Bowl thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Islamic Middle East, Room 42, The Jameel Gallery

Bowl

late 17th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The decoration on this bowl is a combination of dense lustre applied over clear and cobalt blue glazes. This is a feature of many lustre wares produced in Iran during the period 1650-1700.

Around 1650, a group of Iranian potters revived the technique of lustre decoration. First the potter made a glazed vessel or tile with little or no decoration in the normal way. When the piece had cooled, the potter painted a design over the glaze in metallic compounds. The pot or tile was then fired again, this time with a restricted supply of oxygen. In these conditions, the metallic compounds broke down, and a thin deposit of copper or silver was left on the surface of the glaze. When polished, this surface layer reflected the light.

This technique had not been used on any scale in Iran for three centuries. We do not know how the technique was revived, or where the potters produced their distinctive wares.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Fritware, underglaze and lustre decoration
Brief description
Lustre bowl with a depiction of a peacock in the centre, Iran, late 17th century.
Physical description
Reddish-brown lustre dish on cream glaze. In the centre is a peacock, surrounded by flowers. Around the rim is a rope style pattern and a more abstract geometric design.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 18.1cm
  • Height: 7.8cm
Style
Gallery label
Jameel Gallery Safavid Lustre About 1650, a group of Safavid potters revived the technique of lustre decoration. This had not been used on any scale in Iran for three centuries. It is not known how the technique was revived, or where the potters produced their distinctive wares. The 17th-century lustre ware included a wide range of small vessels. The dense lustre decoration was applied over clear or cobalt blue glazes. The two are often combined on the same piece. 22–26 Lustre Bowl, Goblet, Bottle, Pot and Ewer Iran 1650–1700 Fritware with lustre over clear and coloured glazes Museum nos. C.1965-1910, Bequest of George Salting; 557-1889; C.59-1952, Purchased with the assistance of the National Art Collections Fund and the Bryan Bequest; 561-1889; 924-1876 (2006)
Credit line
Salting Bequest
Historical context
The designs of Safavid lustre owe nothing to the Chinese, but are purely Iranian. Their source is not precisely identifiable, the motifs are a mixture of the sort of decoration found in contemporary manuscript illumination, see Pope (1939; pls 892-93, 896-98. 974-75 etc.) and designs developed specifically for ceramics, such as the arabesques and floral designs found on slip-painted wares (cat. U.25.U26). The relationship ends there though. The range of shapes, the materials and details of making indicate that it is a separate production.
Summary
The decoration on this bowl is a combination of dense lustre applied over clear and cobalt blue glazes. This is a feature of many lustre wares produced in Iran during the period 1650-1700.

Around 1650, a group of Iranian potters revived the technique of lustre decoration. First the potter made a glazed vessel or tile with little or no decoration in the normal way. When the piece had cooled, the potter painted a design over the glaze in metallic compounds. The pot or tile was then fired again, this time with a restricted supply of oxygen. In these conditions, the metallic compounds broke down, and a thin deposit of copper or silver was left on the surface of the glaze. When polished, this surface layer reflected the light.

This technique had not been used on any scale in Iran for three centuries. We do not know how the technique was revived, or where the potters produced their distinctive wares.
Bibliographic reference
Caiger-Smith, Alan Lustre Pottery: Technique, Tradition and Innovation in Islam and the Western World, London, 1985, p. 197.
Collection
Accession number
C.1965-1910

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Record createdFebruary 24, 2005
Record URL
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