- 138
A Rare and MAGNIFICENT FATIMID BLUE-GROUND LUSTRE POTTERY JAR, EGYPT or Syria, 10th-11th CENTURY
Estimate
200,000 - 300,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- ceramic
of ovoidal shape on a flat base, with a raised band at the shoulder, the body painted in a golden lustre over a lavender-blue glaze, the decoration executed in bands, featuring roundels containing birds and foliate motifs along the wide central row, with a band of geometric shapes below, the two bands on the shoulder and rim with abstract motifs.
Condition
Intact, in good condition, part of blue glaze and lustre decoration still bright, one side with iridescence, including subsequent loss of colour, slight abrasion to rim, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Covered in a lavender blue glaze and painted with a dark golden lustre, this superb jar is a rare example of Fatimid blue-glazed pottery. Whereas there still remain a small group of surviving Fatimid white glazed lustre jars now in a number of institutions, intact models such as this one with a blue glaze are scarcer. Multiple colours can be added to the tin glaze through tinted oxides, resulting in colourful lustres appearing as yellow, olive green, golden brown. The blue colour was probably achieved with the use of copper or cobalt oxides (Soustiel 1985, pp.112-114).
A number of comparable examples are fragmentary, but indicate the depth of colour that could be achieved by using a blue glaze and the variations that this colour took on, from turquoise to grey and lavender, as in the present case. The Benaki Museum in Athens has a large collection of Fatimid fragments, and notably some with a comparable blue glaze and similar decoration. Examples with a blue glaze, lustre painted decor, include fragments of bowls with roundels containing abstract animals and vegetal decoration (Philon 1980, plate XXVVII, fig. 543, inv. no. 250).
The walking bird motif which appears within a band of roundels around the body of the present jar also features on a number of ceramics from this period, notably a shallow bowl in the Benaki Museum in Athens (Philon 1980, p.194, fig.394, inv. no. 215, for more examples, also see: fig.412, 423, 430, 441). The peacock like birds on the present jar and this plate display similar characteristics in their flowing outlines and the stylised flowers that protrude from their heads and beaks. The bird was also used as a decorative motif on other media such as wood, as illustrated on a panel in the Louvre Museum (inv. no. OA 6023) attributed to Egypt, late-ninth/early-tenth century, which features a similar bird, with stylised undulating lines. It is possible that such architectural models served as visual inspiration for ceramic craftsmen (Paris 2012, pp. 102-104).
This tradition continued into the twelfth century, with notable examples of ceramics from Tell Minis and Persia. Lustreware ceramics produced in Tell Minis during this period appear to have been clearly inspired by earlier Fatimid models, with varying blue glazes and painterly decorative motifs. In Persia, the decorative style appears to be inverted, the lustre forming part of the background, bringing forth the blue glaze as the central design. Two bowls now in the Louvre Museum, originally from Persia and dated to the late twelfth century, are representative of this style (inv. no. MAO 92 and MAO 485).
This lot is accompanied by a thermoluminescence analysis report from Oxford Authentication Ltd. confirming the date of manufacture of the present jar.
A number of comparable examples are fragmentary, but indicate the depth of colour that could be achieved by using a blue glaze and the variations that this colour took on, from turquoise to grey and lavender, as in the present case. The Benaki Museum in Athens has a large collection of Fatimid fragments, and notably some with a comparable blue glaze and similar decoration. Examples with a blue glaze, lustre painted decor, include fragments of bowls with roundels containing abstract animals and vegetal decoration (Philon 1980, plate XXVVII, fig. 543, inv. no. 250).
The walking bird motif which appears within a band of roundels around the body of the present jar also features on a number of ceramics from this period, notably a shallow bowl in the Benaki Museum in Athens (Philon 1980, p.194, fig.394, inv. no. 215, for more examples, also see: fig.412, 423, 430, 441). The peacock like birds on the present jar and this plate display similar characteristics in their flowing outlines and the stylised flowers that protrude from their heads and beaks. The bird was also used as a decorative motif on other media such as wood, as illustrated on a panel in the Louvre Museum (inv. no. OA 6023) attributed to Egypt, late-ninth/early-tenth century, which features a similar bird, with stylised undulating lines. It is possible that such architectural models served as visual inspiration for ceramic craftsmen (Paris 2012, pp. 102-104).
This tradition continued into the twelfth century, with notable examples of ceramics from Tell Minis and Persia. Lustreware ceramics produced in Tell Minis during this period appear to have been clearly inspired by earlier Fatimid models, with varying blue glazes and painterly decorative motifs. In Persia, the decorative style appears to be inverted, the lustre forming part of the background, bringing forth the blue glaze as the central design. Two bowls now in the Louvre Museum, originally from Persia and dated to the late twelfth century, are representative of this style (inv. no. MAO 92 and MAO 485).
This lot is accompanied by a thermoluminescence analysis report from Oxford Authentication Ltd. confirming the date of manufacture of the present jar.