persia, 13th century. Formerly in the Parish-Watson, now in the John N. Willys Collection, Toledo, Ohio 209 69 Pottery Bottle with Relief and Polychrome Decoration. Rhages, Persia, I2th-i3th century. Rosenberg Collection, Paris. After Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 98 213 70 Large Pottery Vase with Relief Decoration. Persia, 1 3th century. Kaiser- Friedrich Museum, Berlin. After Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 106 213 71 Number 42, Large Relief Pottery Vase. Persia, about 1 300 A. D. . . 215 72-73 Different Views of Number 42 217-219 Co] LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE 74 Large Pottery Lustre Vase. Persia, early 14th century. Basilewski Col- lection, now Hermitage, Petrograd. After F. R. Martin,"The Basilewski Vase in St. Petersburg," 1899 221 75-83 Details of Vase Number 42 223-225-227-229-231 84 Detail of Bronze Basin, Frieze of Polo Players. Syria, 1 239-1 249 A. D. Collection of Prince Arenberg, Brussels. After Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 147 231 85-87 Details of Vase Number 42 2 33~ 2 35 8 8 Number 43, Rhages Pottery Bowl (Lustre Decoration). Persia, 13th century 239 89 Number 44, Rhages Pottery Bowl Painted in Muffle Colors. Persia, 1 2th- 1 3th century 239 90 Number 45, Rhages Pottery Ewer. Persia, 13th century .... 241 91 Number 46, Sultanabad Pottery Bottle. Persia, 13th- 14th century . 245 92 Pottery Bowl. Sultanabad, Persia, 14th century. Jacques Doucet Collection, Paris. After Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 103 . 245 93 Number 47, Sultanabad Pottery Bowl. Persia, I3th-i4th century . 245 94 Number 48, Glass Bottle with Enamel Decoration. Egypt or Syria, 1 3th- 1 4th century 249 INTRODUCTION PERCEPTION IN the primitive stages of mankind the making of pottery responds to a necessity out of which beauty grows unconsciously under the creating hand of the crafts- man. Beauty is perceived by all the senses. It emanates not merely from color and plastic form, but also from weight, density and temperature. The Greeks developed pottery expressing harmonious movement, classic pro- portion and quiet beauty. But the decoration of their pottery is not born out of the spirit of pottery making; it is drawing and painting of a most refined char- acter on ceramic material instead of on papyrus or on a wooden panel. From the technical standpoint of the potter, they never went beyond the stage of well executed earthenware. Quite different from them are the Chinese. They appreciate beauty of line with the sliding finger, not with the eye. Their sensitive touch developed at an early period an extraordinary refinement in the appreciation of different textures and smooth surfaces. They have always been haunted by the desire to create by the hand of man materials as dense, as compact and of the same shimmering translu- cency as those boulders of jade which were fused together in the kilns of nature, in the intense heat and pressure of volcanic convulsions. The Chinese were the first to produce wares with vitrified bodies in which the molecules are melted into compact union; they succeeded in filtering light through the dense opacity of their stonewares and in the course of several cen- turies they gradually achieved the soft translucency of kaolinic porcelain. Mohammadan potteries are entirely different from both the Greek and the Chinese. They seldom surprise by beauty of line or perfection of material; their sandy pastes and glazed earthenwares are very brittle, poor and fragile. And yet Mohammadan pottery is an achievement as high as any in the history of ceramics. What is the basis of its beauty? It is color — color, in the widest sense of the word; color produced notonly by glazes — deep cobalt blue, rich turquoise,intense manganese purple and the opalescent and light greenish hues of creamy white; color, in endless variety, produced by the play of light and shade over the appear- ance of things. A French sculptor has said that sculpture is the art of creating light and shadow. One might call pottery, as conceived by the Mohammadans, the art of creating [i] INTRODUCTION color through form. The potters of Islam produced many wares with relief deco- ration. The relief in itself may be coarse and, when moulded, somewhat mechan- ical, but by the play of light and shadow which it creates, and by the hazard of the glaze running sometimes thick, sometimes thin, plain color is transformed into multitudinous hues and shades, so rich that they have never been excelled, even by the Chinese. This modeling in color, so to speak, gives a new meaning to plas- tic decoration and lends even to plain potteries a suggestion of plastic variety which in reality is not there. And, strange to say, without the brittleness of the wares, such beauty of color would have been impossible. The beauty of the wing of a butterfly cannot be produced in a solid material defying the centuries; in both cases the fragility of the material is essential to beauty. Mohammadan pottery is not a thing concretely permanent like sculpture or architecture. Itis like music or poetry; it is an expression of moods and it expresses them through color. Form, light and color help to diversify the expression, as do words, rhythm and sound in poetry and music. An intense sensuousness lives in the Mohammadan potteries. The beauty of Chinese jades, stonewares and porcelains is abstract and eternal. The fragility of the Mohammadan wares suggests the passing of all things, and in their endless variety of appearance, with the changing light of day playing over their porous, irregular and softly shimmering surface, the creative abundance of life mani- fests itself. They seem to be alive, and we hesitate to touch their frail beauty with our hands. GLAZED POTTERIES BEFORE THE S ASS ANI AN AND EARLY MOHAMMADAN PERIOD THE Mohammadan potteries are a link in the chain of a long evolution. The art of beautifying ceramic wares by covering them with a colored glaze was first known in Egypt. It grew naturally out of glass making; for modeling a glass vase over a core of unbaked clay and melting a coat of glaze over a wheel-shaped pottery vase in the fire of the kiln are two very similar operations. The deep blue copper glaze was already widely known in Egypt under the twelfth dynasty (Middle Kingdom), and other colors such as manganese purple, a deep lacquer red, an intense yellow and delicate shades of green were added gradually during the eighteenth dynasty (New Kingdom, sixteenth to fourteenth century B. C). This native Egyptian technique, which very often throws over a body of refined lines a garment of intense color,is carried on down to the Greek conquest (331 B. C), when Greek shapes become predominant. At the period of the Roman Empire the Egyptians made of sandy paste, with deep turquoise and aubergine glazes, INTRODUCTION potteries which are coarsely modeled but picturesquely emphasize volume by light and shadow, and thus bear a certain resemblance in spirit to the later Mohammadan wares. In Mesopotamia glazed pottery was not only used for vases but still more exten- sively for wall decorations. The Assyrian polychrome reliefs of the seventh century B. C. in Nineveh, and the Persian enameled friezes from Susa, made at the time of Darius under Assyrian influence, show the adoption of Egyptian techniques in Mesopotamia and Persia. At the time of the Roman Empire there was made throughout the Eastern prov- inces,glazed pottery based on Oriental techniques but adopting more or less Greco- Roman shapes. There survive first, a well defined group of bowls, generally with olive green glaze outside and green or yellow glaze inside. They are in the shape of Greco-Roman cups with two handles and are decorated with delicate floral or figural reliefs. It is impossible to say in exactly what part of the Roman Empire these delicate vases were made, but their Oriental technique suggests Eastern or- igin. Then we have a group of vases covered with deep greenish or turquoise glaze. They, too, are of Greco- Roman form — ovoid bodies with tall necks and straight handles sometimes decorated with classic angels' heads. They have been found not only in Roman lands, in Syria and Assyria, but also on Parthian territory, and are closely related in their technique to the shoe-shaped sarcophagi covered with the same green glaze, which have been discovered in Babylonia. Other Parthian potteries have been identified and reproduced by Maurice Pezard, "La Ceramique Archaique de l'lslam et ses Origines" (Plates 2, 3, 4, 1 50 and 151). They are covered with green or blue enamel and some of them have under the glaze engraved and relief decoration of a very simple and primitive style. That Roman and Parthian glazed potteries have evolved on somewhat similar lines is not surprising when we consider that they go back to the same Old Oriental source. THE BASIS OF MOHAMMADAN ART THE genesis of Mohammadan art is psychologically one of the most interest- ing chapters in the history of art. When it was first studied, its style of arabesque decoration, its geometrical inter- lacing, its conception of color, seemed to be entirely new and original. Greater acquaintance with early Mohammadan works has changed this viewpoint entirely. The increase of the empire of Islam is amazing in its rapidity. The hegemony of the Near East was for centuries contested by two important powers — the Roman and the Sassanian Empires. Their equal skill in the arts of warfare and [in] INTRODUCTION fortification maintained the balance of power. Suddenly the youthful energy of the Arabs attacked these two great military systems and within ten years the Persian Empire was annihilated and the Roman Empire had lost two of its fore- most provinces, Syria and Egypt. Destruction must be followed by reconstruction. For the building up and administration of their newly gained empire the Arabs had to rely on the admin- istrative staff* of their predecessors. We are well informed about the civil admin- istration of Egypt under Roman and Mohammadan rule. We know that few changes occurred; the very same petty officials extorted the same taxes from the people, but what was formerly delivered to the Emperor at Constantinople now flowed into the treasury of the Caliph of Damascus. It is somewhat symbolical that the earliest monuments of Islam are supported by Greek and Roman columns and capitals. The maze of geometrical interlac- ings which soon covered the doors of wood and ivory, the first pages of manu- scripts and the gold and silver inlaid metal work, was forestalled in Greco-Roman mosaics and textiles. The tendrils, leaves and huge flowers of the arabesques that wind in and out over the walls of the mosques and palaces are an outgrowth of the Hellenistic and Roman acanthus ornamentation. The fresco paintings in the castle of Quseir Amra, near the Dead Sea, show clearly an absolute predomination of Greco-Roman or Byzantine style, in the Mohammadan Empire of the first half of the eighth century. The second source of inspiration for Mohammadan art was the art of the Sassa- nians. Sassanian domes and vaults survive in the architecture of Persia. The famous silver platters, the powerful jugs and platters in bronze that have come down to us from the old Sassanian Kingdom also find an echo in Mohammadan decora- tive art. There is a continuous evolution from Sassanian to early Mohammadan textile patterns, and in the field of pottery the transition from Sassanian to early Mohammadan wares is gradual and practically unnoticeable. SASSANIAN AND EARLY MOHAMMADAN POTTERY SASSANIAN pottery is pottery made in Persia and Mesopotamia between 226 and 641 A. D. Early Mohammadan pottery is pottery made in Persia, Turkestan, Mesopotamia and Egypt from the seventh to the tenth century. There is no strict line of demarcation between these wares. Very little was known about them until a few years ago. In Egypt there had been discovered scattered pieces (See Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plates 81,91,92) which evidently were of a much earlier period than the Raqqa and Rhages potteries of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. But the first discoveries made with scientific methods were Civ] Fig. i. Sassanian Silver Platter. Hermitage Museum, Petrograd. Fig. i. Pottery Plate with Sgraffito Decoration, 7th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. INTRODUCTION the result ofthe excavations by F.Sarre and E. Herzfeld inSamarra, Mesopotamia. These discoveries opened up an entirely new chapter of the history of Oriental ceramics. The city of Samarra was the residence of the Caliphs from 838 A.D.to 883 A.D. but it still flourished during the tenth century. The types of pottery discovered in Samarra must therefore be assigned to the ninth and tenth centuries, as must the wares of identical type discovered in Persia. The Samarra excavations were followed a few years later by the discovery in Persia, particularly in Rhages, Susa and the Demavend, of a great number of primitive potteries, which were of the Samarra period and earlier. With the excep- tion of the excavations carried on by M. Dieulafoy and J. de Morgan in Susa, these searches were made without scientific control. The potteries found were said to have been taken from much deeper strata than the wares of the twelfth and thir- teenth centuries. The statement of the Persian dealers that such potteries are of the "Guebri" period, the era of the fire-worshippers, is indeed corroborated by details of the wares. A considerable number of these early potteries is now in the hands of dealers and collectors, particularly in France. Maurice Pezard's very important publica- tion previously referred to, deals exhaustively with this new field of art. This pub- lication reproduces about four hundred specimens. It, therefore, provides an almost exhaustive survey of the existing material, on the evidence of which Pezai d has constructed a historic classification of the Sassanian and early Mohammadan wares, which is convincing in its broader outline. He shows that some specimens are decorated with Sassanian motives and Sassa- nian details of ornamentation, which would be impossible after the Mohammadan conquest. The wares discovered in Persia cover a wider range than the discoveries in Samarra. Besides scarce Achaemenid and Parthian examples, we have now, thanks to Pezard, a clear picture of Persian pottery from the Sassanian period down through the twelfth century. This new material is interesting for the sake of its beauty and for the sake of what i t contributes not only to the history of art, but to the history of Eastern civilization. THE IMPORTATION AND IMITATION OF CHINESE TANG WARES IN THE NINTH CENTURY THE importation into Persia and subsequent imitation of Chinese Tang wares in the ninth century is now an established fact. This discovery has been pub- lished by Sarre in his article "Die Kleinfunde von Samarra", Der Islam^ Vol. V, 1 9 14 and in the Bulletins ofthe Berlin Museum XXXIV, page 72, 191 3. These [vii] INTRODUCTION articles ought to be the basis of any discussion of Chinese influence on early Persian potteries. However, they have unfortunately been overlooked by Pezard in his otherwise remarkable discussion of this interesting problem. Sarre's excavations furnished the first definite proof of the importation of Chinese wares into the Near East. He discovered in Samarra, among the potteries of Near Eastern origin, fragments of Chinese white Tang porcelain with relief decoration and numerous specimens of a coarse Chinese celadon, both porcelain and stoneware. Fragments of the well known mottled Chinese Tang potteries were also found along with the other Chinese specimens. As neither porcelain nor stoneware were ever produced in the Near East during the Middle Ages, no doubt can exist about the Chinese origin of these pieces. Some of these fragments are nowin the Kaiser Friedrich Museumin Berlin. All the important specimens, how- ever, were deposited in the Museum in Constantinople. Sarre's discovery is one of the most important contributions to the history of the trade of the ninth and tenth centuries. It proves that Chinese wares were imported into the Near East, as the textiles and glasswares in the treasure house, Shosoin, in Nara, Japan, prove that Near Eastern wares were exported to China. Numerous Mohammadan specimens of the seventh to ninth centuries,found at Samarra, show evidence of the influence of these Chinese importations. Coarse Near Eastern imitations of Chinese celadon made in earthenware and Mohamma- dan pottery with relief decoration that is almost Chinese in feeling, show that the native potters did not scorn to learn from the foreign wares brought in by the traders. (See Pezard, Plate 90B and also one fine small bowl at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.) But much more unmistakable is the imitation of Chinese pottery of the types with mottled or running green and Vandyck brown glazes on cream white and with mottled cobalt blue and Vandyck brown glazes on cream white. Pezard, (Plates 31,32,33, 34, 35,36) shows excellent specimens of the first group. One large dish which he reproduces (Number 34B) may now be seen in the Cleveland Museum of Art. It is a most characteristic specimen. Chinese inspiration may also be felt in the plate reproduced by Pezard on Plate 103, which is decorated in cobalt blue and green on white. The leaf design and the running green and blue glaze, which is also found on two other specimens (Plates 104 A and 105), is certainly an echo of the Chinese. A fine specimen of this type is in the Cleveland Museum. This contact between the Near East and the Far East is not so surprising as it seems at the first glance. The Mohammadan conquerors reached the border of the Chinese Empire early in the eighth century and the traders in silk and other commodities maintained for centuries an intense traffic between the Mediterra- [vin] INTRODUCTION nean and Chinese Turkestan. We also know that Chinese trading vessels reached the Persian gulf in the early Mohammadan period. Chinese annalists report that the Chinese trading vessels during the seventh and eighth centuries used to anchor at Siraf in Farsistan. (Details in Dr. Wilhelm Heyd, "Geschichte des Levante- handels im Mittelalter," Vol. I, pages 33, 34.) LUSTRE TECHNIQUE AND ITS EARLIEST SPECIMENS 1USTRE is an attempt to produce the effect of gold and silver on glass and -i pottery. It is an overglaze, fired on in the muffle kiln and produced by silver, copper and manganese compounds. The layman often confuses this type of decoration with iridescence, which is a beautiful shimmering decomposition of glasses and glazes under the influence of the humidity of the soil in which it has long been buried, or with opalesence, which is sometimes accidental, the result of burial, and sometimes intentional, the result of firing, as on the famous "Bukalemon" glass or on the "Tiffany" glass. The Sassanian and early Mohammadan clay potteries are often sheened with an opales- cence that must be put down as accidental, for artificial opalescence is always destroyed by age. The origin of lustre pottery has long been a subject of debate. A primitive type of lustre ware, discovered practically in all countries of Islam, was considered as the earliest form of this technique. Such wares, characterized by their bold, prim- itive design and by the combination of olive brown with dark brown lustre, have been found in Persia; in Upper Egypt at Bennese; in Lower Egypt in Kus, near Luxor; in the Quaia of the Beni Hammad in Algeria; in Djerablus on the Euphrates by an English expedition; in Medinet ez Zarah in Spain, the residence of the Omayade Caliphs of Cordova, which was founded in 936 A. D. by Abd er Rahman III, and destroyed 1010 A.D.(all these finds are discussed by Migeon, "Notes d'Archeologie Musulmane," Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1 9 1 3, page 48 1, and by Bal- lardini, Burlington Magazine, XXXII, page 130). A particularly fine specimen of this early lustre ware is in the Gunsaulus Collection in the Art Institute, Chicago, and an excellent piece of ruby lustre of the Samarra type is owned by Mrs. Henry B. McCormick in Harrisburg, Pa. However, the most discussed specimens are the tiles in the mosque Sidi Okba in Kairouan, Tunisia, which, according to an old tradition, were imported towards the end of the ninth cen- tury from Mesopotamia. All these specimens correspond in design, material and technique with the nu- merous archaic specimens discovered by Sarre in Samarra and by Morgan and others in Persia. The decoration of these "Samarra" lustre wares shows not only bold ara- [IX] INTRODUCTION besque patterns and inscriptions,but also numerous figural representations,animal as well as human, which have a wonderful simplicity of design and give us an idea of what Sassanian and early Mohammadan miniature painting must have been. Pezard has added a new and startling chapter to the history of lustre by group- ing together another still earlier series of wares. He reproduces them on Plates i o B, i 2C and 1 2D; on page 43 he furnishes the convincing proof that these frag- ments with lustre decoration and other specimens without lustre, but of the same type of decoration, are Sassanian, and probably of the seventh century. All these pieces have been discovered by J. de Morgan and M. Dieulafoy on the site of Susa, Persia; only one has been discovered at Fostat, Egypt, the one nowin the Fouquet Collection in Cairo. This latter piece, classified by Henri Riviere in his "Cera- mique dans 1' Art Musulman" (Plate 2 3) as Egyptian of the ninth and tenth cen- turies, has always appeared to us as late Egypto-Roman. Pezard convincingly assigns this entire group to the Sassanian period and concludes that lustre is a Sassanian invention, known at least in the seventh century in Persia. Some day contemporaneous or earlier lustre painting on pottery or glass may be discovered in Egypt. But until this happens Pezard is justified in assuming Sassanian origin for this technique. Sassanian lustres are green, gold and copper colored. The Early Mohammadan "Samarra" type shows, as was already mentioned, a much richer scale of color, including manganese purple, olive brown and ruby red. From the Samarra period down to the fourteenth century, purple-brown and golden lustres are extremely frequent in the Rhages, Veramin and Sultanabad potteries. During the end of the fourteenth and during the fifteenth century the technique seems to have been very little used in Persia. It remains unknown to the Turkish potters of the six- teenth century, but it is revived in the Persian wares of the Sefevi Renaissance in the sixteenth century. Lustre ware was known in Spain as early as the tenth cen- tury. It attained a wonderful development in that country and in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries inspired the ceramists of Italy, who again produced the fiery ruby lustre. Lustre technique is an essentially Mohammadan technique. It never became known to the Chinese and whenever it is found among the European nations, it is a sure sign of contact with Mohammadan art. SGRAFFITO TECHNIQUE AND ITS EARLY SPECIMENS SGRAFFITO means "scraping away." A ceramic body of coarse grayish or yellowish color is covered before the firing with a coat of very fine white pipe clay. A design is scraped into this slip with a wooden stick, thus laying bare the [x] INTRODUCTION coarser and darker background. The contrast of light and dark is intensified later by coating the object with a translucent white, bottle green or yellowish glaze. Specimens of the late Sassanian and early Mohammadan period in this technique are represented by Pezard (Plates i 3-25, 2 8-30, 3 7-49, 52-82), and are found at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and in the Fogg Museum in Cambridge. The late Sassanian and early Mohammadan potters of the seventh and eighth centuries were content with incising a mere outline in following this technique, but the potters of the eighth and ninth centuries carried the scraping away pro- cess further and laid bare large surfaces of the coarse background, which they some- times filled with manganese purple-brown in order to intensify the color contrast. Frequently they created a further variety of color by adding splashes of green enamel-to the translucent glaze. The patterns on sgraffito wares show birds, rampant animals, interlaced circu- lar motives, rows of palmetto leaves, undulated stems and interlaced bands— all of great simplicity in the early period. Even the altar of the fire worshipper and the old Sassanian motif of a "Ganymede" carried into the air by an eagle occur. Among later pieces, dating from the eighth to the tenth century, are handsome spec- imens with green glaze, beautiful Cufic lettering, birds, rampant animals, fight- ing bulls and lions, strange warriors and hunters on horseback, standing effect- ively in green or pale white against the dark purple-brown or purple-black background. The extraordinary plate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Fig. 2) is a very good representative of this technique from the eighth century. We do not know whether this technique is a Sassanian invention. Its origins are probably earlier. It is extremely common among the mediaeval Syro-Egyptian potteries. There have been found at Fostat thousands of sgraffito fragments with translucent white, yellowish or bottle green glaze, which seem to date from the seventh to the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Many of the early mediaeval By- zantine wares discovered in Cyprus, Constantinople, Southern Italy and Crimea are ornamented in sgraffito. An interesting and colorful revival of this technique occurred in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (See page LXXI). DIVERSE OTHER LATE SASSANIAN AND EARLY MOHAMMADAN POTTERY TYPES THE early potters of the Near East worked out a variety of other techniques in addition to those mentioned. There are strange vases with figural decoration, clearly of Sassanian origin and of very surprising shapes, reminiscent of the late Ming gallipots (Pezard, Plate 6). Unglazed potteries with small, stamped all-over decoration, so frequent in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, were also made Cxi] INTRODUCTION in Sassanian times (Pezard, Plate 10), as were wares with moulded decoration under green and yellow glaze. Tiles of brilliant turquoise and white enamel, or with black painted decoration on turquoise blue, are among the greatest rarities (Pezard, Plates 8 and 50). More frequent are designs painted in cobalt blue, green and manganese brown enamels, mainly on cream white (Pezard Plates 102-109). But among all these there are two types that are particularly worth mentioning. The first, discovered mainly in Hamadan and Zendjan, is an outgrowth of the sgraffito decoration (Pezard, Plates 77-82). On large bowls and platters animals are pictured against a background of spiral scrolls. The outline of the design is in sgraffito, but animals and floral motives stand out against the cream white background in a covering of manganese purple, green and yellowish brown. These specimens excel in the power and simplicity of their design. Specimens of the second type were discovered in Rhages. They show decoration boldly incised into the soft clay and heightened with enamels of various colors, generally on a background of cream white. Several of them are decorated with walking birds, like those of the Sassanian and early Mohammadan textiles. The most famous piece is a plate with a large heraldic eagle, formerly in the Vignier Collection in Paris, now in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin (Riviere, Plate 63; Pezard, Plate 83). One fragment of a plate is known, showing a sultan and his retainers. This incised technique is very early. It occurs on a jar discovered in Susa, now in the Louvre Museum(Pezard, Plate 9). Thisjar shows a bold decoration of birds, but it is covered with a uniform turquoise green glaze. In the specimens of the eighth and ninth centuries, birds and flowers are decorated with various beautifully mellow enamels — manganese purple, turquoise, yellow, cobalt blue and green. These enamels have a great variety of tones and hues on account of the different depths oftheglaze, according to the incised design underneath. During the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries this style becomes simpler and reduced in size, and the decoration of birds, inscriptions, friezes of runninganimals andfish is covered with an all-over monochrome glaze. These wares gradually lead over to the earlier specimens preceding the Rhages wares of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (specimens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art). MESOPOTAMIAN POTTERIES OF THE TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES THE city of Raqqa became the capital ofthe Caliphateunder Harun al Raschid (786-809 A. D.) when in the later years of his reign the populace of Bagdad became too turbulent. It was natural to assign the potteries found in the city to [XII] INTRODUCTION the period of the great ruler. But researches made on the spot by F. Sarre gave evidence that the Raqqa wares which had been appearing for about thirty years in the art markets of Paris and London all came from a part of the city which was constructed during the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries. (See F. Sarre, "Die Keramik Im Euphrat-und Tigris-Gebiet," Berlin, 192 1, page 24.) For even after the capital was moved away from Raqqa, the city remained an important cen- tre down to the time of the Mongol conquest. These cold facts which destroy the poetical legend of the potteries of the time of Harun al Raschid, associate the beautiful Raqqa potteries with the pre-Mongol wares in Persia and Egypt. The Raqqa wares are of several types. Large ovoid jars, with turquoise, manga- nese brown or translucent light-greenish glaze are decorated in relief with mag- nificent Cufic letters on a ground of arabesque scroll work. Other vases show a gorgeous combination of black slip painting under a translucent turquoise blue glaze, which is generally enhanced by rich golden iridescence. A third type, perhaps the most refined one, bears a decoration of manganese brown lustre on a white background with touches of cobalt blue. We sometimes find specimens of this latter type in which the arabesque decoration is at once of extreme grandeur and of the subtlest refinement. THE REAWAKENING OF THE PERSIAN SPIRIT DURING the second part of the seventh century Mohammadan conquerors established themselves in Persia on the ruins of theSassanian Empire. In 66 1 A.D. Herat was in their power. Buchara and Samarcand were occupied in 674 and 676, but not until the early years of the eighth century was the power of the Caliphate definitely established in Transoxiana. Arabic influence in politics, religion, literature, art and science seemed to have gained entire control over Persia and Turkestan, but there was so much useless struggle for power and so much intrigue at the court of the Caliph that the strength of the new world empire was quickly dissipated. Turkish body-guards gradually took over the governorships in the provinces and the leading positions in the capital. The spiritual leader of Islam, the Caliph of Bagdad, became a pup- pet, whose functions were limited to the harem. The governors in the provinces strove toward independence, and very soon the part of Persia beyond the Kho- rassan desert, as well as Turkestan, the country beyond the Oxus, belonged only nominally to the empire of the Caliphate. The Taherids, Saffarids, Samanids and Shahs of Khwarizm (Khiwa) formed a succession of dynasties which controlled these two Eastern provinces of Mohammadan territory. Another dynasty, that of the Ghaznawids, started from Afghanistan and conquered the Panjab. [xin] INTRODUCTION After the country had gained its political independence from Bagdad, the Ara- bian influence soon decreased and the old Persian tradition in literature and art began to revive. The nationality of the rulers, whether Persian, like the Samanids, or Turkish, like the Shahs of Khwarizm and the Ghaznawids, made no difference in this evolution. The Samanids were descended from a noble Persian family from Balkh recently converted from Zoroastrianism to Mohammadanism, and were naturally inclined towards Persian art, while the rude and cruel Turkish war- riors, who as condottieri assumed power in Khiwa and Ghazna,were only too glad to conform to the high standards of Old Persian civilization and refinement to heighten the splendor of their parvenu empires. This period was the golden age of Persian literature. The plastic arts, too, must have flourished in the Eastern half of Persia and Turkestan, but aside from a few textiles and the nearly unexplored monuments of Ghazna, practically nothing has survived from which we can read the history of art during the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries in these Eastern lands. We can only assume that the main evolution of Persian art must have taken place there, rather than in the part of Persia west of the desert of Khorassan, which was ruled by the Buyides and Seljuks, not to mention a large number of unimportant petty dynasties. We are slightly better informed about Western Persia, thanks mainly to the ex- cavations in Rhages. This old capital was controlled by the Buyides from the middle of the tenth century; after 1037 they were supplanted by the Seljuks. In 1 1 41 the Seljuks were pushed westward by the Sultan of Khwarizm and the great Khan of the Karakitai. One hundred years later all the Near East was submerged by the big Mongol flood. Rhages suffered destruction at their hands in 1 2 2 1 . The Mongol dynasty of Persia, the Ilkhans, established their capitals at Maraga and Sultanabad, which rapidly became centres of art and science. Under their rule the influence of Chinese art makes itself more and more felt in Persia. PERSIAN POTTERIES OF THE TENTH AND ELEVENTH CENTURIES WE know very little about the gradual evolution of Persian pottery from the "Guebri" and "Samarra" periods to the classic period of the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In the first place, we are hampered by the lack of excavations carried on under scientific control. Dated pieces do not exist. We can, however, assign specimens to this transitional period, on the evidence furnished by technical particularities and characteristics of style, or we can compare specimens of pottery with textiles and other objects of art, which are sometimes more datable. In this deductive way [xiv] INTRODUCTION we may set apart a certain number of pieces which must belong to this intermedi- ate period. The technical characteristics of potteries of the intermediate period are as follows: Besides the white or grayish earthenware, containing a good deal of sand, another type of material, a heavy reddish or buff clay of a somewhat unctuous or soap-like texture, used as early as the "Samarra" period, is still employed. In the pieces of the classic period, the foot rims of the potteries are generally shaped apart and attached to the body before the firing. In the primitive and transitional periods the foot rims are generally very low and shaped out of the body of the piece by turning on the potter's wheel. The shapes are generally very simple, but are sometimes more refined than in the classic period. The similarity to the calyxes of flowers instills into them an element of life which is lacking in the geometrically perfect pieces of the classic period. We find this same condensation of life in certain porcelaineous stonewares and porcelains of the late Tang and early Sung periods in China. In decoration the techniques of the previous primitive period survive. Though the lustre no longer appears in such a rich variety of shades and hues as in the Samarra specimens, and the color scale is limited to yellowish and manganese brown hues, the lustre wares still show the greatness of primitive design, combined with the elegance of the thirteenth century. Eagles and phantastic animals like griffons are similar in style to certain Mohammadan weaves with medallion dec- oration, ascribed to the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The different types of decoration with slip painting under translucent glazes were gradually developed and worked out, but the polychrome muffle decoration seems still to be unknown at this period. Another type of decoration already found in primitive times, but practically abandoned in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, is the decoration with incised design, which was discussed on page XII. This technique is not confined to the Near East. It is very frequent in China, where it is used, for instance, in celadon wares. Similar effects of graduated color are obtained by low relief decoration, modeled by hand or in forms and generally glazed in light greenish turquoise. Fine pieces of a strong archaic character, standing on low bases, as described above, are in the Gunsaulus Collection in the Chicago Art Institute and the E.M.Grinnell Collec- tion at the MetropolitanMuseum. Finally, we find very beautiful monochromes which can be attributed to the intermediate period. In addition to the familiar ivory white there is a very rich [xv] INTRODUCTION opaque turquoise tin enamel and a deep cobalt blue, generally used to adorn spec- imens with relief decoration. POTTERY TECHNIQUE DURING THE CLASSIC PERIOD IN PERSIA THE classic period of Persian pottery is the second half of the twelfth and the thirteenth century. Enameled tiles with dated inscriptions, which have been preserved in a number of mosques, give fairly good authority for placing vases and plates identical in style in those centuries. The most beautiful specimens have been discovered on the site of Rhages. Part of them belong to a period during which Persia was independent from the Caliphate and was under the sway of Turkish rulers, who were only too eager to adopt a higher civilization and who consequently favored a return to the old Persian tradition. But part of them were made under Mongol domination. The Mongol rulers, like the Turks, were soon conquered by Persian civilization, but under their rule there was nevertheless a strong influx of Chinese motives and characteristics. Chinese influence is some- times quite distinct in the potteries of Rhages. It is much more evident, however, in the fourteenth century potteries discovered in Veramin; the potteries of Sul- tanabad of the same period are sometimes entirely Chinese in character. The potters of the classic period have all the varied techniques of the past, as well as their own fertile inventiveness to draw upon. As a result, their potteries show more variety in style and color than do the products of their predecessors. The monochromes excel by their beautiful color. The bottle-green and light tan glazes, translucent but dull, have been dropped. It is the period of glory for deeply colored translucent glazes, the turquoise copper glazes, the wonderful cobalt blue surfaces which take an almost purplish shade in the darker parts, the rich purples produced by a manganese compound. Another series of monochrome shades is obtained by adding tin to the lead glaze, which makes the same turquoise, cobalt blue and manganese glazes opaque. The intensity of all these shades is increased by the employment of slip. If a translucent white glaze is applied to a pottery body, it will show the color of the body. The colors of the pottery bodies are a muddy gray, tan, brown and brick red. The Near Eastern potters practically never produced a pure white body. They aimed, however, at pure color. By covering the body of a brown or dark red pottery with a very thin coat of fine pipe clay, they produced a clean white background which could be decorated with the diverse colored glazes and finally coated with a translucent white lead glaze. This white slip gives the Mohamma- dan potter the purity of color which was his great aim. Besides this white slip, there is a red slip — the bolus earth which is very frequent [xvi] INTRODUCTION in the mediaeval Egyptian potteries discovered in Fostat and later in the Turkish wares. It is lacking in the Persian wares of the thirteenth century and seems to have been used only in muffle decoration. There is, furthermore, the black slip which creates a plain black background, which is particularly important in the sgraffito technique, as we will see later. The underglaze decorations are executed on a white background, which may be a white slip, or white tin enamel. On this shiny white background diverse floral, arabesque and flgural patterns can be executed in black slip and then covered with a translucent glaze, which takes on a light greenish hue when it coagulates in thick drops. Or part of the glaze can be colored with translucent turquoise, cobalt blue or manganese purple, and after the main firing the potteries can still be decorated with metallic lustre on top of the translucent glaze. These color combinations are extremely simple and at the same time of almost infinite variety. The sgraffito technique is applied in an entirely new manner, during the classic Persian period. The wares are covered with an opaque black slip, which is partly scratched away, showing a white coat of slip underneath and then a thick coat of translucent turquoise blue glaze is applied. The harmony of this deep greenish blue with black is extremely dignified and beautiful. The technique calls for sim- plicity. Perhaps the most beautiful of the palmetto patterns have been created in sgraffito, as have also rare flgural patterns (see the elephant in Riviere, Plate 74) of the same simple dignity as the floral ornamentation. It is very curious that this introduction ofcolor into the sgraffito technique has not been exploited in a more varied way. If, instead of the turquoise glaze, a translucent white glaze had been employed, it would have been possible to create extraordinary effects of black and white, and a partial coloring of the translucent top glaze with purple, turquoise or green, might have introduced other elements of color. Another interesting group among the Persian wares of the classic period are the specimens with relief decoration. The earliest specimens of this group, to judge from the low and massive bases, which are always an indication of early origin, must date from the tenth and eleventh centuries. Specimens of this particularly beautiful type are in the Gunsaulus Collection in the Art Institute in Chicago and in the Grinnell bequest at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Certain later potteries with relief dec- oration bear the earmarks of the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, but the type seems to be particularly in favor in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, at the time when the influence of Chinese art is already felt. The smaller vases of this period are generally moulded in a two or three-piece mould, the sutures of which are still visible on the outside of the body. But there are a few C xvii ] INTRODUCTION specimens which must have been modeled by hand and which reveal consequent- ly a direct and immediate inspiration. These vases are to plastic art what the pot- teries with polychrome decoration are to painting. For this reason a group of potteries in relief decoration has been included in the present collection. There are two very fine specimens produced by moulding, Number 37, distinguished by beautiful turquoise tin glaze, and Number 39, a most extraordinary specimen of cobalt blue glaze. Number 38 is certainly hand- modeled and shows the same spontaneity in the interpretation of the animals as is shown in the miniature paintings in the famous Manafi manuscript of the Morgan Library. Number 42 may be called the most beautiful specimen of Persian pottery that exists today. This vase, too, is hand-modeled. The only piece which may be com- pared to it is the famous vase from the Basilewski Collection, now in the Hermit- age in Petrograd, which was perhaps made by the same master. THE RHAGES POLYCHROME TECHNIQUE THE potters of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, while carrying on the tech- niques of previous periods, invented a new technique, that of overglaze paint- ing, which greatly increased the possibilities of polychrome decoration and of elaborate design. In this technique the pottery is first glazed in opaque white, tur- quoise green or cobalt blue. It is then fired and after firing it is painted with col- ors which would burn and perish at a high temperature, but which can stand the low heat of the muffle kiln, in which they are fixed on the glaze. The palette of these overglaze colors is practically without limit; it includes a number of hues, ranging from light pink to dark purple, a deep lacquer red, comparable to and probably identical with the bolus of the mediaeval Egyptian and the sixteenth century Anatolian potteries, and a rich assortment of olive gray, green and turquoise shades, not to mention grayish blue, a considerable number of browns, cobalt blue, black and white. Yellow never occurs; it is replaced by gold leaf or by gold applied with the brush. The entire technique of the Rhages polychrome potteries, as they are called, permits an extremely fine brush work, enhanced by a variety of colors. It is not so much a ceramic as a pictorial process; it is a kind of delicate miniature painting on pottery. In spirit and refinement it bears a certain resemblance to decorated Chinese porcelains and to the European porcelains ornamented with a similar kind of overglaze painting. There are many types of overglaze painting. One prevailing type is of great technical simplicity and is decorated only with ornamental patterns. The back- ground is plain cobalt blue — rarely opaque turquoise or white. The unglazed [ XVIII } INTRODUCTION foot is covered with a red wash; an overglaze decoration of arabesques and floral scroll work is painted in fine tracery in white, black and red, enriched with gold leaf. This technique is employed not only for bowls, vases and ewers, but for large wall tiles in which the overglaze painting is generally used in order to enrich and to accentuate a moulded relief decoration. The extremely simple and refined patterns of these potteries remind one somewhat of enameled work, and it may be that they actually have been suggested by enameled pieces. A similar influence of metal work on pottery is often observed. Number 44 of the present collection is an excellent example of this type. From ornamental tracery to elaborate miniature painting is only one step. And the potteries decorated in miniature style are the most delicate and refined prod- ucts of the mediaeval Persian kilns. The always busy imagination of treasure hunters has bestowed the epithet "royal" on these wares, claiming that they were substitutes for the golden vessels that were forbidden by Islam. This inference is justified by the gorgeousness of the potteries, particularly of those pieces with re- lief decorations. It will be difficult to determine whether the potteries in which relief decoration is combined with the overglaze decoration are of an earlier or later period than the groups of Rhages polychrome wares already mentioned. These relief vases, also, sometimes bear a purely ornamental decoration and sometimes numerous figures in pictorial style. Since the possibilities of expression in the lustre and underglaze techniques are rather limited, the range ot subjects is more or less conventional — arabesques, floral scrolls, friezes of animals, kings on the throne, hunters, dancers, musicians. The Rhages polychrome technique, with a wider range of technical possibility, has also a much wider range of subjects. This freedom in the Rhages polychrome potteries assigns to them a particularly important place in the history of Mohammadan potteries as well as in the history of beauty in Persia. The present collection therefore lays the main stress on this group and the specimens of Rhages polychrome decoration, with or without re- lief decoration, form an ensemble of unrivaled beauty. One feels that the artists who adorned these vases must have been the same who illuminated the manu- scripts. MINIATURE PAINTING AND POTTERY DECORATION WHETHER the decorators of pottery were the same men who illumined manuscripts, or merely followers of their example, pottery decorations must reflect the different styles of miniature painting. [xix] INTRODUCTION We can distinguish two styles of Mohammadan miniature painting: First, the "School of the Caliphate," "Abbasid School," or "School of Bagdad," as it has been variously styled by various authors; second, the Eastern Persian School, which we may locate roughly in Eastern Persia and Transoxiana (Mavaralnar). The earliest specimen of the Abbasid School is found on a papyrus in the collec- tion of Archduke Rainer in Vienna. We have a series of manuscripts, mainly Hariri, Galenus, Dioscorides, treatise on automata and Manafi al Hayawan, some of them dated from the thirteenth century. The school gradually died out under Sunnite prejudices during the fourteenth century, before the Chinese in- fluence made itself felt. It is characterized by certain Byzantine influences. It shows a bold, simple linear style heightened by strong colors. The figures stand out against the plain background of the paper. The Eastern Persian style is based on color. Intensity of color, rather than ex- pressive design is the aim. The backgrounds are generally of a deep, warm red. This style probably goes back to Sassanian sources. It was crowded out from Persia through the Arab-Mohammadan conquest, but survived beyond the Oxus. The earliest specimens of this school were discovered in the dry sands of Eastern inese) Turkestan. Should we desire to date those strange Manichaean, half- Chinese paintings by giving them the name of a Mohammadan dynasty, we might call them miniatures of the "Taherid Period." In Persia, or Western Turk- estan, nothing has been preserved from this period. Though the art of miniature painting must have flourished under the Samanids, no examples have as yet been discovered. Gradually the dynasties of Turkestan and Eastern Persia, grown independent of the Caliphate, and even hostile to it, pushed westward and carried old Persian traditions into the territory of the Caliphate. Suddenly these powers are drowned by the Mongol flood, and under the Mongol rulers of Persia, the Ilkhans, there flourishes all over Turkestan and Persia, a new art which amalgamates the old Persian traditions with broad Chinese characteristics and motives. While the style of the Caliphate must for some time have held not only in Mesopotamia, but also in Western Persia, the Mongol rule now brings the Persian style, amalgamated with Chinese elements, back to all Persia, Eastern and Western, and in the late fourteenth century manuscripts of this type are produced as far west as Bagdad. It is of course natural that these two styles have not been kept in water-tight compartments. Some of the Abbasid manuscripts inevitably show traces of the colorful Eastern style. Eastern manuscripts, on the other hand, bear marks of the Abbasid linear swing. It is but a step from certain paintings in the Arabic "Galenus" in Vienna to miniatures of the Persian "Jami al Tawarik" in the Kevorkian Col- [xx] INTRODUCTION lection (Cf. F. R. Martin, "Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India and Turkey," Plate X, and Ph.W.Schulz, "Die Persisch-Islamische Miniaturmalerei," (Plate J ). Nevertheless, the two currents are distinct. In comparing the potteries and the miniature paintings of the classic period there are discernible certain inherent differences of style. It is natural that the decorator of pottery be not so intent upon psychological expression as is the min- iature painter. It is also natural that the possibilities of his technique, with its tur- quoise backgrounds and its brilliant colored glazes, introduce into his style an element that exists to a lesser degree for the book painter. It seems likely, more- over, that minor potters carried on old Persian local traditions which were in their blood, but which were scorned by the up-to-date miniature painter who decor- ated books written in the (after all foreign) Arabic language. Yet, in spite of all these differences, a clear relationship can be traced between the Rhages and Sultanabad potteries, on the one hand, and the miniature paint- ings on the other. One type of ware is decorated with very small, sketchy figures, done by the less important workmen. But the masterpieces, and therefore the most significant examples of this style are distinguished by a large sized, elaborate design. There is an extraordinary resemblance between the painting on these wares and the Abbasid miniature painting. Decorations such as that of Number i 3 are identical in style with the miniature paintings, for instance, with those of the famous Dios- corides of 1 2 2 2, or the Hariri of 1237. Let us study the trees. There appear on the potteries three types which have their counterpart in the miniature paintings. The first type, a tree with straight branches spreading from the top of the trunk, each branch followed by a double line of dots, is shown in Number 13, of the present collection. Its counterpart may be seen in the miniatures, for instance, in the Vienna Galenus (see Martin, Plate 14). Another type of tree shows spiral vines curling from the top of the trunk, followed by similar rows of dots. Number 2 o of the present collection, or the bowl in the Mortimer Schiff Collection (Figure 7, Riviere, Plate 62) has a tree corre- sponding to that in the London Manafi (Martin, Plates 1 7 and 1 8). A third type shows bamboo-like stems with lanceolated leaves (see lustre plate, Riviere, Plate 35 and London Manafi or Vienna Galenus, Martin, Plates 14 and 18). The textile patterns represented on miniatures and potteries are also analogous. The Abbasid paintings show plain fabrics or fabrics with bold spirals of flowers and arabesque leaves. Small all-over patterns, lozenges, checker patterns, and so forth, occur rarely. We find such spiral patterns, for instance, in the Dioscorides of 1222 A. D. (Martin, Plate A and Plate 6). And though the potters seem to [xxi] INTRODUCTION show a predilection for small all-over patterns, particularly in the specimens of a minor scale, we find the bolder textile designs on pottery also (Riviere, Plate 44 and many examples in the present collection). These are a few details which may confirm the general impression of similarity between Abbasid miniature painting and Rhages pottery. It may also be interest- ing to compare the travelers riding on camels in the Schaefer Hariri (Martin, Plate i o), with the beautiful bowl of the Mortimer SchirT Collection, representing King Bahram Gur riding on a camel (Figure 7, Riviere, Plate 62). The analogy is so evi- dent that it is more conclusive than any investigation of details. A main characteristic of both Rhages pottery and Abbasid painting is that both show not the slightest trace of Chinese influence. Though the earliest manuscripts of the Eastern school show no trace of Chinese influence, Chinese motives pour into the manuscripts dedicated to Ghazan Khan. Ghazan Khan was the first Mongol ruler who took a deep interest in art and science. His residences were Sultanabad and Maraga. Two manuscripts dedicated to him are still existant — the Kalila we Dimna, now scattered in Paris, and the famous Manafi of the Morgan Library. Besides a rather indefinable Chinese feel- ing in the interpretation of the human types and of plants, certain details char- acteristically Chinese, such as phoenixes, clouds and dragons, are noticeable in these manuscripts. The Sultanabad potteries show the same influx of Chinese elements into the art of the potter. Therefore they can safely be assigned to the period of Ghazan Khan and later. Peony flowers and shrubs, in free assymetrical Chinese style, and phcenixes, become staple motives, and the people pictured are very distinctly Mongolian in type. These potteries, created not far from Rhages, show how the Eastern tradition swept over Persia and pushed back the Abbasid style westward to Mesopotamia. ECONOMIC ASPECTS BOTH the Rhages polychrome potteries and the vases with relief decoration throw a very interesting sidelight on the way in which these masterpieces of the potter's art were created. We often hear slightly romantic theories about the creation of the most impor- tant works of early Mohammadan art, potteries, bronzes and manuscripts. Their primitive and simple character has suggested that they are related in spirit to modern popular art, with which they indeed show a certain affinity by reason of their simplicity of line, their directness of color and their naive interpretation of literary subjects. This relation is, however, only apparent. [ XXII ] INTRODUCTION In early Mohammadan art there are as many degrees and shadings in the quality of execution, as there are in the art of our days. The skill of the workman is not the only deciding factor in this variation. The refinement of execution and design was certainly influenced by the financial standing of the man who ordered or pur- chased a work of art. Such differences in quality suggest that this art is not merely regional, intended for only one district and for people of about the same social standing. These pot- teries, textiles, bronzes and glass vessels which carried beauty into everyday life were interchanged between city and city, province and province, country and country. The fact that many weaves are called after the place of production is sufficient proof of their having been traded from one place to another. The distribution of the merchandise was effected by the commercial methods of international trade; production, too, necessitated the cooperation of different individuals in the making of one object. Among the patrons of art the princes were naturally the most important, as they concentrated the maximum of power and wealth in their hands. Most of them maintained large workshops of craftsmen and artists, and if they invaded a foreign country, they used to seize the craftsmen in the employ of the defeated adversary and carry them off to the service of the conqueror's magnificence. How often we hear of carpet weavers, calligraphers or miniature painters, who were carried away after a political disaster! There can be no doubt that at the time of their creation the finest specimens of Rhages polychrome decoration, or of hand-modeled potteries, were considered to be important masterpieces. It is very probable that the hands which shaped the vases did not do the painting. The decorations, so closely related to the contem- poraneous miniatures, were probably painted by the miniature painters after the the vessel had been turned on the wheel, glazed and fired by the potter of the Sultan's factory. In large relief pieces, such as Number 42 and the Basilewski vase, we can take for granted the collaboration of a man experienced in sculpture, of a painter and of a craftsman skilled in firing important pieces of pottery. Practically all the names of the men who created Gothic sculpture are lost to us. Of the masters of Mohammadan art only the calligraphers and miniature painters are known. In the potteries, however, certain nameless individuals seem to emerge. There is a probability that the Basilewski vase and the vase Number 42 were made by the same artist. The vases Numbers 33 and 34 of the present collection also seem to be the product of the same hand. Some day we may perhaps find that a charming composition like that of Bahram Gur hunting on Fig. 7 or 50 is re- peated in exactly the same manner in a manuscript of the thirteenth century, and [ XXIII ] INTRODUCTION we may then be able to attribute the pottery bowl to the same painter who dec- orated the manuscript. Up to the present, however, we have not acquired suffi- cient knowledge to make any such definite attributions. We may only suppose that masterpieces like the best Rhages polychrome potteries or the best hand modeled relief vases were made for the Sultan and his favorites, in some court fac- tory where the most skilled artists and craftsmen were assembled. SULTANABAD POTTERIES THE Sultanabad potteries date from the end of the classic period. They were made after the Mongol conquest of Persia, during the reign of the Ilkhans, the descendants of Hulagu, Djenghiz Khan's grandson, who established his empire in 1256 A. D. with the capitals Maraga and Sultanieh or Sultanabad. The art of the Ilkhans is characterized by the intense Chinese influence, which is very dis- tinct in the potteries. Technically the Sultanabad potteries show a mixture of underglaze paint and sgraffito technique. Their body is of a rather coarse earthen- ware of grayish color, which appears dark gray when covered with translucent glaze. However, parts of it are covered with a white slip, which is partly scratched away to produce certain details of the design in gray on white. The design is then outlined by the brush in black and often vivified by splashes of turquoise and co- balt blue under the glaze. This combination is very delicate. The subjects of the Sultanabad potteries are Chinese in character: — rows of fly- ing phoenixes, fantastic animals and figural compositions very like the miniature paintings of the Mongol School. Besides these wares, certain lustre potteries are attributed to Sultanabad. These are of a somewhat coarser type than the lustre wares of Rhages and those from the Arag and other Persian provinces where lustre potteries have been made. LATER EVOLUTIONS THE Sultanabad wares close the history of the classic period of pottery in Per- sia. During the fifteenth century nothing new is created and the most in- teresting potteries come from Turkestan, from Buchara and Samarcand. The sixteenth century brought a revival of the art of pottery under Chinese in- fluence. The blue-and- white of the Chinese Ming period was eagerly imitated and the lustre ware revived in a more or less Chinese style. This, however, is another chapter of Persian art, far less important than that characterized by the names of Samarra, Raqqa, Rhages and Sultanabad. For potteries of the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries are only of local interest, while Mohammadan pottery in its early creative status, became a great source of inspiration for Europe. [xxiv] INTRODUCTION European pottery is almost entirely derived from the ceramic art of the Near East. The rough, primitive mediaeval earthenwares of Europe have been perpet- uated only in the salt-glazed stonewares of Flanders and the lower Rhine, which on account of the vitrified bodies constitute a technical advance unknown to the Mohammadan earthenwares. The wonderful evolution of pottery in Italy from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, is based on Mohammadan inspiration. The polychrome faience and majolica potteries produced everywhere in Europe during the seventeenth century are derived from potteries that traced their de- scent back to the Near East. In the seventeenth century the blue-and-white Chi- nese pottery and, on a smaller scale, the Ming five-color ware, were copied by the Dutch in the diverse Mohammadan techniques. Later, these wares were made in all the European countries. Chinese inspiration did not supersede the Mohamma- dan until the invention of porcelain in Meissen in the early eighteenth century. Our modern movement in art, with its desire for beautiful color and expressive simplicity, reacts again towards the Mohammadan. The work of the mediaeval Near Eastern potters has an especial appeal for us. THE PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS ON RHAGES POTTERY AT first glance, the diverse pictorial representations on the Rhages potteries of ..the twelfth and thirteenth centuries seem rather uniform and conventional, but upon closer examination we discover that they are a pictorial record of an- cient Persian tradition and legend as well as of the lives of contemporary princes and powerful men. As such, they are as valuable a contribution to the history of Mohammadan civilization as are the miniature paintings of the same period. These subjects may be divided into three main groups: (1) Representations of animals and plants. (2) Representations of old legends. (3) Representations of contemporaneous life. But before we discuss these three groups of representation, we ought to study the different types of composition. The Compositions of Rhages Pottery and Their Old Oriental Predecessors Certain general types of composition were especially favored by the craftsmen who decorated the Rhages wares. In the pictorial potteries of the present collec- tion the following motives are employed: (1) Rows of walking animals. (2) Frieze of animals running and chasing one another. (3) Animals or human figures in opposite symmetrical representation. [xxv] INTRODUCTION (4) A medallion motif with a single man on horseback. (5) A medallion composition with a king on the throne. (6) Decorative inscriptions. In Oriental art the motif of animals walking one after the other in a row is a very old one. The Assyrians employed it in sculptured friezes, as well as in bord- ers on textiles and on metal vessels. Interesting examples of its use are found in Austin H. Layard's "Nineveh" (Volume II, Plate 5 7, and, in particular, Plates 60 and 62). The examples in Mohammadan art are too frequent to be enumerated. The walking sphinxes of Number 10 and Number 29 show very well how the motif was employed by the makers of Rhages pottery. Friezes of animals chasing one another, also a common motif in Assyrian art, are used as decoration for Numbers 38, 41 and 42 of the present collection, which show the Mohammadan evolution of this type of composition. The opposite symmetrical representation of an animal or a human figure on both sides of a central motif is very frequent in Persian Achaemenid art. The sym- metry of the human body and of the growing plant here find an echo. Since such symmetry is also the basic principle of architecture, it is apt to be adopted by an art founded on static, architectonic principles. Assyrian compositions showing worshippers, demons or animals, on both sides of the tree of life are abundant. The representation of two persons sacrificing, one on each side of the fire altar, is current on Sassanian coins. In weaving, this type of composition, which facilitated the technical process, was naturally a favor- ite; so pairs of Sassanian kings, of hunters on horseback, or of animals with the tree of life between, are often found on Sassanian fabrics (see Figure 14). Alexan- dria, once the centre of the silk-weaving industry of the Roman Empire, eagerly copied Sassanian patterns and made the medallion composition of figures in sym- metrical representation one of its main motives. Oriental kings and hunters on horseback, and standing animals in opposite representation, encircled by medal- lions, became a world-wide motif; they were taken over by Alexandria and later by Byzantium and Italy, by Chinese weavers of the Tang period and by the early Mohammadan textile industry. Many pieces in the present collection show this type of composition on pottery. On Number 1 7 are a pair of walking sphinxes, and on Number 29 sphinxes ram- pant. Numbers 19 and 20 and Figure 13 show hunters on horseback in oppo- site representation. The comparison between the composition of Number 20 and the Sassanian fabrics is rather interesting. On early textiles it is generally a rather cowed lion that crouches below each of the hunters. The Persian artists of the thirteenth century create more lively compositions. The lion is in the rapid [ XXVI ] INTRODUCTION movement of attack. It leaps at the horse. The horses, instead of standing quietly, are represented as galloping. A medallion composition with a single king or hunter on horseback is a classic motif of Sassanian art. It is frequently found on the beautiful silver platters of the period,reproductions ofwhich are to be found in Smirnow's "Argenterie Orientale" (Numbers 18, 35, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 157, 160, 287 and 309). The horse of the king is generally represented as standing still. A lion leaps to- wards the rider, who meets the attack with sword or spear. The same motif is found on a remarkable late Sassanian or early Mohammadan sgraffito plate to be seen at the Metropolitan Museum (Figure 2), which represents a king on horseback hunting with the leopard. This motif has remained very much alive in the Persian classic art of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. A fine lustre plate from the Kel- ekian Collection is reproduced in Riviere, Plate 44, and two bronze candlesticks inlaid with silver and gold from the Mutiaux and Kelekian Collections in Paris are reproduced in Migeon, Exposition d? Art Musulman, Plate 1 7. In the present collection Number 34 is a fine specimen of a falconer on horseback. The composition of a king or sultan sitting in state on the throne is another old Assyrian motif that was perpetuated in Sassanian art. Assyrian examples are foundin Layard, "Nineveh", Vol. 1, Plate 5.SomefineSassaniansilverplattersthat show the same motif are reproduced in Smirnow's "Argenterie Orientale," Num- bers 64 and 141. The museum in Lyons owns a very curious Egypto-Roman tap- estry weave with an analogous composition (see Cox, "Soieries d' Art", Plate 20). Perhaps the most famous use of the motif is on the platter with the large cut rock crystal in the Cabinet des Medailles in Paris (Smirnow, Plate 24 ). But the composition of the large silver platter in the Hermitage in Petrograd (Figure 1) is of particular interest to the student of Mohammadan potteries; for it does not show the Sassanian king sitting in dignified attitude surrounded by retainers, but pictures him drinking and surrounded by slaves and musicians exactly as on the Mohammadan potteries. The popularity of the motif in Mohammadan Persia is proved by its frequent use on bronze objects (see Figure 38) and on potteries. In the present collection there are not less than four examples (Numbers 1 6, 1 8, 30 and 31). Inscriptions of a strongly decorative character are found in the art of earlier pe- riods. In the discussion of the Tiraz galloon on pageLII we have mentioned the inscriptions on Coptic and Arabic textiles. Syrian glassware of the early Imperial period quite frequently bears Greek and Roman inscriptions, which are the proud mark of the maker or wishes of good health, similar to those found on bowl Num- ber 3 of the present collection and on the modern German steins. [ XXVII ] INTRODUCTION Conventionalized inscriptions to which no particular meaning seems to be at- tached are found on late Sassanian and early Mohammadan pottery. They are without doubt the predecessors of the Cufic bands on our Rhages pottery. Pezard discusses these inscriptions (pages 45, 48, 79, 1 06, 1 20, 144, and particularly on page 181) and reproduces especially characteristic specimens (Plates 15 A and 23B; Plates 28, 83,84, 85, 86, 87A, 89A, 1 39A,etc; alsoon Plates 70, 30A, 39B, 96B,96C,97B and 149). Some of these specimens Pezard assigns to the seventh century, leaving the pos- sibility of their pre-Mohammadan origin an open question; he assigns others to the late seventh century, when Mohammadan art was still virtually Sassanian. He comes to the conclusion that the inscriptions are probably of Pehlewi origin and were borrowed and deformed by the Mohammadans without being clearly understood. Pezard calls these inscriptions "pseudo Pehlewi." But he also points out the great resemblance between the Pehlewi "K" and "D" and the Kef and Dal of the Cufic writing, and concludes that in some cases these characters might not be deformations of Pehlewi inscriptions, but conventionalized Cufic writing. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries bands of decorative inscriptions are still important. Two types of lettering are used, the angular, monumental Cufic writ- ing and the fluid, elegant, cursive Neskhi characters, which later on were devel- oped in Egypt into the large, decorative Tsulus writing. Cufic is a monumental type of lettering, derived from the earliest Mohammadan scripts, which are fluid, cursive characters more or less identical with Neskhi writing and derived from the Aramaic script. The well-known large Raqqa jars of the twelfth to thirteenth cen- tury have bold Cufic characters as their main decoration (see Riviere, Plates 3,6, 8). A certain group of Raqqa bowls also bears inscriptions in central medallions — a few large Cufic or Neskhi characters, expressing a good wish, as bowl Number 3 of the present collection. Friezes of conventionalized Cufic characters occur in the Raqqa potteries and even more frequently in the Rhages pottery. In both cases the Cufic inscriptions doubtless go back to Sassanian prototypes. In the Rhages potteries, particularly in the Rhages polychrome specimens, in- scriptions play a very important part as a decorative motif. Sometimes a decorative frieze of Cufic lettering repeats over and over again the same long-shafted group of letters. Such friezes are derived from the pseudo-Pehlewi inscriptions and the meaning of the conventionalized characters seems to be La illahil 'Allah "There is no God but God." The characters may be plain or may be written in the Cou- jique fleuri, a. Cufic script in which the severity of the writing is contrasted with elegantly curved floral scrolls. Figures of this type are very frequently found on rims and borders of the Rhages pottery. [ XXVIII ] Fig. 3. Pottery Bottle. Persia, 13th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Fig. 5. Detail of Pottery Ewer Number 38. Persia, 13th century. Parish-Watson Collection. Fig. 6. Miniature Painting from Manuscript of Manafi al Hayawan dated 1295. Collection of J. P. Morgan, New York. INTRODUCTION These inscriptions occur as frequently in metal work, ivory and textiles, where they appear in exactly the same style as on the potteries. They are particularly frequent on the fine silk tapestry weaves that have been found in Egyptian tombs, but that must have been manufactured in other textile centres of the Mohamma- dan world as well. Such tapestry weaves are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Cooper Union, New York, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Chicago Art Institute, and the School of Design, Providence, R. I. The La illah il Allah in Cufic characters becomes the classic border motif for rugs and occurs on the rugs in the mosque Ala-eddin in Konia, which Martin as- cribes to the thirteenth century. I am inclined to assign them to a later date. The inscription is frequently found as a rug border in the miniature paintings of the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It adorns the Turkish "Holbein" rugs and survives up to the present day in harmonious severity in the Kuba group and other Caucasian rugs. Similar conventionalized inscriptions in Neskhi char- acters occur on the potteries. Besides these ornamental inscriptions, a number of bowls and vases bear long Neskhi inscriptions. They look very promising, and we expect to find in them, as so frequently on Mossoul bronzes, ivory caskets and tapestry-woven fabrics and brocades, explicit information about the glorious sultan for whom the piece was made, but as yet, not a single one of these inscriptions has revealed any interest- ing information. Professor Sprengling in Chicago tried to find some meaning in some of the Neskhi inscriptions of the present collection, without any positive result. Representations of Animals and Plants The animals represented on the Rhages potteries are of two clearly distinct types. We find, on the one hand, the fantastic creations of ancient Eastern imag- ination, such as sphinxes, harpies and griffons, creatures with the bodies of ani- mals but winged and with human heads. On the other hand, more or less realistic representations of lions, deer, greyhounds, and so forth, foreshadow in the thir- teenth century the great realistic movement under Chinese inspiration which set in about the year 1 300 A.D. Some of the latter animals, when represented above or below the thrones of the kings, have a symbolic meaning, emphasizing the might of the sovereign. Among the fantastic animals, the sphinx is the most frequently represented in the Persian potteries. It has a winged lion's body, and a human female head, which is generally covered by a little felt bonnet that was in fashion during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In Number 29 the sphinx wears a crown-like ornament, instead of the bonnet. We find sphinxes walking in rows on Number [ XXXIII ] INTRODUCTION i o, on the sides of Number 29 and on the pitcher, Figure 3 2, of the Metropoli- tan Museum. They also appear on a pottery bowl, reproduced by F. R. Martin, "Oriental Carpets," Figure 28. The composition of two rampant sphinxes in opposite representation in Num- ber 29 is a close copy of the decoration on a type of Mossoul bronze mirror that has been preserved in a number of examples (see Figure 40). The same motif oc- curs also on a twelfth century Hispano-Arabic weave in the Cooper Union Textile collection (see Riefstahl, "Textiles in Cooper Union," Figure 7; Falke, "Seiden- weberei" Figure 1 89). In bowl Number 1 7 and also on the bowl (Figure 1 2) of the Metropolitan Museum, the opposite sphinxes are represented walking. The walking sphinx pursued by a crane or heron is seen on a pottery bowl (Schulz, Plate G). A sphinx and a bird with spread wings and another sphinx flanked by two birds are represented above and below the main composition in bowl Num- ber 23. We doubt if this composition has a symbolical meaning. It may be a hu- morous composition similarto those rampant and chasingfabulous animals found so often in the European manuscripts of the same period and earlier. Another old Assyrian motif is the bird with human head — male or female. It is found in Assyrian art and migrated to Greece as the harpy who bewitched the traveler, Odysseus. As the incarnation of the soul it migrated to India and be- comes a stock motif of Buddhistic art. It also survives in mediaeval Mohammadan art. We find these female-headed birds in the lower frieze of Number 15. Another fantastic animal frequently observed in Near Eastern textiles of the eleventh to the thirteenth century is the griffon with a winged lion's body. The head has piercing eyes, the sharp beak of a bird of prey and the jowls of a cat. This animal occurs twice on the friezes of the large relief vase, Number 42, and on its companion piece, the Basilewski vase (Figure 74). Small griffons and birds in combination^ motif certainly inspired by a textile pattern, are found on Num- ber 35. The animals grouped around the throne of the sovereign, the couching lion, the peacock and the falcon, are symbols of his power. The couching lion, tamed to submission by the presence of the omnipotent sovereign, is seen on the bowl of the Peytel Collection (Figure 11). The falcons, an old Turkish symbol of power, are hovering above the sovereign on bowl Number 3 1 and on the Peytel bowl (see Schulz, Page 63). To the early Christians peacocks were a symbol of immortality, but to the Mo- hammadans they are a symbol of royal splendor and are therefore depicted near the throne of the prince, as in bowls Numbers 1 6 and 1 8, and Number 3 1 . The design of the peacocks in Number 16, particularly, is of exactly the same semi- [ XXXIV ] INTRODUCTION conventionalized character so frequent in Near Eastern textiles, and particularly in the Sicilian and Spanish-Moorish fabrics of the eleventh to the thirteenth cen- tury (see Falke, Figure 205, 207). Another motif in Assyrian art consists of friezes of animals running and chasing one another. Assyrian art mingles fantastic and real animals. So does Mohamma- dan art until the wave of Chinese influence introduces a realistic character into the composition. On Number 41 is a frieze in which the animals are still quite conventionalized. Lion, hare, panther, and so forth, are represented in rhythmic succession. Number 38 shows a similar composition of a lion chasing a bull and a greyhound pursuing a gazelle, seen against a background of scroll work. This composition is full of the lively spirit which precedes the Chinese style, and is in- teresting, seen in comparison with the severe handling of a similar motif in Num- ber 41 . A small frieze of greyhounds and hares encircles the shoulder of Number 35. Diverse animals — peacocks, herons, foxes, lynxes, and cranes — are found on the fourth frieze of Number 42, and the second frieze of the same vase shows a bear, a lynx, a winged griffon, a fox and deer pursued by a hunting leopard or grey- hound. It happens that the well-known representation of a lion attacking and killing a bull — one of the stock motives of Near Eastern art — does not occur on any piece of the present collection. An analogous composition showing a bird of prey, hawk or falcon, killing another bird, heron or pigeon, occurs on the small frieze of Number 40. The fish motif is frequent even in Egyptian pottery, where it is often combined with lotus flowers. It often occurs as an all-over pattern, as in Figure 39, or in a frieze, as in Number 2 8. The fish may have a symbolic meaning, but it is natural, on the other hand, to play with the fish motif on a pottery receptacle for liquids which is glazed with the turquoise or greenish color of water. Analogous fish re- presentations frequently occur on the heavy Chinese celadon wares, which, on account of their property of neutralizing poisons, were imported in huge quanti- ties to the Near East as early as the Mongolian period. Several Rhages pottery patterns show griffons or birds, seated or rampant, in opposite symmetrical representation, on the branches of a symmetrically designed arabesque tree. Sitting griffons appear on Number 35 of the present collection and birds on Numbers 24, 27, 35 and 47. Such patterns are evidently derived from textile patterns of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, though we cannot be sure; for Persian weaves of the eleventh and twelfth centuries are extremely rare, and certainly not all the existing types of patterns have been preserved. Several specimens in the collection of Countess Ouwaroff and in the Berlin Museum show [ XXXV ] INTRODUCTION large griffons seated on a background of scroll work (see Falke, Figures 152,1 54). Much closer to the compositions on pottery, however, is a group of textiles discovered mainly in Egypt, in which arabesque trees are enlivened by symmet- rical birds or griffons (see Falke, Figures 361,362). This motif was very much in favor with the Mohammadan textile designers. It also occurs in Sicily and Spain (see Falke, Figures 207, 210) and is later taken over by the Italian and German textile art (see Falke, Figures 274, 278, 3 16). Cranes or storks of very small size are found on three decorative medallions on ewer Number 37, while a single crane, heron or stork, occurs in the fourth frieze of Number 42. The crane or stork is a Chinese symbol of longevity and is gener- ally represented flying, intermingled with Chinese cloud patterns, but it is scarcely possible that the cranes on this ewer indicate a Chinese influence. There is not a single instance of Chinese influence in the Rhages potteries. In the art of miniature painting the Chinese influence makes itself strongly felt around 1290, but hardly before. In pottery this influence probably manifested itself slightly later. In the bottle, Number 3 8, the liveliness of the interpretation may be due to an acquaintance with Chinese art. The large vase, Number 42, also seems to have a slight touch of Chinese feeling, which is more strongly ac- centuated in the lowest frieze of the Basilewski vase. The big wave of Chinese influence sets in with the Sultanabad potteries of the fourteenth century, which are full of Chinese motives and symbols. A very inter- esting example of Chinese symbolic animals is the centre of the large copper basin in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin with its flock of flying cranes (see Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 148). Symbolic Chinese phoenixes also appear on the sides of Number 47 and its mate in the Doucet Collection in Paris. We will not enumerate and analyze all these Chinese symbolic animals in the present publication as the potteries under discussion include only two Sul- tanabad specimens that show the Chinese influence clearly. It would lead too far to enumerate all the ornamental plant motives used in the group of Rhages potteries. The most interesting plant pattern is an ornamen- tal plant or shrub, of which there is a particularly good example on Number 28. This motif is derived from the Assyrian horns or sacred tree of life, which consists of a central shaft entirely encircled by a row of palmetto leaves or flowers. It is frequently found on Assyrian bas-reliefs, with demons or worshippers in opposite symmetrical representation. This conventionalized tree of life, as one of the pre- ferred motives of Sassanian art, gradually changes its form. The stem becomes thin and is surmounted by a profusion of spiral scrolls with palmetto leaves. In this shape it is frequently found in textiles, with hunters, kings on horseback, or [ XXXVI ] / INTRODUCTION animals in opposite symmetrical representation. A similar composition is also fre- quent on Sassanian silver platters. The pattern of the Sassanian textiles was taken over by the silk weaving indus- try of Alexandria and continues its life in Byzantine and Italian weaves. On the other hand, the sacred tree of life, in its Parthian and Sassanian shape, seemingly influenced by the palmetto plants of Greek pottery vases, lives on in Mohamma- dan art, and we find it very frequently, without the human figures or animals, decorating the central medallion on pottery plates. And it develops gradually into the motif of the arabesque trees. The lowest frieze of Number 42 is formed by an undulated stem with attached palmetto leaves and flowers. The third frieze of Number 41 also shows a row of palmetto medallions. These two motives give evidence of another very impor- tant evolution of plant ornamentation, which is closely interwoven with that of the tree of life and the arabesque tree. There can be no doubt that the Assyrian palmetto motives that are found encircling the tree of life go back to the Egyp- tian lotus. The same can be said of the Greek palmetto. On later Greek vases the palmetto is developed into elaborate plants to which palmettos are attached by spiral scrolls. The Greek and the Assyrian palmetto both have a part in the crea- tion of the Parthian and Sassanian palmetto ornamentation, which is taken over practically without change by primitive Mohammadan art. Vase Number 42 shows a palmetto ornamentation of a strongly archaic character. Number 41 is decorated in palmetto motives with lanceolated leaves. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries these lanceolated leaves develop into what is known as ara- besque decoration. The arabesque has remained a stock motif of Mohammadan ornamentation down to the present day and has preserved the spiral stems, its double and single, curved, lanceolated and partisan-shaped leaves and strongly conventionalized flower motives. Simultaneously with the development of the arabesque, there slowly evolves a more flowing and realistic type of floral ornamentation. Its first appearance dates as far back as the Sassanian silver platters. There it bears a strange resemblance to Chinese peony textile patterns of the Tang period, a resemblance not entirely surprising; for there has been a continuous influx of Chinese silk weaves into the Near East ever since the early days of the Roman Empire. Sassanian ornamenta- tion is static, built up on vertical and horizontal lines and the circle. Chinese ornamentation is flowing and rhythmic, built up on undulating and diagonal lines. The Chinese peony and lotus patterns begin their penetration of the Near East at the time of the Mongol invasion. Their realistic character revives what- ever of naturalism there may have been in earlier Mohammadan interpretation [ XXXVII ] INTRODUCTION of plants; and there grows up a new decorative style, which may best be charac- terized as the "Chinese peony" ornamentation. The Rhages polychrome potteries do not show a trace of this style. It is first seen on such wares as the huge relief vase, Number 42, and its mate, the Basilew- ski vase; and it indicates that these vases belong to a period slightly later than that of the Rhages wares, let us say, 127 5- 1325. The Sultanabad wares, on the other hand, are entirely within the range of Chinese art, and must therefore be assigned to the fourteenth century. A comparison of all these potteries with the style of certain dated miniatures establishes these periods. Number 47 and 46 are typical examples of Chinese peony decoration. Representations of Old Legends Pottery painting, as we have said, follows the miniature painting in books. The Near Eastern painters have confined their illustrations to a very narrow range of books. First among them, is Firdusi's great epic poem, the "Shahnameh," or "Book of the Kings," which contains the legends of ancient Persia. Each painter illus- trates almost the same scenes from this poem. Types are soon established. Some of these types are borrowed by the pottery painters, but strangely few of them. The present collection contains several paintings illustrating the story of Bahram Gur, which will be discussed later. The only other scenes mentioned by Schulz (page 61) are Feridun riding on the cow, Purmaje, and the blacksmith, Kawe, with Zohak in chains. The scene of Kaikawus flying towards heaven on a throne carried by four young eagles, which is found regularly on the "Shahnameh" man- uscripts and is such a frequent motif in Eastern Byzantine and Western European art has, as far as we know, never been found on potteries. There are a few other compositions which as yet have not been satisfactorily ex- plained, such, for instance, as that on the large lustre plate formerly in the Larkin Collection in London (Riviere, Plate 35). Perhaps the fourth frieze on Number 42 represents a subject of legend or fable. Connoisseurs among the Persians like to designate compositions representing a sultan with his retainers as Darius and his two sons. This is not impossible. A cer- tain type of octagonal bowl, not represented in the present collection, shows the god Ormuzd bestowing the crown on the King of Kings by handing him a wreath. The composition of this scene follows that of the famous Sassanian stone reliefs from Tak-i-Bostan and Naksh-i-Rustem and is an interesting survival of old tra- dition. A representation of Darius in mediaeval Persian pottery would not, there- fore, be surprising, but the subject is not definite enough to allow any positive statement. [ XXXVIII ] INTRODUCTION The "Shahnameh" manuscripts are abundant in compositions showing sultans receiving ambassadors, and the same Persian connoisseurs like to identify the figu- ral compositions of receptions found on Sultanabad potteries with diverse historic and legendary subjects. This conjecture, too, may be true, although definite proofs are lacking. THE STORY OF BAH RAM GUR THE scene of king Bahram Gur and his favorite, hunting the gazelle is found on Number 15 and Number 26 of the present collection. The Sassanian king, Bahram Gur (Bahram V. 420-438 A. D.), is one of the most picturesque figures in Persian history, legend and literature. His adventures as a hunter and a lover have inspired the greatest poets of Persia. Firdusi describes his exploits extensively in the "Shahnameh." Nizami, the great poet of the twelfth century, devotes one of the parts of the "Khamse" to his love adventures. In the part called "Heft Paiker" he tells the tale of the seven favorites of the king. The seven pavilions of seven different colors — white, black, pink, yellow, red, blue and green, with the princesses in garments of the same color, are the delight of the miniature painters, who never tire of adorning the manuscripts of the "Khamse" with these lovely color poems. We show in Figure 8, a pottery tile of the thirteenth or fourteenth century be- longing to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which illustrates the story of Bahram Gur hunting the gazelle with Azadeh. It is perhaps the most famous of the leg- ends of the great king, and has for centuries been an inspiration for the artists. An identical tile is in the collection of Mr. Du Kane Godman in Horsham, Eng- land. A charming Rhages bowl (twelfth to thirteenth century) with the same subject was exhibited at the Mohammadan exhibition in Munich (see Figure 9) and a similar bowl is to be found in the Mortimer SchifT Collection (Figure 7.) The representation is practically always the same — Azadeh, riding on the drom- edary behind Bahram Gur. It may be worth while to give the translation of the passage of Firdusi's "Shah- nameh," that relates the adventure of Bahram and Azadeh. The translation is based on the French version by Mohl {^Le livre des rots, vol. V, page 405) who calls Azadeh a lute-player, although in plastic art she is always represented playing the harp. As far as we know, no English version of this story has been published until now. [ XXXIX ] WHAT HAPPENED WHEV^KINq BAHRAtM gU\^ WENT HUNTINg WITH AZA £ D E H, THE BEAUTIFUL J^UTE-TLATET^ King Bahram gur' s greatest delight was to play ball on the <^iMeidan, And often he played with the racket ; Other times he went out hunting. One day it happened that he went hunting without his retainers, Accompanied only by the beautiful lute-player. The name of the "roumie"' was Azadeh; Her cheeks were of the color of coral, She charmed his heart, she shared his tastes, And her name was always on his lips. For this hunting trip he ordered a dromedary And ordered it to be covered with a saddle-cloth of brocade. Four stirrups were attached to the flanks of the dromedary , Which was a swift runner uphill and down. Two of the stirrups were of gold, two were of silver, All of them set with precious stones. Bahram carried a crossbow under his quiver, For he was skillful in everything. Two pairs of gazelles came near, And, smiling, the young man said to Azadeh: "Oh, my moon, After I have drawn my bow and grasped the arrow with the ring, W hich of the gazelles dost thou want me to kill? Here is a young female, and here is an old male." Azadeh answered: " Oh, lion, A man does not fight gazelles. But transform this female with thine arrow into a male, And change the male into a female, Then goad on the dromedary , And when a gazelle runs away from thee, Hurl the dart of thy crossbow, So that she bends her ear along her shoulder. [XL] Fig. 7. Rhages Polychrome Pottery Bowl. Bahram Gur Hunting. Mortimer Schiff Collection, New York. INTRODUCTION The dart shall tickle her ear without hurting her <^And she shall raise her foot towards her shoulder. Then thou shalt pierce her head, foot and shoulder, ^And then I will call thee the light of the world" W hen *Bahram heard these words, he remembered an old proverb. But he drew his bow and shouted loudly over the silent plain. He had in his quiver an arrow with two points, Which he had taken with him to the plain To use in the hunt, 2 inches. [?6] Number i Number 2 Number 3 Fig. 28 Number i. Pottery Bowl. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, I2th-i3th century. Number i. Lustre Pottery Bowl. Raqqa, Mesopotamia, I2th-i3th century. Number 3. Lamp Shaped Pottery Vase. Syria, I3th-i4th century. Parish-Watson Collection. NUMBER 4, TURQUOISE AND BLACK POTTERY BOWL WITH PALMETTO DECORATION RAQQA, MESOPOTAMIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Funnel-shaped bowl, standing on a high, cylindrical foot. Elegantly out-curved form, the potting gradually becoming thinner towards the rim. TECHNIQUE Light grayish sandy paste. The decoration is painted in a thick black slip on the body. Details are executed in sgraffito. The whole covered with a brilliant translucent blue glaze. DECORATION Outside: The upper part of the body is covered with a beautiful turquoise glaze. A bold black line is drawn around the middle. Inside: An arabesque decoration which is a direct descendant of the leaf and ribbon patterns of the Coptic tapestries, a few centuries earlier. The inside of the bowl is divided in three radiant sections, each separated from the other by intertwined ribbons forming a hexagonal star on the bottom of the bowl. A broad band runs along the rim of the bowl and is connected with the central star by three intri- cate interlacings, separating the three sections, one from the other. In the centre of each section is a vigorously drawn arabesque leaf, doubtlessly derived from the vine leaves used so much in textile and other decoration during the Roman period in Egypt. Beaded lines outline both the leaf motives and the point of the hexagonal star. These leaf motives, as well as the interlaced ribbons, are a constant motif in the Arabic silk tapestries of the Early Mohammadan period. The boldness of the design and the simplicity of the composition of this bowl are remarkable. Height, 4^ inches; diameter, 9}i inches. NUMBER 5, TURQUOISE AND BLACK POTTERY EWER RAQQA, MESOPOTAMIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Pear-shaped body, standing on a low foot rim. The neck cylindrical, spreading slightly on the lip. Through pressing and bending with the fingers, a spout has been produced in the soft clay before the firing. A twisted rope handle connects the lip with the middle of the body. TECHNIQUE Same as Number 7. DECORATION The neck shows a frieze of conventionalized Cufic inscription on a background of sketchily indicated floral scrolls. Several horizontal black strips run above and below a frieze with a large Neskhi inscrip- tion on a background of a double row of ornamental spirals with small attached leaves in black and turquoise. Here and there golden and silvery iridescence beautifies this interesting piece. Height, Wyi inches. [79] NUMBER 6, TURQUOISE AND BLACK ARABESQUE POTTERY BOWL RAQQA, MESOPOTAMIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Funnel-shaped, standing on a high cylindrical foot. Similar to Number 4. TECHNIQUE Same as Number 7. DECORATION Outside: Deep turquoise glaze on the upper half. The lower half partly covered with white, slightly greenish glaze. Inside: Boldly sketched arabesque decoration, showing the Syro-Egyptian interpretation of this style of ornament, which remained more archaic than in Persia. The bottom of the bowl bears a round medallion with a plant of arabesque leaves growing from a lit- tle mound. The sides of the bowl are decorated with a frieze, showing an undulated stem on a back- ground of black dots on turquoise. To this stem are alternately attached small, compactly incurved leaves and long partisan-shaped, lanceolated leaves, with an attached and scrolled smaller leaf. The balance of this spontaneously sketched ornamentation is perfect. The fine proportion between orna- ment and the plain spaces is likewise remarkable. A slight iridescence on one side of the bowl veils the intense turquoise and black with the golden film characteristic of the Raqqa potteries. Height, A}4 inches; diameter, 9>2 inches. v [8o] CO 3 3 . >, >. Ji »_ »h 4J 4-> 4-1 4-J -t- 1 o o o Ph CL, Ph od on U U »h , ^ s o bfl k. 2 ^ 0< Jj o O Oh In yi inches; diameter, lyi inches. [113] NUMBER 18, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY "Scenes of Royal Life" — The Sultan on the Throne and in His Hunting Grounds. Particularly fine specimen of Rhages polychrome pottery.. On the soft ivory ground of the pottery the subdued harmonies of the rich costumes are as beautiful as in the miniatures of the Abbasid school. SHAPE Semi-globular bowl on a cylindrical foot rim. The rim of the bowl spreads slightly. On the outside a slightly raised line separates the border of the bowl from the body. The material is light creamy earth- enware. The potting of this bowl has been done as carefully as the decoration. The profile and the lines are of particular refinement. TECHNIQUE The body is covered with a thick creamy white coat of opaque tin enamel. It is decorated in Rhages polychrome technique. (See Number 10.) Colors employed: Lacquer red, pink, brick red, light cobalt blue, blue gray, light manganese purple, olive green, black, opaque white and gold for the details. DECORATION Outside: The rim on the outside is decorated with a border of Cufic inscriptions of flowery conven- tionalization in opaque light cobalt blue, the strong characters being ornamented with the graceful, curved lines of flower scroll work painted in black. On the bottom are a number of Persian characters, painted in black. Signed pieces occur quite fre- quently among the Egyptian potteries which have been discovered in the rubbish heaps of Fostat (Old Cairo). (See Fouquet, "Contributions a l'etude de la ceramique Orientale," Cairo 1900), but as far as we know this is the first instance of a Persian pottery bowl with a kind of signature on the bottom. Short inscriptions are sometimes found in the decorated parts. For instance, we see a short Cufic inscription written on the tambourine in Number 1 1. There is an inscription on a fine bowl in the Mortimer SchifF collection (Figure 7). It reads "Bahram Gur" the name of the person represented. Such explanatory inscriptions sometimes occur. Inside: The rim has a scalloped edge in cobalt blue. Below we find an elaborate border formed by a row of four-pointed stars, alternately green and red with golden centres, on a background of cobalt blue. Identically the same border occurs on bowl Number 16. The main composition shows the sultan on the throne with attendants and four groups of huntsmen on both sides of him, above and below. In the centre is the sultan seated on a throne. The front of this throne is curved and the gilt and lac- quered wood is carved with a floral pattern. On the seat lies a pillow covered with a fabric showing an all-over design of the famous three-globe pattern in gold on a red ground. The high back of the throne, which is covered or draped with a purple-red fabric with a small all-over pattern, is supported by four posters. The sultan himself wears the usual felt cap with a red halo visible behind his head. His garment is a wonderful example of a 13th century fabric. It is trimmed with gold galoons in the opening of the neck, and shows the usual Tiraz ribbons on the sleeves. The weave itself is a gorgeous gold brocade with huge arabesque spiral scrolls and leaves in gold brocading on a black ground, minor details being indicated in white. The sultan holds the traditional goblet, which may be of enameled glass, or perhaps even of gold. It is true that the Koran forbids the use of gold vessels, but as the beverage contained in the goblet is cer- tainly of the forbidden kind, we may anticipate that the goblet is the same. On both sides of the throne stand two dancers. Their garments show interesting patterns of geometrical interlacings. At the foot of the throne are the two traditional peacocks. The shield-shaped motif between them is perhaps the in- dication of a little pond, which we see so often in the foreground of the Persian miniatures. [115] Above the sultan are two hunters on horseback, holding falcons on their hands. The left one, who is clad in a superb garment with golden arabesque scrolls on a green ground, is attacked by a fairy tale lion. On both sides of the group around the throne are seen two other hunters on horseback. On the left stands a falconer in a beautiful garment with purple spiral scrolls on black. (See Figure 24, 25). The one to the right has a hunting leopard behind his saddle. The fourth group shows two hunters on horseback, with three other men standing. The man to the left is in a fine purple garment with arabesque scroll patterns. The hunting falcon sits on the hand of the man in the centre. Height, 3}i inches; diameter, 8^ inches. [u6] Fig. 42. Number 18. Rhages Pottery Bowl. Persia, I2th-i3th century. Parish-Watson Collection. NUMBER 19, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY The antique representation of two horsemen in symmetrical representation, with the tree of life, the "horns," in the centre. SHAPE Semi-globular bowl on slightly conical foot rim. On the outside a slightly raised line separates the body of the bowl from the border proper. TECHNIQUE Light creamy earthenware covered with an opaque turquoise tin enamel. Decorated in Rhages poly- chrome technique. (See Number 10.) Colors employed: Cobalt blue, olive green, lacquer red, pink and black. Minor details in opaque white and gold. DECORATION Outside: A Neskhi inscription in black forms a frieze around the bowl. Inside: The rim with scalloped edge in cobalt blue. Below, a border of rather vague Cufic inscription in opaque white on a black background. The main composition shows two horsemen riding on both sides of a tree of charming conventional- ized design. Two birds are seen in the branches of the tree which ends in a kind of arabesque flower finial, similar to those which we find in the Byzantine, Near Eastern and Mediterranean weaves of the 12th and 13th centuries. The trunk of the tree comes from the open mouth of a dragon's head which emerges from a green hill. The drawing below is somewhat obscured by restorations. One black animal is seen running below one of the huntsmen. Above the two huntsmen are two seated figures with the typical felt caps and Tiraz ribbons. The textile patterns in this composition are mainly of geometrical interlacings. The upper figure to the left wears a green weave with spiral scrollwork in white. Height, 3$4 inches; diameter, 8 inches. This bowl is now in the collection of Mr. Mortimer Schiff, New York. [119] Fig. 43. Number 19. Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly Parish-Watson, now Mortimer Schiff Collection. NUMBER 20, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY "The Two Lion Hunters" SHAPE Semi-globular bowl on low, slightly conical foot rim. On the outside the rim of the bowl is separated from the body proper by a slightly raised line. TECHNIQUE Light grayish earthenware, covered with crackled opaque white tin enamel. Decorated in Rhages polychrome technique. (See Number 10.) Colors employed: Cobalt blue, olive green, burnt orange, manganese purple and black, heightened with gold. DECORATION Outside: Decoration of two sketchy arabesque motives, alternatingly pencilled in light cobalt blue and black. Inside: The rim is scalloped in cobalt blue. Below, a cobalt blue stripe half an inch wide, decorated with a conventionalized Cufic inscription in black. The inside of the bowl is decorated with the old Sas- sanian motif of two hunters on horseback hunting the lion, in opposite symmetrical representation on both sides of a sacred tree of life. The two hunters on the present bowl are represented with long hair locks or braids hanging down in front of the ears and reaching by a caprice of the pencil almost to the knee of one of the hunters. They wear small cobalt blue caps with a golden top button and a brim turned up in front and back. Their caf- tans show geometrical all-over patterns, and are decorated with the broad Tiraz ribbons on the sleeves. Haloes emphasize the heads. The swords, held for symmetry's sake in the right and left hands of the cavaliers, are straight. The tree in the middle shows spirally curved branches. The leaves are indicated by a multitude of orange, olive green, cobalt blue and purple and black dots, heightened with gold. The empty space next to the two hunters is filled with an arabesque motif. The same has been done with the space around the root of the tree. Height, 2>yi inches; diameter, 7}i inches. NUMBER 21, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY "The Seven Horsemen" SHAPE Semi-globular bowl on slightly conical foot rim. On the outside the rim of the bowl is separated from the body by a slightly raised line. TECHNIQUE Light creamy earthenware covered with opaque white tin enamel. Decorated in Rhages polychrome technique. (See Number 10). Colors employed: Lacquer red, cobalt blue, manganese purple, olive green. Certain details added in gold and opaque white. DECORATION Outside: A Neskhi inscription in black forms a frieze around the bowl. Inside: The rim is scalloped in cobalt blue. Below the rim is an elaborate border of flowery Cufic writ- ing in white, outlined in black on a cobalt blue background. The flower scrolls in between the letters are indicated in black tracing. The type of writing is similar to that of the inside of Number 1 1 and the out- side of Number 18. On the bottom of the bowl is a large medallion with the representation of a richly attired sultan on horseback, who seems to hold a rod which may be a polo stick. This medallion is surrounded by six slightly smaller medallions in which similar men on horseback are represented, some of them with rods like that of the sultan. The arabesque ornaments separating the medallions are of great refinement of design. The space be- tween two of the outer medallions is filled by two symmetrical arabesque leaves which form an ogive. This ogive is filled with a golden sun or peacock feather motif. The separations between the central me- dallions and those outside are triangular; each angle formed by the intersection of the three circles is painted respectively red, green and cobalt blue, the centre showing the famous three-globe pattern, the antique symbol of royalty, reserved in white with a golden dot in the middle. The seven horsemen wear the usual garments and textile patterns. The man in the centre has a golden halo while the haloes of the others are simply outlined in black. The trappings of the horses are also in the usual manner. The three-globe pattern is found outside of the medallions in gold above each of the outer medallions. Behind the man in the central medallion is a golden dot outlined in black, with short radiant lines also in black. It is doubtful whether this may indicate a sun. Height , inches; diameter, 7}4 inches. This bowl is now in the collection of Mr. Mortimer Schirr", New York. Fig. 44. Number 20. Rhages Pottery Bowl. Persia, I2th-i3th century. Parish-Watson Collection. Fig. 45. Number 21. Rhages Pottery Bowl. Persia, I2th-i3th cen Formerly Parish-Watson, now Mortimer Schiff Collection. NUMBER 22, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY "Music on the Bank of the Brook" SHAPE Semi-globular bowl on low, slightly conical foot rim. The rim of the bowl is separated from the body by a slightly raised line on the outside. TECHNIQUE Light creamy earthenware covered with opaque white tin enamel. Decorated in Rhages polychrome technique. (See Number 10.) Colors employed: Cobalt blue, greenish turquoise, deep bolus red and black, heightened with gold. DECORATION Outside: On the rim is a border framed by red and cobalt blue lines, showing two zigzag cobalt blue lines forming a band of lozenges with turquoise green gilded dots. Above and below are rows of bolus red dots. Inside: The rim is decorated with a frieze about three-quarters of an inch wide. A motif of numerous cobalt blue and white wavy lines with an almond-shaped cobalt blue, white, red and gold motif in the middle, alternates three times with a stripe with four conventionalized cobalt blue Cufic characters or- namented with greenish turquoise arabesque leaves and gilded and bolus red dots. This frieze is fol- lowed by a second frieze showing exactly the same motif as the border of the outside. The large composition in the centre of the bowl excels in its dashing, bold design. The few colors em- ployed stand out in their strong deep tones against the mellow ivory-white background. The subject of the composition is an idyllic one which has been a continuous inspiration for potters, miniature painters and decorators, from the 12th century down to the present day. It shows a sultan and a harp player sitting in a pleasure garden on the lawn under the shadow of the trees with swaying birds in their branches. Two peacocks are walking solemnly in opposite representation on both sides of the central tree. In the foreground, framed by a row of stones, is a little brook or pond, the water of which is expressed in the same wavy design which we found in the outer border of the bowl. Two fish are swimming in the pond; the one is entirely visible, while the other peers out of the water. The sultan to the left is clad in a rich caftan of light turquoise with an all-over pattern of lozenge- shaped motives in gold outlined with red. He has two thick black braids hanging down on his shoulders in front of the ears. The female musician to the left has the rather coerced expression of a David playing before Saul. She is clad in a long caftan with golden wavy lines on cobalt blue ground and plays a small harp. The trees are represented in the same conventionalized way as in the Greek vases and Abbasid mini- ature paintings. The birds in the trees are not depicted very convincingly in their jumping or flying movements. Miniature paintings, for instance, those of the London Manafi, show the same gaucherie when birds are represented flying. Only the Chinese artists taught the Persians how to express the rapid movement of a bird. The peacocks are represented with their tails folded, in exactly the same way as in some Mohammadan painted ivory caskets about the same period or a little earlier. The designer of this charming decoration has the horror vacui of primitive art. The empty space above the tree is filled with a palmetto frieze, while rosaces and dots appropriately fill empty spaces here and there. Height, 3>2 inches; diameter, %yi inches. [13O NUMBER 23, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY "The Persian Caravan" SHAPE Semi-globular bowl on low, slightly conical foot rim. On the outside the rim of the bowl is separated from the body proper by a slightly raised line. TECHNIQUE Light creamy earthenware covered with opaque light turquoise tin enamel. Decorated in Rhages poly- chrome technique. (See Number 10.) Colors employed: Lacquer red, black, gold and a few other shades. DECORATION Outside: A Neskhi inscription in black forms a frieze around the bowl. Inside: The rim has a scalloped edge which seems to have been cobalt blue. Below is a border of con- ventionalized Cufic inscription in black with slight touches of color remaining. In the centre of the bowl is the following composition: Two camels, one lacquer red, the other pink, walking one behind the other, the first one guided by a man with a short caftan with a pointed bonnet. Trees are indicated behind the camel. Above are a running sphinx and a bird with spread wings. Below is a similar frieze, one sphinx flanked by two birds. Height^ lyi inches; diameter, 6>£ inches. NUMBER 24, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY Bowl with Delicate Arabesque Decoration SHAPE Semi-globular bowl on slightly conical foot rim. On the outside the rim of the bowl is separated from the body proper by a slightly raised line. TECHNIQUE Light cream-colored earthenware covered with a thick coat of smooth white tin glaze with fine crackle. Decorated in Rhages polychrome technique. (See Number 10.) Colors employed: Turquoise and cobalt blue, lacquer red, pink and black. DECORATION Outside: The rim is outlined with a turquoise line. Below is an inscription of conventionalized Cufic characters in cobalt blue, the flowery decoration of the characters being in lacquer red. Inside: The rim is outlined with a turquoise, red and cobalt blue line. Below is a very fine and elab- orate inscription of flowery, but conventionalized, Cufic characters in cobalt blue. The flower ornaments in between the characters are in lacquer red and turquoise outlined in black. This inscription is par- ticularly fine in character and proportion. On the bottom, outlined by a broad white border contoured inside and outside with red, is a centre medallion with a most delicate arabesque decoration. On an alternately red and blue background with arabesque motives appears an eight-pointed star harmoniously composed of cobalt blue, red and black divisions, with arabesque and bird decorations in pink and light turquoise. In the largest divisions are groups of birds in opposite representation grouped around a central arabesque flower. This motif is widely current in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern textiles of the same period. The design of this beautiful arabesque star is perfect in its proportion and delicacy. C T 33 3 REMARKS Such bowls with arabesque decoration are sometimes met with. Another charming specimen from the Atherton Curtis collection in Paris is reproduced by Henri Riviere in his "Ceramique Musulmane," Plate 51. Height, 2JA, inches; diameter, 6}4 inches. This bowl is now in the collection of Mr. Mortimer SchifF, New York. [i34] Fig. 46. Number 22. Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Parish-Watson Collection. Fig. 47. Number 23. Rhages Pottery Bowl. Persia, I2th-I3th century. Parish-Watson Collection. Fig. 48. Number 24. Rhages Pottery Bowl with Delicate Arabesques. Persia, I2th-I3th century. Formerly Parish- Watson, now Mortimer Schiff Collection. NUMBER 25, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Funnel-shaped bowl, the profiles of the sides in elegant curve. The bowl stands on a cylindrical foot rim. TECHNIQUE Grayish earthenware; the body is covered with a thick cream white coat of opaque tin enamel, but the foot rim is uncovered. Decorated in Rhages polychrome technique. (See Number 10.) Colors employed: cobalt blue, greenish turquoise, bolus red, black and gold. DECORATION Outside: The rim of the bowl has a small turquoise band outlined in black. In the middle of the sides is a frieze with two alternating motives in sketchy execution. The one shows two turquoise arabesque leaves, forming an ogive, the other a little plant of two leaves in cobalt blue. Inside: The decoration of the inside is rather sketchy, but has a particular charm on this very account. There is something impressionistic in the careless certitude in which the seated figures of the main frieze are pencilled on the white tin enamel ground. Certain Japanese artists have aimed at similar effects. The lip of the rim shows a cobalt blue scalloping followed by an energetic border framed by red and cobalt blue lines with conventionalized Cufic characters in cobalt blue. They are decorated with bolus red dots and turquoise arabesque leaves heightened with gold. The sides are filled by the main frieze, consisting of nine seated figures with sketches of trees in be- tween them. Types of the figures repeat themselves. One seated figure, moving the arm energetically and wearing a cobalt blue caftan with a pattern of arabesque spirals, is found three times. Another figure in a greenish garment with similar pattern is found twice; so is a rather doll-like figure in a garment with bolus red, greenish turquoise and black stripes. Another person wears a caftan with the well-known three-globe pattern, while the ninth figure has a cobalt blue undergarment with an open cloak in dark brown with arabesque scroll pattern. All these figures, singers and spectators, give the amusing impres- sion of a row of marionettes. We cannot distinguish who is the sultan and who is the main favorite, and yet we enjoy the shadowy life on this Oriental merry-go-round. The flat bottom shows a geometrical pattern; cobalt blue horizontal and diagonal lines divide the field into triangles, which are filled carelessly with alternating bolus red and turquoise. This pattern is of course a simplification of the well-known late Roman and Mohammadan geometrical interlacings, which were first created in wood panel work, and later inspire textiles, metal work, book decoration, etc. Height, 2>}4 inches; diameter, 8y& inches. [139] Fig. 49. Number 25. Rhages Pottery Bowl, (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Parish-Watson Collection. NUMBER 26, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY "The Hunting Party of King Bahram Gur and His Favorite, Azadeh" SHAPE Funnel-shaped bowl on circular foot rim; the rim of the bowl is separated from the body by a slightly raised line on the outside. TECHNIQUE Light creamy earthenware, covered with opaque white tin enamel. Decorated in Rhages polychrome technique. (See Number 10). Colors employed: Cobalt blue, bolus red, manganese purple, olive green, reddish brown in different hues, black heightened with tracery of opaque white. DECORATION Outside: Elegant Cufic inscription in cobalt blue, the contour of the characters followed by a white reserve on a background latticed with red lines. Below, sketchy scrolls traced in red. Inside: The rim shows an edge scalloped in cobalt blue. It is followed by a broad band decorated with Cufic lettering in cobalt blue, outlined in red on a background of charming scroll work executed in black tracery on white. Then comes a large frieze of ten men on horseback, represented in vivid attitudes of great variety. One of the horsemen carries a polo stick. The composition may represent polo play, or perhaps another equestrian game as discussed in the Introduction. The centre medallion is framed by a small border of olive green and manganese purple four-pointed stars on cobalt blue ground. It represents the story of King Bahram Gur hunting the gazelle, while his favorite, Azadeh, is playing the harp. The composition shows Bahram Gur seated on a black camel of bold design, covered with a cobalt blue saddle cloth, bending his bow, while Azadeh sits beside him play- ing the harp. To the left are seen the two gazelles exactly as mentioned in the poem, the one with two arrows in the forehead, the other scratching the head with the hind leg. A figure seems to be lying on the ground with the arms outstretched. This may represent one of the more or less vague attendants, but it is more probable that it represents Azadeh again, lying on the ground, trampled to death by the camel of the irate sultan. Sketchy trees and a flying bird complete this charming composition. REMARKS This bowl is one of the masterpieces of Persian pottery art. The vividness of the design, particularly in the interpretation of the galloping and trotting horses and in the quick movement of the horsemen, is interpreted with unusual dash and rhythm. The composition of the camel riders in the centre recalls vividly the miniatures of the Abbasid school. There are only a few Rhages polychrome potteries which in beauty of design can be compared to this bowl. We have been acquainted with the Persian ceramics of the 12th and 13th centuries for about forty years and probably all the existing types are now known by one or several specimens. Therefore we may now venture to classify this material according to quality. We may weed out a great number of medi- ocre specimens, leaving only the examples of outstanding beauty which will group themselves according to particular characteristics in technique or design. We can assume that the production of such particularly beautiful pieces of pottery was about the same as the production of miniature paintings, for instance. We can assume that certain types have been made by certain masters. We tried, for instance, to ascribe the different large turquoise vases with relief decoration to the same kiln. (See Number 41). We tried to establish a similar relationship between the large relief vase (Number 42) and the Basilewski vase in Petrograd, and we assumed the same origin for the relief polychrome bowls Numbers 33 and 34 and a bowl at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (See Figure 10). One or two other pieces may be by the same artist as the present bowl. In a New York collection there is a pitcher with one handle which shows on a light turquoise ground a frieze of men on horseback, of a [1433 similar dashing design. A third piece, which seems to be somewhat related, is the pottery goblet with a triple frieze of compositions reproduced in Martin, "Miniatures," Text Volume, page 5. The design in all these pieces is so rhythmic and expressive that we may presume that a miniature painter collaborated with a potter. This, however, is a speculation. The composition of King Bahram Gur hunting the gazelle is not rare in Mohammadan art (See In- troduction, page XXXIX and Number 15). Height, 4 inches; diameter, inches. This bowl is now in the collection of Mr. Mortimer Schiff, New York. [144] Fig. 50. Number 26. Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly Parish-Watson, now Mortimer Schiff Collection. NUMBER 27, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (GILT AND RELIEF DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY Delicate interlacings of arabesque stems, leaves and medallions. A very interesting example of Per- sian arabesque decoration. SHAPE Semi-globular bowl on low, slightly conical foot rim. On the outside, the rim of the bowl is separated from the body by a slightly raised line. TECHNIQUE Light cream-colored earthenware, covered with opaque white tin glaze. The decorations are painted in gold and outlined in red. Decorated in Rhages polychrome technique (See Number 10). As far as the relief decoration is concerned, there are three possibilities. (1) The bowl was moulded in a mould, like the terra sigillata ware and the Roman Aretine bowls. (2) The reliefs were moulded in sep- arate moulds and then applied to the bowl turned on a wheel ("sprigged" decoration). (3) The bowl was turned on the potter's wheel; a little supplementary clay was then carried where desired, either by hand or by the barbotine process, and this clay was then modeled by hand and with a little stick of wood. It is not probable that these bowls were moulded, for there is nothing in their shape to distinguish them from the bowls without relief decoration which are certainly turned on the potter's wheel. "Sprigg- ing" also is not very probable, except perhaps for the raised ornaments in Number 28. In all likelihood, therefore, the third technique was used. DECORATION Outside: The outside is plain ivory white except for the three-globe pattern in gold outlined in red, alternating with single golden dots which form a frieze around the body. Inside: The rim is painted in gold outlined with red. Below this is another frieze in low relief showing a pattern of interlaced scroll work, painted in gold outlined in red. The centre of the bowl is decorated with very fine arabesque stems, leaves and flowers, intermingled with birds in symmetrical representation. This ornamentation appears spontaneous, but is built up on strictly geometrical principles. A hexa- gon is its basis. A small hexagonal star in the centre and a large hexagon formed by twelve arabesque leaves show this clearly. Within the hexagon is a symmetrical arrangement of twelve medallions. Many such combinations are worked out in Bourgoin's books on geometrical interlacings. The decoration out- side of the large hexagon is still on a strictly hexagonal basis but freer in composition. The twelve medallions inside the hexagon show a relief decoration of single birds and (the innermost six) of ara- besque flowers in relief. The hexagon itself is formed by twelve symmetrical arabesque leaves which develop from the points of the inner row of small medallions and which spread out into curved arabesque stems with arabesque flowers in the middle and symmetrically opposed birds seated in between the stems. The entire pattern combines power with gracefulness and shows how the exuberance of Moham- madan ornamentation is in reality the outgrowth of a mind working with mathematical clearness and precision. Height , 2>Y% inches; diameter, %}4 inches. [147] Fig. 51. Number 27. Rhages Pottery Bowl (Gilt and Relief Decoration). Persia, I2th-I3th century. Parish-Watson Collection. NUMBER 28, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (GILT AND RELIEF DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY A delightful work of imaginative potting. A row of golden fish is seen swimming on the turquoise blue background, which seems to represent one of those little streams or ponds which the Persian miniature painters depicted with such delight. The centre medallion of the bowl seems to be an island in this pond giving root to a fairy tale tree with large golden arabesque leaves which in their turn stand against the turquoise background, as if against a southern sky. SHAPE Semi-globular bowl on low, slightly conical foot rim. The upper rim of the bowl is separated from the body proper by a slightly raised line. The outside shows a relief decoration of raised and perforated ornaments. TECHNIQUE Light cream-colored earthenware which seems to be covered first with a coat of opaque white tin un- derglaze and afterwards with an opaque turquoise overglaze. On the foot rim, at least, the superposi- tion of the two coats of glaze can be easily distinguished. The decoration is painted in gold outlined with red and black and with details in opaque white. The relief decoration has probably been applied in the same way as Number 27. The raised and per- forated motives on the outside are particularly remarkable. They show the direct influence of bronze forms and patterns on pottery. Such influence of bronze vessels on pottery can be observed perhaps even more frequently in Persian art than in Chinese pottery. Decorated in Rhages polychrome technique (See Number 10). DECORATION Outside: The upper rim marked by a border of gilding and of opaque white dots framed by a red line. Below this small border is an elaborate frieze of raised and perforated motives, with two different types alternating. The space between them is filled with arabesque motives, scrolls and leaves, partly in gilded relief, partly in black, outlined in white. This combination of turquoise, black and gold is extremely rich and gorgeous and reminds one of precious gold vessels decorated with stones or enamel, by which the potter was perhaps unconsciously influenced. Inside: The upper rim is marked by a border of gilding and a row of opaque white dots framed above and below by red lines. Below this border is an elaborate frieze of conventionalized Cufic characters of great beauty. The letters are slightly in relief and painted in gold outlined with red. Below this is a row of golden fish swimming on th,e light turquoise background of the bowl. Very frequently we find this mo- tif of fish which are supposed to swim in the water contained in the bowl. We meet it first in the Egyp- tian pottery bowls with turquoise or green glaze and black tracery which date from the 12th dynasty and later. In the Mohammadan potteries it is not at all rare and it is also met with in the Chinese celadon wares. The centre medallion, outlined with a border identical to that of the rim, shows an arabesque tree decorated with gold outlined in red. It is similar to those frequently used for the decoration of the Rhages pottery with underglaze decoration in turquoise, black and cobalt blue combined with lustre. Height, 3)4 inches; diameter, 7^4 inches. This piece is now in the collection of Mr. Mortimer Schiff, New York. C15O Fig. 52. Number 28. Rhages Pottery Bowl (Gilt and Relief Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly Parish-Watson, now Mortimer Schiff Collection. NUMBER 29, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (GILT AND RELIEF DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Semi-globular bowl, standing on a low foot rim. Decoration in slightly raised technique, as in Num- ber 27. TECHNIQUE Light colored earthenware, decorated in exactly the same way as Number 28. The relief decoration is painted in gold, outlined with red only. The turquoise tin enamel is not applied to the parts in relief, which consequently show gold and red on a background of white tin enamel. The relief decoration has been applied in soft clay and then hand-modeled. DECORATION Outside: The rim is studded with a row of gilt raised dots. Below are curved arabesque leaf motives with rich gilding, hanging downward and alternating with straight ornamental motives. Inside: Two broad bands of small arabesque motives — the inner forming a reciprocated tree motif — mark the edge of the rim and the separation between the bottom and sides. The sides show a frieze of eight walking sphinxes. Each sphinx is separated from the other by a vertical motif, the upper and lower part of which are formed by the same tree motif which forms the inner separation strip, while the mid- dle of the motif is circular. The sphinxes are crowned. The front shoulders are set off by an energetic semi-circle; the wings are outlined by powerful strokes. The movement of the animals is monumental and slow, betraying the influence of older Persian art. The sphinx motif has been discussed in the Intro- duction. The bottom of the bowl forms a beautiful medallion in which we see two analogous rampant sphinxes in opposite symmetrical representation, on a background of arabesque scroll work of simple design. The artist played with his motif and let the wings of the sphinxes end in two symmetrical ara- besque leaves which enclose a drooping palmetto flower. Height, inches; diameter, Syi inches. NUMBER 30, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME AND RELIEF DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Semi-globular bowl, standing on a low foot rim. On the outside a slightly raised line separates the rim from the body. TECHNIQUE Grayish earthenware, covered with opaque white tin enamel. Exactly the same technique as Number 31. Colors employed: Cobalt blue, bolus red, manganese purple, green, black and gold. The figural motives are in Rhages polychrome technique; (see Number 10) the arabesque ornamenta- tion slightly raised and gilt, outlined in red. DECORATION Outside: Turquoise rim with golden dots. Elegant, fringe-like arabesque tracery in cobalt blue with golden dots outlined in red. Inside: A graceful system of palmetto motives ties the decoration of border and centre together. In the bottom of the bowl is the composition of a sultan seated on his throne, the drinking goblet in his hand, while two servants are half hidden behind the back screen of the throne. A dish of fruit stands in front of the sultan. The pattern of the garment of the sultan is particularly interesting, as it shows an all-over pattern of hexagonal stars connected by straight lines and forming a geometrical all-over pat- tern similar to those which we know from Hispano-Arabic textiles and from the textiles represented on the famous ivory plaques belonging to the Bargello in Florence (Carrand Collection). This central group is framed by a hexagon formed by double arabesque leaves with bold arabesque finials on each outer angle. In the middle of each side of the hexagon, a palmetto stem connects with the rim of the bowl. This palmetto is in the shape of a fleur-de-lys. Above, a medallion-like motif, another fleur-de-lys and a final bracket of palmetto leaves, form a kind of capital just below the outside rim of the bowl. This motif is very interesting, as it shows the survival of Sassanian motives in the 12th and 13th centuries. An analogous motif is found in Pezard, Plate 10, lower left, and many other analogies can be found in Smirnow's "Argenterie Orientale." The six compartments between these raised and gilt palmetto stems are decorated in Rhages poly- chrome technique, each with a seated figure in vivid gesture. These figures seem to be singers. Haloes frame their heads. The garments are patterned in the well-known style and show theTiraz ribbon. The combination of the archaic palmetto ornamentation and gilt relief with the elegant spacing of the poly- chrome decoration is extremely graceful. Height, ?>}4 inches; diameter, inches. This piece is now in the collection of Mr. Mortimer Schiff, New York. [157] Fig. 53. Number 29. Rhages Pottery Bowl (Gilt and Relief Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Parish-Watson Collection Fig. 54. Nimber 30. Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome and Relief Decoration). Persia, I2th-I3th century. Formerly Parish-Watson, now Mortimer Schiff Collection. NUMBER 31, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME AND RELIEF DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Semi-globular bowl, standing on a low foot rim. A slightly raised line on the outside separates the rim from the body proper. TECHNIQUE Grayish earthenware, covered with opaque white tin enamel and decorated in the Rhages polychrome technique. (See Number 10.) Colors employed: Cobalt blue, bolus red, olive green, brownish tints, black and gold. The undulated arabesque stems forming the background of the frieze of the sides, and the border, separating the medallion on the bottom from the sides, are slightly raised. DECORATION Outside: Sketchy arabesque frieze in black, light turquoise and cobalt blue, filling almost the entire surface of the bowl. Inside: The rim is ornamented with a gilt line and a broader cobalt blue band, decorated with undu- lated stems, slightly raised and gilt. The sides are filled with a broad frieze of seven horsemen and two attendants. These figures are represented on a background of two interlaced undulated stems, raised and gilt, with attached arabesque leaves. This combination of ornamental background and polychrome figures produces a most charming effect. The men on horseback are vividly sketched. The rapid move- ment of the swiftly trotting and galloping horses is well interpreted. The whole composition seems to represent some equestrian game. (See Introduction, page LXIII.) The horsemen are grouped by pairs, one riding toward the other. The seventh one is flanked on either side by an attendant on foot. The pattern of the garments of the different figures are well sketched. They are the same diaper pat- terns which we have already observed on other bowls. The central medallion on the bottom of the bowl is separated from the sides by a double band — first, repeated palmettoes, raised, gilt and outlined in red, followed on the inside by a cobalt blue line with raised gilt dots. The well-known composition of the sultan sitting on his throne, drinking, occupies the central medal- lion. The back of the throne is in the form of a three fold screen with four posters. One dancer stands at either side; two sketchy peacocks rest at the feet of the sovereign, while two symbolic falcons are rep- resented above. Height , 4 inches; diameter 8^4 inches. [163] Fig. 55. Number 31. Rhages Pottery Bowl (Polychrome and Relief Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Parish-Watson Collection. ft NUMBER 32, RHAGES POTTERY JAR (POLYCHROME AND RELIEF DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Same shape as Number 15. Bulbous body standing on a low foot rim and tapering into a wide, short neck. On the left and right two handles in the shape of plastic lions connect lip, upper neck and shoulder. In the front and in the rear a tubular spout sharply bent at its upper end. TECHNIQUE Grayish earthenware, covered with a fine opaque turquoise tin glaze. The decoration in relief is the same technique as Number 28. The raised parts of the decoration are gilt outlined in red. DECORATION Outside: The turquoise blue lions of the handles wear gilt collars; details of their bodies are accentu- ated by black outlines. At the base of the spouts are raised almond-shaped motives with delicate ara- besque decoration in relief. The handles and the spouts divide the body into four compartments, deco- rated with practically the same motif. The lip is accentuated by a double line in black and faint gold. The decoration of the body is divided into quarter sections, each with an arabesque tree, which is on the point of dissolving itself in an all-over arabesque decoration. In the centre of the composition two large arabesque leaves curve like a heart around a raised, almond-shaped centre surrounded by small scrolled stems and foliage. Above, three small relief motives, surrounded by similar small scroll work, form a frieze just below the rim. Below the central motif wedge-shaped ornaments point to an almond-shaped motif in the middle. The main mo- tives are surrounded by ornamentation in low relief of scrolled stems and foliage and are themselves decorated with slightly undulated lines. All this decoration, with its rich yet refined gilding, forms a striking contrast with the beautiful turquoise blue background. The lower part of the body is covered only by the unctuous turquoise blue glaze, which also covers a part of the base in thick drops. Inside: Plain glaze. Height , Syi inches; diameter, 8 inches. This jar is now in the collection of Mr. John N. Willys, Toledo, Ohio. [167] Fig. 56. Number 32. Rhages Pottery Jar (Polychrome and Relief Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly Parish-Watson, now John N. Willys Collection. NUMBER 33, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME AND RELIEF DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY "A Musical Entertainment — Harpsichord and Song" SHAPE Semi-globular bowl standing on a slightly conical foot rim. A slightly raised line on the outside sepa- rates the rim of the bowl from the body. Decoration in low relief, as in Number 27. TECHNIQUE Cream-colored earthenware covered with a thick coat of opaque white tin enamel. Decorated in Rhages polychrome technique (See Number 10). Colors employed: Lacquer red, cobalt blue, turquoise blue, pink, black and gold. Opaque white, lac- quer red and touches of gold are used for smaller details. The relief decoration is technically identical with that of Number 27. DECORATION Outside: The upper rim is decorated with a turquoise green and red outline which is followed by a frieze of conventionalized Cufic characters in cobalt blue. The flower ornaments in between the charac- ters are in turquoise green with red dots. Below this are alternating motives of two arabesque leaves and of an endless knot. Inside: The rim is outlined by successive lines in gold and a relief frieze of conventionalized curved stems and leaves in gold and red, bordered above and below by broad cobalt blue bands. The inside of the bowl shows one of the largest and most gorgeous figural representations which we know of in the Rhages polychrome group with relief decoration. On a plane surface the figures would be about nine inches high. It cannot be definitely ascertained whether the group represents a sultan listening to the music of the harpsichord or whether it shows two women. The latter seems more probable if we judge from similar compositions and from the type of headdress of the figure to the left. The figures are seated on a background of arabesque scroll work in slight relief, with an all-over decoration in gold and outlines of thin tracings in red. The filling of the space and the compactness of the composition is most interesting. The heads of both figures are surrounded by large haloes, which have no symbolic meaning and only accentuate the importance of the figures represented. The figure to the left is most probably a singing woman. It is not clear whether she wears a gold- encircled black bonnet or only a kind of golden ferroniere. The costumes of both figures have been dis- cussed in the Introduction. The geometrical patterns of the undergarments of both figures are not rare in miniature paintings, and some Spanish-Moorish brocades with similar geometrical patterns are still in existence. The ivory reliefs in the Bargello show dancers, etc., clad in identical brocades. The second woman holds a musical instrument which may be a zither or a clavichord. REMARKS Such compositions are found elsewhere than on potteries. They are not rare in Mossoul bronze work inlaid with silver and gold. But the most interesting interpretation is perhaps on the famous carved ivory plaques in the Bargello in Florence (Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 253). The present bowl, Number 34, and the bowl at the Metropolitan Museum (Figure 10) have so much in common that we would like to ascribe them to the same artist. The size of the three pieces, the im- portance of the figures represented, the similarity of treatment, point to the same origin. Certain details also confirm this supposition. The arabesque scroll background in the three pieces is very similar. The outside and inside rims on Number 33 and Number 34 are the same. We were not able to ascertain whether both pieces were found on the same spot. H eighty 2>}4 inches; diameter, S^i inches. This bowl is now in the collection of Mr. Mortimer Schiff, New York. [i7i] i Fig. 57. Number 33. Rhages Pottery Bowl. Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly Parish-Watson, now Mortimer Schiff Collection. NUMBER 34, RHAGES POTTERY BOWL (POLYCHROME AND RELIEF DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY "A Falconer on Horseback" A remarkable specimen of Rhages pottery with relief decoration, to which may be compared an anal- ogous piece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. SHAPE Semi-globular bowl standing on a low, slightly conical foot rim. The rim of the bowl is separated from the body by a slightly raised line on the outside. TECHNIQUE Cream-colored earthenware covered with a thick coat of opaque white tin enamel. Decorated in Rhages polychrome technique (See Number 10). Colors employed: Lacquer red, cobalt blue, turquoise, pink, black; gold and red for the details. The main features of the composition are in low relief. DECORATION Outside: Exactly the same decoration as in bowl Number 33. Inside: Exactly the same composition on the rim as in Number 33. The composition is on the same large scale and shows a beautiful background of bold arabesque scrolls with leaves and flowers in gold, outlined in red on the ivory white background. Against this background is set the figure of a young sultan on horseback, while a bird — either a falcon or duck — flies in the air above him. A small black cap with a gold ornament in the middle adorns the sultan's head; his hair falls in long black tresses in front of his ears. This bowl is a very good illustration of this type of hairdress, which so often leads to the con- fusion of the subjects represented. Behind the sultan's head is a large halo. His caftan is in turquoise green with a small diamond pattern indicated in red and gold. On the sleeves are the wide Tiraz galoons. The horse is blue, a color frequently found in the miniature paintings of a later period. The trappings of the horse are very rich. The saddle consists of a red cover, bordered with blue and decorated with gold. REMARKS The motif of the hunter on horseback is very frequent in Sassanian and Persian art. It is found single and in opposite symmetrical representation (See Introduction, page XXVI, LVIII). Because of the close relationship in style and conception between this bowl and Number 33, we are tempted to ascribe it to the same maker. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art there is a beautiful pottery bowl of about the same size, showing the large representation of a man on horseback on a background of arabesque scrolls (See Figure 10). This bowl, too, may be ascribed to the same maker. Height, 3}i inches; width, inches. This bowl is now in the collection of Mr. Mortimer Schiff, New York. [175] Fig. 58. Number 34. Rhages Pottery Bowl. Persia, I2th-i3th century. Formerly Parish-Watson, now Mortimer Schiff Collection. NUMBER 35, RHAGES POTTERY BOTTLE (POLYCHROME AND RELIEF DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY A rich harmony of light turquoise and gold. A somewhat baroque form inspired by bronze shapes. In- teresting decoration of griffons and birds combined with raised and perforated ornaments. SHAPE Globular body standing on a low, slightly conical foot rim. The tall neck rises from a cylindrical, drum- shaped base. Tubular neck swelling into a bulbous mouthpiece which is surmounted by a short, cylin- drical lip piece broadening into a lip rim. TECHNIQUE Cream-colored earthenware covered with turquoise opaque tin enamel. Decorated in Rhages poly- chrome technique. (See Number 10.) Colors employed: Gold outlined with red; cobalt blue with black and opaque white. The relief decoration and the raised and perforated ornaments are analogous to those of Number 34. DECORATION Neck: Below the lip piece on the upper part of the bulbous mouth is a frieze in which opaque white rosaces outlined in red on a gold ground, alternate with rectangles, filled with opaque white dots on a gold ground. Similar patterns are frequently found as the decoration of enameled glass from Syria or A large frieze covers the main part of the mouthpiece. Almond-shaped medallions in low relief form the centre for four groups of ornate arabesque scrolls with leaves. The tall neck has as sole decoration two bands of curved stems and white dots (as above) on gold ground. Body: The shoulder bears a frieze of greyhounds or hunting leopards pursuing hares. The composition is in slight relief, outlined in red on a gold ground. Below this frieze, covering the entire upper half of the body, is an elaborate composition repeated four times. In the centre we find a large raised and perforated almond-shaped motif, painted gold and red, and outlined with a cobalt blue border dotted with opaque white. This motif is surrounded by very rich arabesque scroll work. On both sides of the central motif are two winged griffons, seated. Below are two birds in opposite symmetrical representation. On both sides, separating this composition from the next one, are two raised and perforated medal- lions, the upper one round, the lower one almond-shaped. These are connected by a cobalt blue border dotted with opaque white. The lower part of the body is covered with two systems of curved stems (cobalt blue and light tur- quoise, outlined in black), which form two superposed series of ogives. The same motif often occurs in Persian art, for instance, in the Kirman vase rugs of the 15th-16th century. REMARKS Such bottles with relief decoration are very rare. Another bottle with similar relief decoration was ex- hibited at the Munich Mohammadan Exhibition in 1910. It was reproduced by F. Sarre and F. R. Mar- tin in the great publication of the exhibition, Plate 98. (See Figure 69.) Height 13 inches; diameter of the body, about 8 inches. Ci79} Fig. 59. Number 35. Rhages Pottery Bottle (Polychrome and Relief Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Parish-Watson Collection. NUMBER 36, RHAGES POTTERY PITCHER (RELIEF DECORATION) PERSIA, 12TH TO 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Globular, slightly compressed body, ending in a truncated base. Wide, cylindrical neck with one han- dle connecting the lip with the shoulder. TECHNIQUE This pitcher is of a very rare technique. The polychrome ornamentation in slightly raised relief is not shown against the usual glazed background, in which the clay of the body is covered by a slip or by a white or colored glaze. The background is the grayish clay of the body without any embellishment or glazing. Only the ornamentation is enameled. In porcelain we would call this technique "enameled on biscuit." The only other specimen known to us in this technique is a very similar pitcher at the Met- ropolitan Museum of Art (Figure 61). In the present pitcher some parts of the decoration, knobs and white arabesques, are slightly raised and covered with white tin enamel. Afterwards these parts were outlined with a thin line of bolus red and heightened with gold which may have been partly applied with the brush. However, in the main parts gold leaf is used. This is proved by the exact and sharp rectangular cutting of some of the gildings. There is no reason for painting gold ornamentation in sharp squares, but it is entirely plausible that the decorator cut rectangles of gold leaf and applied them to the pot. Another part of the decoration was executed by applying cobalt blue glaze on the body. These cobalt blue parts are decorated by painted lines and dots in opaque white slip on the cobalt blue, intermingled with gilding. This part of the technique corresponds exactly to the style of Number 44. DECORATION Neck: On the inside of the neck are a few ornaments indicated in white and cobalt blue tin enamel, put on the unglazed clay. The neck is decorated on lip and transition to the shoulder by an undulated band in raised white tin enamel, framed above and below by two cobalt blue bands outlined with bolus red on white slip and dotted with gold leaf squares and white slip dots. The main frieze is decorated with a row of rosaces with leaf motives above and below in white tin enamel, outlined in red and in gilt with gold leaf. The rosaces are separated by two cobalt blue, deli- cately undulated strips, with a sketchy vertical motif in white tin enamel in the middle. Body: The body is decorated with an arabesque ornamentation, pendant from the neck, which we might compare with knotted fringe. Two rows of dots connected by arabesque motives, all in white tin enamel, form the backbone of this ornamentation which is enriched in between by other arabesque leaves in cobalt blue. The entire sketchy character of this decoration is very well within the spirit of pottery, and the color effect of the buff unglazed clay with the cobalt blue and white tin enamel, combined with the rich gilding and red outlines, is extremely subtle and pleasant. Being entirely unglazed inside and partly unglazed outside, this pitcher is porous for water. Conse- quently it falls into the category of the well-known Near Eastern and Southern European water recep- tacles with porous body, in which the water is continually kept cool through the evaporation of the filter- ing water on the outside. Generally such vessels are only decorated with incised motives. In the present specimen the potter has combined porosity with rich enamel decoration. REMARKS It is interesting to compare the decoration of this piece with that of the specimen at the Metropolitan Museum, which is about 8$4 inches high. The decoration of the Metropolitan Museum piece consists of vertical bands, half of which are ornamented with very thin cobalt enamel wave lines on biscuit, while the other half shows a decoration of two interlaced undulated stems with arabesque leaves in cobalt blue on biscuit. Height, 6}4> inches. £183] Fig. 60. Number 36. Rhages Pottery Pitcher (Relief Decoration). Persia, I2th-i3th century. Parish-Watson Collection. NUMBER 37, POTTERY EWER WITH RELIEF DECORATION PERSIA, 13TH CENTURY An important specimen of Persian pottery, showing the close relation between the shapes of Moham- madan bronzes and potteries. SHAPE Cylindrical body, slightly widening towards the top. Flat shoulder. Tall cylindrical neck with long spout. A four-sided handle connects the thick lip rim of the mouth with the shoulder. The ewer has no foot, but stands directly on the body, the bottom of which is bent slightly inward. TECHNIQUE Cream-colored earthenware covered with a thickopaque turquoise tin glaze. The decoration is moulded. The ewer has not been turned on the wheel, but the two halves were moulded in a form and put together while still soft. This technique occurs quite frequently and is found, for instance, in the beautiful ewers with a frieze of dancing men and women. In the present piece the interruption of the pattern is quite visible in the middle of the front and the back, where the two halves were put together. DECORATION The turquoise glaze is of course much thinner on the raised parts of the relief decoration. On these parts the white ground shines through and thus creates a color contrast between the higher raised parts and the turquoise blue background. Neck: The spout is decorated on the outside with thin spirals and curved lines. On both sides of the neck are two seated lions on a background of spiral scroll work. This is a very old motif of the well-known Mossoul bronzes. Body: The horizontal shoulder is plain, except for three raised rosaces, which are scarcely visible through the thick opaque glaze. On the rim of the body, just below the shoulder, is a Neskhi inscription with three circular medallions bearing the representation of a crane or stork in between. The body itself is decorated with a symmetrical composition on both sides, composed of a repeated group of medallions and of spiral scroll work which is not always very clear and distinct. In the centre is a quatrefoil motif with a raised medallion underneath, in which a crane is distinctly represented. On both sides of this central motif, connected by a more or less clearly indicated system of spiral scrolls, are two other leaf and curved stem motives, lyre-shaped, the lower one turned downward, in which we may perhaps recognize a nearly indiscernible decoration of two birds in symmetrical representation on a background of scrolls. Smaller raised medallions and spiral scrolls complete this composition, which has a picturesque and charming spontaneity. REMARKS The shape of this vase is borrowed from Mohammadan bronzes. The motif to the right and the left of the neck — hardly discernible on the present pottery — appears clearly as a seated lion on several bronze ewers, made at Mossoul in the 12th and 13th centuries (Compare Exposition des Arts Musulmans au Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, 1903, par Gaston Migeon. Ewer from Ch. Gillot collection, PI. 9). A frieze of similar lions is found on the chandelier of the Piet Latandrie collection, now in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris (see Migeon, Exp. d'Art Mus. pi. 10). Seven ewers of exactly the same type have been published in the Munich Mohammadan Exhibition's publication (PI. 141, 142, 143, three from the Sarre collection, Berlin, one from the Polovtsov coll. Petrograd, three from the Bobrinskoy collec- tion, Petrograd). These numerous examples show the frequency of this motif. We reproduce two of these specimens in Figure 64; (Sarre coll. No. 3046, pi. 141 of the Munich publication) and Figure 63 now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, formerly in the Homberg collection in Paris. Height^ \ \ z /2 inches; diameter about 6 inches. [187] Fig. 6i. Pottery Pitcher. Rhages, I2th-i3th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Fig. 62. Number 37. Pottery Ewer with Relief Decoration. Persia, 13th century. Parish-Watson Collection. NUMBER 38, POTTERY BOTTLE WITH RELIEF DECORATION PERSIA, LATE 13TH CENTURY Interesting specimen with animal relief decoration, closely related to the animal representations in contemporaneous manuscripts of natural history. SHAPE Globular body standing on a low cylindrical foot rim. The neck is tubular, tapering towards the top which is in the shape of a bull monster's head, similar to those on the Persian battle clubs. TECHNIQUE Rather rough grayish earthenware, which is only partly covered with a translucent and finely crackled turquoise lead glaze. The lower part, which is not covered with the turquoise glaze, is somewhat vitri- fied by some other colorless translucent underglaze which has permeated the paste to such an extent that it is nearly like stoneware and cannot be scratched with a knife. The deeper parts of the pottery, however, seem to be of the usual softer texture. The relief decoration has evidently been modeled by hand in plastically applied clay, after the turn- ing of the piece. No sutures of a mould are visible and the modeling is so bold that it appears not to have been made by the somewhat mechanical process of moulding. DECORATION Neck: The neck, with its roughly modeled bull's head, seems to be quite different in style from the subtle modeling on the body. However, there cannot be the slightest doubt that neck and body belong together, as there are several 13th century vases with the same bull head and the same discrepancy in the style of decoration. Body: On the shoulder around the beginning of the neck is a frieze of round dots forming a border, and below this another frieze of delicate curved scrolls with spiral tendrils. This is followed by a large frieze in bold relief with four animals pursuing one another on a background of conventionalized ara- besque plants. These animals consist of a lion running after a bull and a greyhound pursuing a gazelle or mountain goat. The frieze is characterized by rapid and lively movement of the animals. The char- acter of the spiral scrolls, the details of the foliage and the palmetto flowers remind one very strongly of similar compositions in contemporaneous manuscripts (See Figure 5). REMARKS Another pottery bottle with practically identical relief decoration is in the Louvre in Paris. The neck of this piece is missing. It is reproduced by Riviere, "Ceramique Musulmane," Plate 69. The Metro- politan Museum possesses another charming specimen of the same type (See Figure 3). Height, 14 inches; diameter, about 8^2 inches. [193] fa] N O — s pq O M o U Ih O U c o 5 a < fa u I CD — * C ^ inches; diameter, lyi inches. [203] Fig. 67. Number 40. Pottery Vase (Relief Decoration). Persia, early 14th century. Parish-Watson Collection. NUMBER 41, LARGE POTTERY VASE WITH RELIEF DECORATION PERSIA, 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Ovoid body, standing on a low base. Short cylindrical neck, slightly tapering towards the mouth. TECHNIQUE Slightly reddish paste with relief decoration incised by hand into the soft clay before the firing. The two double rims above and below the central frieze are plastically applied and indented by impressions at regular intervals. The body is covered with an opaque, light turquoise tin glaze which has coagu- lated in thick drops over the base which is otherwise unglazed. After the main firing the vase was decorated in the light fire of the muffle kiln. The vase seems to have been partly gilded; much of the gold has worn off and the outlines of the different figures and ornamental motives are accentuated by red tracery. DECORATION Neck: An inscription in bold Neskhi characters on a background of slightly indicated floral scrolls runs around the neck. Body: On the shoulder is a very fine frieze of running animals, lion, hare, panther, etc., of sweeping design, showing the masterly hand of the craftsman working the clay, probably with a wooden tool. The main frieze around the body consists of a repeated kidney-shaped arabesque plant motif, with the lower part scrolled in two symmetrical spirals similar to a Chinese jui scepter head. This motif is filled by a small arabesque tree with a bold and elegantly scrolled arabesque leaf on each side. Similar floral mo- tives are found on Egyptian late classic textiles and in early Mohammadan art. The lower part of the body is covered by a fish scale pattern, very rare in Mohammadan art before the 16th century. REMARKS Both on account of its size and decoration this vase is an extremely important specimen. The Museum in Berlin possesses another specimen which may be compared with this important piece (See Figure 70) ; it was probably made by the same craftsman and was exhibited at the Exhibition of Masterpieces of Mohammadan Art in Munich, 1910, as Number 1190. It is published in the publication of this exhibi- tion in Plate 106 and is discussed in the bulletin of the Berlin Museum (Amtlichte Berichte, XXX, 3). The turquoise in the Berlin vase is exactly the same, but no trace of gilding or red tracery has remained. The neck of the Berlin vase is missing but there is enough left to ascertain that it was decorated with a Neskhi inscription in relief. On the shoulder is an analogous, but not identical frieze of running animals. The frieze of arabesque motives is slightly different on the Berlin vase; it shows two rows of smaller kidney-shaped motives. The scale pattern on the lower part of the body is identical. Two other speci- mens appeared in the New York market in 1920. Height, 27 inches. This vase is now in the collection of Mr. John N. Willys, Toledo, Ohio. [207} Fig. 68. Number 41. Large Pottery Vase with Relief Decoration. Persia, 13th century. Formerly Parish-Watson, now John N. Willys Collection. NUMBER 42, LARGE POTTERY VASE WITH RELIEF DECORATION PERSIA, 13TH TO 14TH CENTURY The most important specimen of Persian relief pottery, comparable in size and artistic importance only to the great vase in the Hermitage in Petrograd which was formerly in the Basilewski collection. SHAPE Ovoidal shape with truncated base. Tubular neck, tapering towards the mouth. Thick mouth rim and all-over decoration in high relief. The vase has no foot or foot rim, but stands directly on the flat bottom of the body. TECHNIQUE Buff earthenware. The vase seems to have been hand shaped, not turned on the wheel. The hand modeled decoration of friezes of human figures is one of the finest specimens of Mohammadan sculpture. The entire vase is covered with a thick translucent cobalt blue glaze which appears of deeper color on the parts where it has coagulated. The figures and other details of the decoration are outlined with deli- cate tracings of red; the background as well as many details of the pattern shows traces of gilding. The cobalt blue color has been partly covered by a rich golden and silvery iridescence. DECORATION The vase is decorated with five friezes, one on the neck, four on the body. Neck: The frieze on the neck shows a row of musicians, with arabesque plants in between forming the background. The sequence of the figures from left to right is as follows: One seated figure sings or listens to the music of a flute player. Then follows a woman beating a tambourine and another one playing a small harp. The sounding box of the harp seems to be vertical, the second arm of the harp is horizontal. A third person, singing or lis- tening, seems to be a woman and wears the same style of bonnet as the other two. The last group consists of two persons, probably women. One seems to beat a small kettle-drum held on the floor in front of her; the other one plays a large mandolin. Consequently we have the same number of seven musicians and singers as we found on the goblet Number 11. Similar compositions are also found on the bowl Number 16 (fourteen personages) and the glass vase Number 48, with six personages. Body: The second frieze, forming a small border on the shoulder of the vase, shows a row of walking animals going towards the left. They are in the following sequence: two small animals which resemble bears or tapirs, a lynx, a winged griffon (an Assyrian motif), a fox, a deer pursued by a hunting leopard and a greyhound. All these animals are represented in spirited movement on a background of arabesque scrolls (Compare the animal frieze of Number 41). The main frieze consists of a row of six polo players on horseback. Their attitudes are vivid and inter- esting. Several hold the long sticks used in polo play. One bends down from his horse to catch the ball, while the man in front of him rides with arms crossed over his breast. Between the horsemen are beauti- ful arabesque plants of simple design (Compare the frieze on Figure 15). Below the main frieze is another frieze with various representations which are partly repeated but not moulded. We see first a cypress tree with a little pond below, in which fish are swimming. Next to it, on a background of bold arabesque twigs, is a man who appears to dig the earth with a spade or to fell a tree. This group is followed by three walking animals; one is probably a lynx, another, a crane or a peacock. After this we find the same composition of the man digging, and the cypress tree with the pond and the fish below. A fox is seen walking towards the pond. Then follows another bird, seemingly a crane, and finally a winged griffon which walks in the direction of the first cypress tree. The drawing of the plant motives is particularly beautiful in this frieze. It may be that this frieze illustrates a legendary subject. The lowest frieze shows curved spiral stems with attached arabesque flowers of wonderful design. REMARKS The relief decoration of this vase is one of the finest specimens of Mohammadan sculpture. Very little On] is known about sculptural art in the Mohammadan countries. One anticipates that there was none, on account of the general aversion to representations of the human figure. But in recent years a series of nearly life-sized human heads modeled in stucco have come from Persia, which are extraordinary in their simple and grandiose character (Now in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin). A good deal of similar sculpture has been discovered in Konia, the Seljuk capital (Museum of Konia), and vases and tiles with hand modeled relief figural decorations are a further proof that sculptural art was not neglected in the Mohammadan countries. The only piece existing which may be compared to the present specimen is the famous Basilewski vase in the Hermitage in Petrograd. It is decorated only in lustre on a white ground and lacks the extraordi- nary richness of color of the present piece. We find the same row of musicians on the neck of the Basil- ewski vase. The second frieze is a small border on the shoulder showing running animals. The main frieze bears the same composition of polo players, followed by another frieze with diverse animals, as in the present vase. The only difference between the two vases is the lowest register, which shows a bird pat- tern in the Basilewski vase instead of the arabesque flower and scroll work of the present one. The scheme of composition, the bold modeling and the interpretation of the details is so analogous in the two vases that they might be the work of the same artist. The Basilewski vase measures 30^ inches (78 cm.). The present vase 26 inches. The Basilewski vase has hitherto been considered a unique piece and has been the subject of a special publication by Dr. F. R. Martin (The Persian Lustre Vase in the Imperial Her- mitage at St. Petersburg, Stockholm and Leipzig, 1899). It has been reproduced in colors by Riviere, "Ceramique Musulmane," Plate 66. (See Figure 74). A similar frieze of polo players forms the main decoration on one of the most famous Mohammadan bronzes, made between 1239 and 1249, for Melek es Saleh, Sultan of Damascus, and now in the collec- tion of the Duke of Arenberg, Brussels. (111. in Migeon, Expos, des Arts Musulmans, Paris, 1903, Plates 11 and 12 and Munich Exhibition Plate 147.) See Figure 84. Height, 26 inches; diameter (of the body) 15 inches. Diameter of the opening of the neck, 6}4 inches. [212] c 9 z o o T3 c I 2 2 inches. [237] NUMBER 45, RHAGES POTTERY EWER PERSIA, 13TH CENTURY SHAPE Pear-shaped body standing on a low foot rim. The body gradually tapers into a tall neck which is headed by a plastically moulded rooster's head. An arched handle connects the head with the middle of the body. TECHNIQUE Grayish earthenware, covered with a white slip or tin enamel, decorated with cobalt blue. As often occurs with this hue, the color ran during the firing and created an unexpected, charming effect. The entire decoration is covered with a translucent glaze which is slightly green when coagulated in thick drops. The glaze has large crackles and a beautiful ivory quality, soft to the touch. DECORATION Details of the rooster head are indicated in cobalt blue. An indiscernible frieze surrounds the neck. The body is decorated with three pendant motives of symmetrically intertwined arabesque stems and leaves, such as are very frequent in Mohammadan pottery of the 13th century. In the middle of these motives are slender stems with little birds in symmetrical, opposite representation. REMARKS The rooster-headed ewer, which had first been shaped in bronze and later on imitated in pottery, is an old motif in Oriental art. Here, as in many other instances, the bronze maker set the example for the potter. Such bronze ewers were exhibited in several examples at the Mohammadan Exhibition in Mu- nich; one is reproduced in the publication on this exhibition, Plate 134. The motif is not rare in Mo- hammadan pottery. A very fine example is found, for instance, in Riviere's "Ceramique Musulmane" Plate 64 (Rosenberg Collection). The handle of this ewer is of great interest. It seems to be a pottery imitation of bronze shapes in which different strips of bronze of different lengths were soldered one upon the other with curled-up finials. There can be no doubt that this handle represents the tail of the rooster. This is proved by tex- tile patterns in which tails of pigeons or peacocks are of analogous design. The famous weave of Saint- Sernin in Toulouse and a silk in the Cluny Museum supply sufficient evidence (See Migeon, "Manuel," Figures 334, 335). The present piece is an important specimen. It was reproduced in a fine color plate by Riviere in his "Ceramique Musulmane," Plate 60.Therefore a black and white reproduction has been deemed sufficient in the present publication. Height, 10)4 inches. [238] Fig. 88. Number 43. Rhages Pottery Bowl (Lustre Decoration). Persia, 13th century. Parish-Watson Collection. Fig. 89. Number 44. Rhages Pottery Bowl Painted in Muffle Colors. Persia, I2th-i3th century. Parish-Watson Collection. Fig. 90. Number 45. Rhages Pottery Ewer. Persia, 13th century. Parish-Watson Collection. NUMBER 46, SULTANABAD POTTERY BOTTLE PERSIA, 13TH TO 14TH CENTURY SHAPE Globular body with flattened shoulder, standing on a low, slightly spreading foot rim. Short, thin, cylindrical neck, which is connected by a handle with the shoulder. The clay of the handle is laid around the neck, so as to form a spin-whirl shaped brim slightly below the lip of the neck. TECHNIQUE The grayish clay is partly covered with white slip (circular bands, gadrooning on lower body, leaf friezes). The slip is partly scratched away, so that only flowers and leaves remain in slightly raised white slip, while the background shows the gray clay of the body. The details of the floral pattern and of the balance of the design are indicated in black underglaze paint. The whole is covered with a translucent, slightly greenish glaze. Seen through this glaze, black and white appear as such, while the background of the natural clay appears in an olive-greenish gray. A subtle subdued harmony of pastel shades results. It is partly covered by a brilliant silvery metallic iridescence. DECORATION The lower part of the body is gadrooned by lines in black paint and bands in white slip. The upper part is decorated by a broad ornamental band about two inches wide, with an all-over pattern of flowers and leaves on stems of a free, sketchy and asymmetrical design. Above this is a small band with black scribbling which might be a very conventionalized Neskhi inscription. On the joint of shoulder and neck are two other small bands with sketchily indicated flowers, like the main frieze. The entire decora- tion has nothing startling in its subject, but the different parts of the ornamentation are extremely well balanced and the simple gadrooning forms an excellent contrast to the lively design of the large floral frieze. This bottle is an unpretentious little piece, but if refined balance in proportion and design make a work of art, rather than an elaborate subject, the present piece may find a high place in our esteem. Height, 6 inches. NUMBER 47, SULTANABAD POTTERY BOWL PERSIA, 13TH TO 14TH CENTURY SHAPE Semi-globular shape, standing on a low foot rim. TECHNIQUE Similar to that of Number 46. The bowl is made of grayish clay. This clay is covered on the outside with a white slip. The slip has an underglaze decoration of cobalt blue and black. The decoration of the inside is in slightly different technique. The subjects (birds, figures, flowers), are put in slightly raised white slip on a background of the body clay. Details are pencilled in black paint. The olive gray background does not appear, however, but is entirely covered with cobalt blue. There is a slight iridescence. DECORATION The Chinese character manifests itself in this piece more distinctly than in Number 46. Outside: The outside is decorated with an amusing sketchy scribbling of stems, shrubs and leaves. It must have been done rapidly by a man who wanted to get through with the work, and at the same time enjoyed the sensation of speed. Without knowledge of some Chinese art, whether painting or pot- tery, he would not have been able to do such work. His ancestors — when neglectful — would have made roughly drawn lines. He does not paint; he brushes hastily. It is a new mentality, which lasted a few hundred years. The Daghestan and Kashan wares, from the 16th century down almost to the present [243] day, where the demand for fakes happily revives old techniques, delight in these rapid sketches "a la Chinoise." Inside: In the decoration of the inside the artist was more careful. Rim and central medallion are set off by energetic black and white lines. The sides are filled with a frieze of four flying Chinese phoenixes, roughly set on a background of "peony" flowers and leaves. The phoenixes are a typically Chinese motif, with their rooster heads and long, pheasant tail feathers. They are the same birds which appear as early as the Chinese Han reliefs and textiles, and also on the medallion weaves of the Tang period. The central medallion shows a group similar to a miniature of the Eastern Persian or Mongolian school. Persian dealers like to identify such compositions, which are fairly frequent on Sultanabad pot- teries, with definite scenes from the Shahnameh. This is quite likely, although a less vivid imagination will be in trouble to identify the persons represented. However, they must represent somebody and the description, "two persons seated on floral background," is perhaps scientific, but not very satisfactory. Both persons seem to be men. They are clad in long caftans with long sleeves without Tiraz ribbons. The fabric is dotted with an all-over pattern of three-globe motives, which are found as early as the Greek vases and are a stock ornament of Near Eastern textiles. The heads are brought into relief by large haloes. Both persons seem to be in lively discussion with one arm raised. Although no chairs are indicated, the figures are not represented as sitting on the soil in Near Eastern fashion. They seem to be seated on chairs in Chinese style, similar to the representations in miniatures of the Mongolian school. The drawing of the figures is vivid, rounded and sketchy, and reminds one of miniatures of the Jami al Tawarik of the Kevorkian Collection, or those of the Kalila we Dimna manuscript which is now scat- tered among Paris collectors. REMARKS Bowls of this type sometimes occur. In the collection of Jacques Doucet in Paris is a similar bowl ex- ecuted in exactly the same technique. (See Riviere, Plate 71 and Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Plate 103.) The two persons represented there are absolutely analogous in style. They seem to wear strange, bulging felt or fur hats with broad brims, similar to that worn by Arnolfini in the well known Van Eyck painting. The figure to the right in the present bowl seems to wear the same headgear. The border shows the same four phoenixes, but they alternate with heart shaped floral medallions. The floral background on both pieces is identical. Height, 4 inches; diameter, S^i inches. [244] Fig. 91. Number 46. Sultanabad Pottery Bottle. Fig. 92. Pottery Bowl. Sultanabad, Persia, i-ithcentury. Persia, I3th-i4th century. Jacques Doucet Collection, Paris. Parish-Watson Collection. Fig. 93. Number 47. Sultanabad Pottery Bowl. Persia, I3th-i4th century. Parish-Watson Collection. NUMBER 48, GLASS BOTTLE WITH ENAMEL DECORATION EGYPT OR SYRIA, 13TH TO 14TH CENTURY SHAPE Compressed bulbous body formed by the compression of a blown glass globe and showing traces of the punty rod on the bottom. Low foot rim. Tall tubular neck, with bulbous swelling in the lower part and with a globular mouth surmounted by a cup-shaped, spreading lip piece. TECHNIQUE The body is of translucent amber yellow glass with numerous air bubbles in the glass; such amber glass is very rare. The usual color is translucent greenish or translucent cobalt blue. The decoration is out- lined in delicate tracery of red enamel. The figures and numerous details of the floral ornamentation were heightened with gold paint. Details of the decoration are executed in thick opaque enamel. Colors employed: White, yellow, red, green and cobalt blue. DECORATION Starting from the top, we find the following series of friezes: Tracery of floral scroll work in red, with traces of gilding; a small frieze of interlaced arabesque stems and flowers in cobalt blue enamel, out- lined in red; another frieze of arabesque scroll work outlined in red with traces of gilding; the main frieze of beautifully drawn Neskhi inscription in cobalt blue enamel outlined in red on a background of ara- besque scroll work in polychrome enamel. According to Professor Sprengling's reading this Neskhi in- scription repeats three times the words "al Alamu," "universe," or "al Alimu," "the knowing, the learned." As there are no strokes under the character "1", the reading "al Alamu" seems to be the correct one. Body: Small frieze of spirited arabesque scroll work outlined in red with traces of gilding. In between are three circular medallions with arabesque flowers in polychrome enamel. The main frieze is composed of three figural compositions separated by three large circular medallions. [247] In the medallions we find beautiful interlacings of spiral stems and arabesque leaves with traces of gilding on a background of thick cobalt blue enamel. Such rosaces are identical with the arabesque ro- saces which are found in the Cufic Korans of an earlier period and with the medallions and heading in the Neskhi and Tsulus Korans of the Mameluke period. However, this style of decoration is not confined to Egypt; it is also found in Syria, which for centuries was politically united to Egypt (See page 71). The three figural compositions are rather unusual for Sunnite Egypt and Syria, where such represen- tations are generally considered as improper. Manuscripts with miniatures are much rarer from these countries than those from Persia and Turkestan. Glass and bronze vessels with figural representations are also much less frequent than works which only show a decoration of arabesques, inscriptions and peony patterns. The compositions on the present vase are executed in delicate tracery of red and show evidence of rich gilding (See sketches on pages 249-251). They depict different musicians on a background of elab- orate arabesque scroll work. In the first composition we find a musician playing a mandolin and another beating a large kettle-drum. Both men wear turbans. In the next division one man with a turban beats a hand drum or a tambourine, while the other one who wears a curiously pointed bonnet plays the harp. The last and third composition shows another pair of musicians. One of them, in a quaint bonnet or turban, beats a kind of cembalon with a stick which looks like a fly brush. The other musician wears an odd hat with a wide brim and plays a bagpipe or flute. This instrument is not quite distinguishable in the picture. On the lower part of the body are two small friezes, the first one analogous to the upper frieze of the body, the lowest one forming a series of interlacings ending in points, thus forming a kind of fringe to the upper border. REMARKS Two bottles of similar shape, but without human figures, are in the collections of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild and Baron Edmondde Rothschild (Both illustrated by Migeon, Exposition Musulmane, Plate Detail of Decoration of Number 48 [248] Fig. 94. Number 48. Glass Bottle with Enamel Decoration. Egypt or Syria, I3th-i4th century. Parish-Watson Collection. 63). Another is in the collection fo S. Bardac, Paris (Munich Mohammadan Exhibition, Number 21 12, Plate 171). The specimen in the Max Strauss Collection in Vienna (Schmoranz, Figure 22) is practically identical to the present one, as is also another example in the Vapereau Collection in Paris (Schmoranz, Plate 39). Compare also the bottle in the South Kensington Museum (Schmoranz, Plate 25). Height, inches; diameter, 6^2 inches. Joined to the preceding piece is another fragment of enameled glass of the same period, of light yel- lowish glass with two friezes of inscription; the one gilt, outlined in red on a thick cobalt blue enamel ground, the other one in gold on a red background, the red being enameled on the inside of the vessel. Size: about \}4hy\}4 inches. [251] BIBLIOGRAPHY BOURGOIN, I. Les Arts Arabes. Paris, 1873. Les Elements de l'Art Arabe, le Trait des Entre- lacs. Paris, 1879. Precis de l'Art Arabe et Materiaux pour servir a l'Histoire, a la Theorie et a la Technique des Arts de l'Orient. Paris, 1892. Theorie de l'Ornement. Nouvelle Edit. Paris, 1883. Cox, Raymond Soieries d'Art. Paris, 1914. Falke, Otto von Geschichte der Seidenweberei. Berlin, 191 2. 2 vols. Quoted as "Falke, Seidenweberei." Fouquet. Contributions a l'Etude de la Ceramique Orien- tale, Cairo, 1900. Guest, A. R. Notice of Some Arabic Inscriptions on Textiles in the South Kensington Museum. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1906. Kremer, A. V. Kulturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chali- fen. Vienna, 1875-7. Layard, Austin H. Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon. New York, 1853. Illustrations of the Monuments of Nineveh. 2 vols. London, 1849. Quoted as "Nineveh." Martin, F. R. The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India and Turkey. London, 191 2. Quoted as "Martin, Miniatures." The Persian Lustre Vase in the Imperial Her- mitage at St. Petersburg. London, 1899. A History of Oriental Carpets before 1800. London, 1906. Migeon, Gaston Manuel d'Art Musulman. Paris, 1904. Exposition des Arts Musulmans au Musee des Arts Decoratifs. Paris, 1903. [2 Mohl, Jules Firdausi, Le Livre des Rois. 7 vols. Paris 1876-78. Pezard, Maurice La Ceramique Archaique de l'lslam et ses. Origines. 2 vols. Leroux, Paris, 1920. Quoted as "Pezard." RlEFSTAHL, R. M. Early Textiles in the Cooper Union Collection Art in America, 1915-16. Riviere, Henri La Ceramique dans l'Art Musulman. Paris, 1913. Quoted as "Riviere." Sarre, Friederich Islamische Tongefaesse aus Mesopotamien. Preuss. Jahrbuecher, 1905. Die Kleinfunde von Samarra. Der Islam. Vol.V, 1914. Fruehislamische in Graffitotechnik Decorierte Keramik. Amtl. Berichte aus den Kgl. Kunstsammlungen, March, 1914. Figuerliche Persische Stuckplastik in der Islam- ischen Kunstabteilung. Berichte aus den Kgl. Kunstsammlungen, March, 19 14. Die Keramik im Euphrat und Tigris Gebiet. Berlin, 1921. Die Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen von Samarra im Kaiser Friedrich Museum. Berlin, Grote 1922. F. Sarre and E. Herzfeld Archaeologische Reise im Euphrat und Tigris Gebiet. Berlin, 191 1. F. Sarre and F. R. Martin Ausstellung von Meisterwerken Muhammedan- ischer Kunst, Muenchen, 19 10. Munich, 1912. 3 vols. Quoted as "Munich Mohammadan Exhibi- tion." Schmoranz, G. Old Oriental Gilt and Enamelled Glass Vessels. Vienna and London, 1899. ] BIBLIOGRAPHY Schulz, Ph. W. Die Persisch-Islamische Miniaturmalerei. Leip- zig, 1 9 14. Smirnow, J. I. Argenterie Orientale, Recueil d'ancienne Vais- selle en Argent et Or. Commission Imper- iale Archeologique, St. Petersburg, 1909. Wallis, Henry Persian Ceramic Art in the Collection of Mr. F. du Kane Godman. 1891-94. Zahn, Otto Glasierte Tongefaesse im Antiquarium. Amtliche Berichte aus den Kgl. Kunstsamm- lungen, 1914, No. 10. i>54] SURVEY OF DATES REFERRED TO 745-610 B.C. Second Assyrian Empire — Nimrod, Khorsabad, Nineveh. 558-330 B.C. Achaemenid Dynasty. 521-485 B.C. Darius I of Persia (Susa, Persepolis). 485-464 B.C. Xerxes. 464-424 B.C. Artaxerxes (Palace in Susa). 335S3° B.C. Darius III, vanquished by Alexander the Great. 323 B.C. Death of Alexander the Great. 319-250 B.C. Seleucid Rule in Persia. 250B.C.-226 A.D. Parthian Empire. 226-641 A.D. Sassanian Empire. 215-276 A.D. Mani. 622 A.D. The Hejira. 641 A.D. Battle of Nehawend; end of the Sassanian Empire. 674 A.D. Buchara occupied by the armies of the Caliph. 711 A.D. Definite occupation of Buchara and Samarcand by the Caliphat. 724-748 A.D. Emperor Shomu of Japan. Sassanian works of art in his treasure house at Nara. 756 A.D. Latest date of additions into the treasure house at Nara. 751 A.D. Battle of Kangli between the Chinese and Arabs in Western Turkestan. 786-809 A.D. HarunalRashid;Raqqaone of his capitals. 838-883 A. D. Samarra, Mesopotamia, residence of the Caliphs. 10-uth Century. Raqqa at its height. 936 A. D. Foundation of Medinet ez Zarah in Spain. 1010 A.D. Destruction of Medinet ez Zarah (near Cordova). 1220 A.D. The Mongols under Djenghiz Khan invade Khwarizm(Khiwa) opening Persia to Chinese art. 1 22 1 A.D. Rhages destroyed by the Mongols. 1259 A.D. Bagdad conquered by the invading Mongols un- der Hulagu. 1290 A.D. Sultanabad founded by Arghun Khan. 1295-1304 A.D. Ghazan Khan, Mongol Ruler. Rhages recovered. 1385 A.D. Destruction of Sultanabad by Timur. U55] INDEX A Abbasid miniature paintings; xx, xxi, 131, 203. Abbasid School, xx, LIU, 91,115, 143. Acanthus ornamentation, iv. Anatolian potteries, xviii. Animals, friezes of, xxxm, 207. Arabesque ornamentation; ill, iv, xin, xvii, xix, xxxvi, xxxvii, 79, 80, 87, 116, 119, 123, 139, 147, 155, 157, 163, ^7, 175, 179, 183, 199, 203, 207, 212. Arabic influence, xiii. Arabic miniatures, xlviii, l. Arenberg collection, Duke of, 212. Aretine bowls, Roman, 147. Arms, depicted on pottery, lx. Assyrian horns, xxxvi. Assyrian influence, Hi. Assyrian motif, xxvu, xxxiv. Assyrian reliefs, ill, liv. Aubergine glaze, iz. Azadeh, xxxix, xl, l, ioi. B Babylonia, discoveries in, 111. Bagdad, xu, xiv, xx. Bagdad, School of, xx. Bahram Gur, xxn, xxm, xxxix, xl, XLIII, XLIV, L, LX, IOI, 115, 143,144. Basilewski collection, xvm, xxm, lxv, 143, 211, 212. Beard, l. Behzad, School of, lxv. Bennese, discoveries in, ix. Berlin Museum, viii, 207. Bobbed hair, depicted on pottery, l. Bobrinskoy Collection, 187. Bolus earth, use in Egyptian potteries, XVI, xvm. Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 76. Brass band, liv. Bronzes, Mohammadan, 212. Bukalemon glass, ix. Bull, xxxv, 193. Buyides, xiv. Byzantine influence x. Byzantine style, iv. Byzantine textile patterns, lxix. Byzantine wares, xi. C Cabinet des Medailles, Paris, xxvu. Caliphate, School of, xx. Camel, riding on, xlvii, ioi, 143. Carrand Collection, lix, 157. Celadon, viii. Cembalon mi. Chicago Art Institute, ix, xv. Chinese, early influence of, in Persian Potteries, viii, xx. Chinese influence, xiv, xvi, xx, xxn, xxiv, xxxv, xxxvi. Chinese Ming period, xxiv. Chinese motives and symbols, xx, xxu, xxxvi, 243, 244. Chinese Tang wares, vu, viii. Clavichord, mi. Cleveland Museum of Art, viii. Constantinople, discoveries in, xi. Constantinople Museum, viii. Contemporaneous life as reflected in pottery painting, xliv. Cooper Union, xxxiv, l. Coptic inscriptions, xxvu, L. Coptic tapestry, l, 79. Cox, Raymond, xxvu. Court ceremonials and entertainments, LIV. Crane, xxxiv, 187. Crimea, discoveries in, xi. Cufic inscriptions, xi, xm, xxvm, l,76, 79, 87, 88, 91, 101, 105, 113, 115, 119, 123, 125, 131, 133, 143, 151, 171. Curtis, Atherton collection, 134. Cyprus, discoveries in, xi. D Dancing, lix, 203. Daghestan ware, 243. Decorative inscriptions, xxvu. Decorations, relief, 11, ill, viii, xxu, 155, 171, 175, 179, 193, 2 °7- Demavend, discoveries in, vu. DeMorgan, J., vu, x. Diaper patterns, lxvi, 88, 97, 163. Dieulafoy, M., vu, x. Djerablus, discoveries in, ix. Dioscorides, xx, xxi, xlviii, xlix. Doucet Collection, xxxvi, 244. Dress depicted on pottery, xlviii, l. E Eastern Persian School, xx, 244. Egypt, potteries of, 11, xvii, xxxv. Egyptian Technique, 11, III. Egypto-Roman tapestry, xxvu. Enameled Friezes, from Susa, hi. Equestrian Sports, lxv. F Fabulous creatures, xxxm, xxxiv. Falconry, lx, ioi, 116. Falke, Otto Von, xxxiv, l, lxvi. Felt cap, xlix, 115. Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck, lix. Firdusi's poem "The Shahnameh" XXXVIII. t>57] Fish motif, xxxv, 151. Fire Altar, Sassanian, xxvi. Flute, liv. Fogg Museum of Art, xi. Food and table service, xlviii. Fostat in Egypt, ancient capital, x, xi, xvii, 76, 115. Fouquet Collection at Cairo, x. Fresco, iv. Furniture and interiors, xlvii, xlviii. G Galenus, xx, xxi. Ganymede, Sassanian motif, xi. Geometrical interlacings, 111, iv, 105, 115, 147. Ghazan Khan, Mongol ruler, xxu. Ghaznawids, xm, xiv. Glazed potteries first known in Egypt, 11. Glazed pottery, ui. Godman Collection, xxxix. Gold vessels, use of, 115. Gold woven galoons, l. Greco-Roman Pottery, 111, iv. Greek shapes, 11. Griffon, xv,xxxiii,xxxiv,xxxv,xxxvi, Grinnell Collection, xv, xvii. Guebri wares, vu. Guest, A. R., l. Guitar, mi. Gunsaulus Collection, ix, xv. H Halo on pottery, xlix, 88, 115, 123, 125, i7i>i75>244- Hamadan, discoveries in, xu. Hariri, xx, xxi, xxu, 203. Harp, liii, liv, 88, 101, 131, 211, 248. Harpy, xxxm. Harun Al Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad, XII, XIII. Headgear, xlix, 97. Hermitage at Petrograd, xvm, xxvu, 212. Herzfeld, E, vu. Heyd, Dr. Wilhelm, ix. Homberg Collection, 187. Horns, Assyrian motif, xxxvi, 119. Horsemen, 88,97,116,119, 125,163,212. Horse racing, lxv. Hunting, xliv, lx, 116, 123, 143. I Ilkhans, the, xx, xxiv. Incised technique, xu. Inscriptions, decorative, xxvu. INDEX Interlacings, geometrical, III, iv, 105, 115, 147. Interiors and furniture, xlvii. Iridescence in pottery, ix, 80, 83, 203, 211, 243. Islam, earliest monuments of, iv. Islam Empire of, III. Islam pottery relief decorations, 11. Italy, ceramists of, x. Italy, discoveries in southern, xi. J Jami Al Tawarik, xx, liv, 244. K Kalila we Dimna, xxn, 244. Kaiser Friedrich Museum,vni,xii, 212. Kashan wares, 243. Kelekian Collection, xxvu. Kevorkian Collection, xx, 244. Konia Museum, 212. Kremer, A. v., Liu. Kus, discoveries in, ix. L Layard's "Nineveh," xxvi, xxvu, liv. Legends represented on pottery, xxxix. Leopard, xxvu, 116, 179. Lion, xi, xxvi, xxxiii, xxxiv, lxv. Lotus pattern, Chinese, xxxvu. Louvre, Paris, xn, 193. Lustre pottery, origin of, ix. Lyons, Museum, xxvu. M Manafi Al Hayawan, xx, xxi, xxn. Mandolin, mi, liv, 248. Maraga, xiv, xxn, xxiv. Martin, F. R., xxxiv, liv, 88, 212. Max Strauss Collection, 251. McCormick Collection, ix. Medinet ez Zarah, discoveries in, ix. Mesopotamian pottery, m, xn. Metropolitan Museum of Art, vm, xi, XII, xv, xxvu, xxxiii, xxxix, xlix, lix, lxv, 75, 84, 88, 105, 143, 171, 175, 183, 187, 193,200,203. Migeon, Gaston, ix, xxvu, 187, 212, 238, 248. Miniature painting, xviii,xix,xx,xxiv, xliv, lix, lx. Mohammadan Art, in, iv, xxn, xxin, xxvi. Mohammadan conception of pottery,n. Mohammadan pottery, influence of, on Europeans, xxv. Mohammadan Potteries, 1, 11, iv, xix, xxiv, 84, 238. Mohammadan textile art, 97, 203. Mohl, Jules, xxxix. Mongols, xiv, xvi, xx, xxiv, xlviii, LXIX. Mongolian School, xxiv, liii, 244. Monochromes, xv, xvi. Morgan Library, xvin, xxn. Mosque Sidi Okba in Kairouan, tiles in, ix. Mossoul, xlix, 101, 187. Moulded decoration on potteries, xn. Munich Mohammadan exhibition, iv, L, LIX, LX, LXV, 105, 179, 187, 207, 212,238,244,251. Museum in Constantinople, vm. Music and musical instruments, liii. Music Oriental, liv. Mutiaux Collection, xxvu, 237. N Naubat, royal music, liv. Near East, in, vm, xxxvn. Near Eastern pottery,xxv,76,i83, 244. Neskhi inscriptions, xxvin, xxxm, 75, 83,84,91,97, 105, 113, 119, 125, 133, 203, 207, 243. Nineveh, Layard's, xxvi, xxvu, liv. O Opalescence, ix. Opposite symmetrical representation, xxvi,xxxv,io5,i23,i33,i 4 7,i75,i87. Oriental Music, liv. Ornamental plant motives, xxxvi. Overglaze decoration, xvin, xix, 87, 151. P Palmetto ornamentation, xi, xvn, xxxvn, 131, 157. Parthian pottery, m. Peacock, xxxiv, xxxv, 105, 125. Pehlewi inscriptions, xxvin. Peony pattern, Chinese, xxn, xxxvn, 244. Persia, discoveries in, vn. Persian Art, evolution of, xiv, xxiv. Persian costume, xlviii. Persian relief pottery, 203, 211. Persian spirit, reawakening of, xiii. Petrograd, Hermitage, xvin, xxvu, 212. Peytel Collection, xxxiv, liv, lix, 105. Pezard, Maurice, in, vm, x, xi, xn. Phoenix, xxn, 244. Pictorial representations on pottery, xxv. Piet Lataudrie Collection, 187. Plant motives, xxxvn, 211. Platters, silver, iv, xxvn. Platters, bronze, iv. U58] Polo playing, lxv, 211,212. Polychrome decorations, xv, xvin, xix. Polychrome enamel, 247. Polychrome technique, xvin, xix. Pottery, old legends represented on, xxxix. Pottery painter compared with minia- ture painter, xliv. Pottery technique,during classic period in Persia, xvi, 87. Potteries in relief decoration, xxn. Potteries with incised design, xn, xv. Potteries with slip decorations, xvi. Pourtales, Count, Collection, lxv. Pseudo-Pehlewi inscriptions, xxvm. Q Quaia of the Beni Hammad in Algeria, discoveries in ix. Quseir Amra, fresco paintings in, iv. R Raqqa, city of, xn. Raqqa wares, xm, xxvm, 75. Reigen (German dance) lx. Relief decorations, 11, in, vm, xv, xxn. Rhages, destruction of, xiv. Rhages, discoveries on site of, xiv, xvi. Rhages polychrome decorations, xxin. Rhages polychrome technique, xvn,87, 88, 91, 97, 101, 105, 115, 119, 123, I2 5> 133, 139, H3 5 147, 151, 157, 163,171, 179. Rhages pottery, motives employed,xxv, LIII. Riefstahl, R. M., xxxiv. Riviere, Henri, x, xn, xxi, xxxvin, 88, io5, 1 13, 134. J 93> 2 °3, 212, 238, 244. Roman Aretine bowls, 147. Roman pottery, in. Rooster, 244. Rothschild Collections, 248. Ruby lustre, ix. S Saffarids, xm. Samanids, xm, xiv. Samarcand, xm, xxiv. Samarra, city of, vn. Samarra, excavations in vn, vm, ix. Samarra period, xiv, xv. Sambon Collection, 88. Santour, modern Persian musical in- strument, LIV. Sarcophagi, in. Sarre, F., vn, vm, ix, xm, 179, 187. Sassanian costume, l. Sassanian lustre ware, x. Sassanian motives, vn, xxvn, xxxvn. INDEX Sassanian pottery, iv, VII. Sassanian silver plate, xxvn, xxxvn, LXVI. Schiff, Mortimer, Collection, xxi, xxxix 105, 119, 125, 134, 144, 151, 157. School of Bagdad, xx. School of Behzad, lxv. School of the Caliphate, xx. Schulz, Ph. W., xxi, xxxiv, xxxvm, xlix, liv, 105. Sefevi Renaissance, x. Seljuks, xiv. Sgraffito technique, x, xi, xn, xvn, xxiv. Shahs of Khwarizm, xm, xiv. Sidi Okba Mosque, tiles in, ix. Slip, employment of, xvi, xvn. Smirnow, J. I., xxvn, 157. Southern Italy, discoveries in, xi. South Kensington Museum, 251. Sphinx, xxvi, xxxin, xxxiv, 87, 155. Stork, xxxvi. Sultanabad potteries, x, xvi, xxi, xxiv, 76, 244. Sung period in China, xv. Susa, discoveries in, vn. Syria, discoveries in, in. Syro-Egyptian glass bottle, lxv. Syro-Egyptian potteries, xi. T "Tag" on horseback, lxvi. Taherids, xm. Taherid period, xx. Tambourine, liii, liv, 88, 211, 248. Tang period, xv, 244. Tang porcelain, imported into Near East, vin. Textile patterns on Mohammadan pot- teries, LXVI. Textile patterns represented on pottery xxi. Textiles, revolution in design of, lxix. Textiles, Sassanian, iv, xxvi. Throne represented on pottery, xlviii, 115. Tiffany glass, ix. Tiles in Sidi Okba Mosque, ix. Timkin Collection, 203. Tiraz ribbons, l, liii, 88, 101, 105, 119, 123, 244. Tiraz galoons, liii, 175. Transoxiana, xin, xx. Treatise on Automata, xx, liv, 105. Tree of life, xxvi, xxxvi. Turban, xlix. Turkestan, discoveries in, xx. Turkish fez, xlix. U Underglaze decorations, xvn, xvm. Unglazed pottery, xi. V Vapereau Collection, 251. Veramin, discoveries in, xvi. Veramin potteries, x. W Weaves depicted on pottery, lxvi. Wetzel Collection, 88. Willys Collection, 167, 207. Z Zendjan, discoveries in, xn. Zither, liii. [ 2 59} THIS BOOK HAS BEEN PRINTED IN CASLON TYPE BY NORMAN T A. MUNDER & COMPANY IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 3125 01034 4600