Jug or drinking vessel, fritware, opaque white ware painted in colours (mina'i ware); Iran (probably Kashan), 1175-1200.

Jug convered with an opaque white glaze painted in-glaze blue and turquoise, and red and black enamel. Painted diamond pattern set within two registers of squares on neck, design of arabesques and interlacing on body . Wide opening leading to bulbous body.

Given by the executors of Lady Marling CBE

An example of a distinctive group of mina'i wares which are characterised by a decoration of broad arabesque and interlacing morifs and by a restricted enamel palette (see Arts of Islam, 1976 nos. 353-4; Cobalt and Lustre 1994, nos. 236-7). The blue and turquoise are painted into the raw glaze before firing and the black and red added in a separate firing. Morgan (1994) has divided mina'i wares into three ctaegories; with relief decoration (non-figural), without relief decoration (non-figural) and without relief decoration (figural). This jug falls into the second category. Mina'i wares share three main characteristics. They are made with a white composite fabric; they are covered with an opaque white or occasionally opaque turquoise glaze which reaches the edge of the foot ouside and is applied seperately in the vertical footring and thirdly the polychrome colours are applied over the glaze.

Non-figurative minai'i wares are somewhat rarer than figurative which can be related to mural and manuscript illustration of 12-13th century Iran. Not much is known about the patrons of these wares nor the context in which they were used.

Mina'i

Although the mina'i technique is usually associated with figural imagery, it was also used to create abstract ornamental patterns as seen here. It allowed the artist to make fine lines in several contrasting colors, which meant that patterns of increased complexity were possible. Here the artist has decorated the jug's body with an interlace of vegetal motifs, while the tall neck is covered with a repeating geometric pattern.

C.164-1928