Dish
1150-1200 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
About 1050, Egyptian potters found a new way to imitate Chinese porcelain. They created fritware, a white ceramic body made from ground pebbles or sand, small quantities of white clay and the glassy substance called 'frit'. The whitening effect of tin glaze was no longer needed, and transparent or coloured glazes were used instead.
Fritware was used for all later luxury wares made in the Middle East, including those decorated with lustre.
Fritware was used for all later luxury wares made in the Middle East, including those decorated with lustre.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Fritware painted in gold lustre over the glaze |
| Brief description | Fritware dish painted in gold lustre on a transparent glaze, found at Tell Minis, made in Syria (probably Raqqah), 1150-1200 |
| Physical description | Fritware dish painted in gold lustre over a transparent glaze. |
| Gallery label | DISH
Fritware painted in gold lustre on a transparent glaze
SYRIAN (said to have been found in Syria); second half of the 12th century(Used until 11/2003) |
| Credit line | Purchased with Art Fund support and the Byran Bequest |
| Object history | Found at Tell Minis in Syria, which gives its name to a particularly fine type of fritware. |
| Production | Found at Tell Minis in Syria. |
| Summary | About 1050, Egyptian potters found a new way to imitate Chinese porcelain. They created fritware, a white ceramic body made from ground pebbles or sand, small quantities of white clay and the glassy substance called 'frit'. The whitening effect of tin glaze was no longer needed, and transparent or coloured glazes were used instead. Fritware was used for all later luxury wares made in the Middle East, including those decorated with lustre. |
| Bibliographic reference | Lane, Arthur. Early Islamic Pottery. London: Faber and Faber, 1947. 52p., ill. pp. 22-3, plate 28B |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.50-1952 |
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| Record created | November 7, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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