This footed bowl belongs to a common type named after the town of Ar Raqqah, Syria, where it was produced. The design reflects the technical advances in lustre decoration that developed in Cairo and travelled east to Syria in the 12th century.

The technique of lustre decoration on ceramics was first developed in Iraq in the 9th century. Potters made a glazed vessel or tile with little or no decoration in the normal way. When the piece had cooled, they 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.