A Large Fatimid white-ground lustre pottery jar, Egypt, 10th/11th century

of ovoidal shape on a flat base, with a raised band at the shoulder, the short inward-sloping neck with everted rim, the body painted in a golden lustre over an opaque white glaze with a band of foliated Kufic script around the neck and in vertical bands on the body alternating with foliate decoration, the interior glazed

In general good condition, damages to the neck, infilled and overpainted, some iridescence to surface, as viewed.
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inscriptions

On the body: Repeat of possibly:
al-‘izz ….
‘Glory ….’

Around the neck:  Repeat of one word or a short phrase: undeciphered.

This superb jar belongs to a small group of surviving Fatimid lustre jars, published examples of which are presently in the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, the Benaki Museum, Athens, the Aga Khan Collection, Toronto, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, inter alia.

The jar in the Al-Sabah collection (inv. no. LNS 293 C) was one of the first Fatimid lustre pieces to have been published. Oliver Watson, in his catalogue of the ceramics in the Kuwait National Museum, re-iterates Dikran Kelekian’s original remarks on the piece from 1910: "Found at Old Cairo. Eleventh Century. Made of coarse clay with an uneven mottled surface, but a fine lustre. Handsome, bold decoration in brown tones on an ivory ground, foliage forming medallions in which are enclosed birds holding branches and leaves in their beaks. Possibly the birds are intended to represent the crow, which was the emblem of Old Cairo. A very effective and important piece and one of the few perfect specimens of Fustat pottery in existence” (Watson 2004, p.279, no Cat.Ja.6).

The bulk of extant Fatimid lustre pottery is fragmentary and intact pieces are exceptionally rare. The jar in the Benaki Museum, Athens, presents an interesting, albeit restored example, inv. no. ΓΕ 6871 (Illustrated in Philon 1980, p. 182, pl.XII, fig. 363). Both jars follow a similar ornamental scheme in which the decoration is divided into vertical bands with alternating, repeated designs as described by Helen Philon (Philon 1980, p.174). The dominant motif on both jars is the palmette, a particular interest that can be attributed to an influence coming from woodcarvings with similar forms dating to the early eleventh century (Philon 1980, p.165). The delicate use of lustre on the present jar gives it a painterly quality which highlights the natural, spontaneous vegetal forms depicted.

The jar in the Aga Khan Collection (published in: Makariou, Sophie (ed.), Chefs-d’oeuvre islamiques de l’Aga Khan Museum, Musée du Louvre, 5 October-7 January 2008, pp.186-7, no.67), on the other hand, is decorated with horizontal bands, and features calligraphy as a principal motif against a geometric ground.  It presents a unique example of such decoration, particularly as it is in intact condition. The script on the Aga Khan jar is highly idiosyncratic and can be likened to the script on the present jar in the looping characteristic of some of the letter ends and in the accentuation of the letter endings with palmettes or as in the present jar, with scrolling tendrils.

The fourth notable example is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. C.48-1952). On this jar, the shape varies slightly from the previous models, and it is decorated to the neck with a band of fish, whose iconography may derive from various sources, notably Abbasid wares.  The central band to the body still features the palmette motifs also found on the other two jars, stylised and almost resembling hearts.

This lustre jar, along with the others mentioned above, needs to be seen in the context of the earlier phase of lustre production under the Abbasids and the new phase which flowed from the expansion and enrichment of the Fatimid dynasty. Presented as regional challengers to the Abbasid empire, the Fatimids' conquest of Egypt and subsequent creation of Cairo, or al-Qahira, ‘the triumphant’, as their new capital in 973 AD, brought this new imperial power into direct competition with the Abbasid court at Baghdad. The period of prosperity which followed saw the rise of Cairo as a centre for trade, attracting craftsmen from around the region, and, notably, lustre potters from Iraq. A lustre jar now in the David Collection, Copenhagen (inv.no.28/1971) dated to Iraq, tenth century, displays a number of similarities with Fatimid lustreware from Egypt which further reveals the connection and competition between both courts. This jar exemplifies the magnificence of the lustre pottery technique which reached its height in the eleventh century, reflecting the power and patronage of the Fatimid empire.