Goblet with bird and goblet with figure

These two goblets are decorated using the sgraffiato technique: the pattern is incised into an engobe, then covered with yellow glaze, with touches of brown and green. One has a depiction of a wading bird, probably a heron, surrounded by leaves. This bird, which was associated with the resurrection of Osiris, was greatly prized in Ancient Egypt and widely represented in the art of that period. It is also present in Roman art, where it is found engraved on silver goblets. In China, it is a symbol of purity and longevity. During the Byzantine period, herons were featured in the mosaics of San Vitale in Ravenna (sixth century) and on many twelfth century ceramic goblets. Aquatic birds were greatly prized in falconry, as attested by a chapter devoted to them in a treatise on falconry by Frederick II (1215-1250). In Islamic countries, they are found on ceramics[1], fabrics, or in manuscripts such as those of the Kalîla wa Dimna[2] fables.

The second goblet is decorated with a figure holding a glass in his right hand. There is a bottle to the right of the figure and a small flower under his right arm. He is wearing a garment with tiraz bands on the sleeves and a wide belt. He may be a cup-bearer, given that he is standing, whereas drinkers are often depicted in a seated position in Islamic ceramic. This image may be linked to scenes of princely pleasures, drinking being abundantly depicted in Abbasid and Fatimid ceramics, as well as in manuscripts and on metal and ivory objects.

Often described as modest and common, ceramics with ornamentations incised and champlevé into engobe then covered with transparent or coloured glaze are the product of a technique that is as complex as it is varied. It attests to the know-how of the potters in the Islamic world who, from the Abbasid period, were inspired by the Chinese ceramics of T’ang Dynasty (618-907) and the Liao Dynasty (907-1125), called sancai (three colours), whose ornamentation is engraved under transparent coloured glazes. Furthermore, the influence of the Chinese sgraffiato ceramics, of the Song Dynasty produced in Mei-p’ing and Tzu Chu, on the pottery of Central Iran becomes evident as from the Seljukide period in the second half of the eleventh century. According to R. Schnyder, this influence is a consequence of the major influx of Turk tribes who settled in Iran, Anatolia, and on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, because similar ceramics are found in Syria and Antakya after the Seljukide conquests. Ceramics with patterns engraved into engobe and painted (most often with engobe) were very popular in Egypt during the Mamluk period, where they were often characterised by the use of heraldic inscriptions and insignia. This technique was also greatly prized in Byzantium as from the twelfth century, after the arrival of the Seljukide in Anatolia, and it is also found in the Frankish kingdoms. It spread to Greece and Cypress, and then to Italy, especially Forli and the Venice region in the fourteenth century[3]. However, it was during the Renaissance, in Northern Italy, that pieces of pottery with sgraffiato ornamentation would reach their highest quality.

These two objects seem to be linked to a group of ceramics dating back to the thirteenth century which spread throughout the sites on the east coast of the Mediterranean, as attested by digs conducted on several Syrian sites[4]. Some doubt remains as to the origin of these goblets: were they produced locally or imported from another site on the Syrian coast?

[1] Goblet with stylised wading bird, Transoxiana, X^th-XI^th century, Paris, Louvre Museum, MAO 32; bottom of wading bird dish, Egypt, XI^th-XII^th century, ceramic with metallic lustre ornamentation, Cairo, Museum of Islamic Art, (without inventory number). 

[2] Kalîla wa Dimna, 1200-1220, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. Arabe 3465, fol. 57 r, "Le crabe et le cormoran".

[3] Bowl with mystical lamb, Sèvres, Musée national de céramique, 22419.

[4] Lane digs at Al-Mina, Riis and Poulsen digs at Hama, Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi digs.