Vase thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Vase

14th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Egypt (made)
Syria (made)

This impressive piece is one of a group of storage jars. They were made in either Syria or Egypt during the reign of the Mamluk dynasty.

It is decorated in blue and black under a transparent glaze. The jar is covered with ornamental patterns of a long-established kind, with compartments of various shapes containing prominent vegetal forms.

Object details

Categories
Ceramics
Africa
Object type
Vase
Materials and techniques
Fritware painted in underglaze colours
Brief description
Storage jar with black and blue decoration in a compartmentalized design, Egypt or Syria, 14th century.
Physical description
Tall ceramic storage vase painted in underglaze black and blue, the design consisting of compartments of various shapes containing prominent vegetal forms.
Dimensions
  • Height: 39cm
  • Diameter: 26.5cm
Style
Mamluk
Gallery label
(Jameel Gallery)
Jameel Gallery

2-3 Storage Jars
Egypt or Syria
1300-1400

The jar on the right has ornamental patterns of a long-established kind. In the jar on the left, these have been displaced by schematic inscriptions in Arabic. The most prominent is the repetition of a single word meaning 'glory'.

Fritware painted under the glaze

Museum nos. 483, 618-1864
(Old gallery label)
JAR
White earthenware painted in underglaze blue and black.
SYRIAN; 14th century
Summary
This impressive piece is one of a group of storage jars. They were made in either Syria or Egypt during the reign of the Mamluk dynasty.

It is decorated in blue and black under a transparent glaze. The jar is covered with ornamental patterns of a long-established kind, with compartments of various shapes containing prominent vegetal forms.
Bibliographic references
  • Lane, Arthur. Later Islamic Pottery. London: Faber and Faber, 1957. 133p., ill. Page 17, plate 10
  • p.89, fig.14 Gayraud, Roland-Pierre, 'Ceramics in the Mamluk Empire: An Overview' in Doris Behrens-Abouseif (ed.), The Arts of the Mamluks in Egypt and Syria- Evolution and Impact, (Bonn University Press, Goettingen), 2012. ISBN. 9783899719154
  • Boehm, B. D., and Holcomb, M. (eds.) Jerusalem 1000-1400: Every People Under Heaven (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) 2016. pp.39-41
Collection
Middle East Section
Accession number
618-1864

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Record createdNovember 18, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O85918/vase-unknown/
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