Betrothal Cup

This object, which bears similarities to both Cypriot and Ayyubid Syrian ceramics, is symbolic of the artistic community which dominated the Mediterranean Near-East in the 13th century, linked by Islamic production centres and the objects they made for the Frankish communities that had settled in the Levant.

The large hollow cup with gadrooned exterior, is decorated with the figures of two people whose bodies are partly merged. The man, wearing a small hood, holds a ring with a stone in it in his left hand, while between the fingers of the female figure is a round object. The stripes of the clothing are highlighted with brown glaze, as is the turban of the girl and the flowered vegetation that frames the scene.  The lively impression created by this scene is arresting and accentuated by the depth that the artist has leant to the eyes by underlining them with black glaze.

The technique and the colours used place the piece in the long tradition of ceramics with sgraffito (sgraffiato) decoration, which was manifest in both the Islamic[1] and the Christian[2] worlds. The series of pieces known as from “al-Mina”, a site near to Antioch that was dug up by A. Lane, is close to the technique used here. The Iranian ceramics from Aghkand from the 12^th-13^th century used the same decorative technique. The Christian ceramics from Cyprus, which this cup could be likened to because of the particular characteristics of its decoration, is also made from clay with engraved slip and highlights of glaze. This type of production, which started in the 13^th century is confirmed in a number of centres on the island, such as Lempa, Engomi, or Lapithos.

In 1197, the island of Cyprus was ruled by the Lusignan family who had been kings of Jerusalem until 1189 and who lost the city to Saladin. The existence of metalwork of the  Mameluke type linked to the person of Hugues IV(1324-1359) testifies to the continual cultural and artistic exchanges between Muslim Syria and the island, the last bastion of Christianity in the eastern Mediterranean  after the fall of St John of Acra in 1291.

The theme of betrothal, widespread elsewhere in Islamic art[3], is encountered in Cypriot ceramics from the 13^th-14^th centuries. It seems that it should be related to a Christian iconography that has its roots in western courtly literature, and which was probably symbolic to the identity of the Franks settled in the East. The traditional iconography of the betrothal decoration on the Cypriot  pieces is fairly precise[4]: the protagonists characteristically had curled hair and wore different accessories according to their gender (hose, long pointed shoes, sword with a straight blade for the men; a veil hanging from the back of their heads for the women). The striped clothing was also reminiscent of book illustrations[5], ceramic decoration[6] and contemporary glass.

Branches of vegetation frame the scene perhaps symbolising fertility, unless it was merely a decorative device to fill in the background, very often present on ceramics, metalwork, manuscripts[7] and glass[8] in the 13^th century[9]. The fairly noticeable differences with the accessories and the garb portrayed here, perhaps reveals the hand of someone who is familiar with the theme, but only in a vague manner. The workshop where this piece was made is perhaps Syrian rather than Cypriot. This would testify to a production in the Muslim workshops, destined for the local Christian or Muslim clientele, or for a Frankish clientele. The same liveliness is characteristic elsewhere of Islamic decoration, whether figurative or not, whilst the Cypriot pieces sometimes present a characteristic restraint[10].

[2] Cup with cats, northern Italy, end of 15th century, ceramic with decoration engraved on slip under glaze, Paris, Louvre, inv. OA 5664.

[3]  Cup with a pair of lovers, Iran, Nishapur, 10th-11th c., clay ceramic with slip, slip decoration with pigments under transparent glaze Paris, Louvre, inv. MAO 859. Cup with pair of lovers, Iran, 13th c., siliceous ceramic with Haft Rang decoration, gilded, Washington, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art.

[4] Betrothal cup, 14th c., Salaminia digs, Cyprus, clay paste with slip, engraved decoration under transparent glaze and highlights of transparent glaze, Paris, Louvre, inv. OA 4038.

[5] Dioscorides setting out his teachings, De Materia Medica, Iraq or Syria, 1229, Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayi Müzesi.

[6]Shard bearing a figure and a dog, Syria, end 12th- beg.13th c., siliceous ceramic, polychrome decoration painted under glaze, Paris, Louvre, inv. MAO 1252/6. 

[7]Kalîla wa Dimna, Syria, 1200-1220, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. Arch. 3465, f. 48.

[8]Goblet decorated with Christian images, Syria, towards 1260, blown glass with enamelled and gilt decoration, Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, inv. 47.18.

[9]Cup with archer on horseback, northern Syria, 13th c., clay paste with decoration engraved on slip under clear and tinted transparent glazes, London, British Museum, inv. 1931 7-16 1.

[10] See note 3.