Baluster Vase

The shape of the vase is known as baluster: the cylindrical neck, relatively short, is rimmed with an everted lip that juts out; the rounded shoulder gently slopes away into a large pyriform or pear-shaped body; the base is flat and circular and outlined by a small rim. The finish, lustre on a cobalt blue background, is arranged in bands separated by coloured borders. An inscription in Nashkî runs around the shoulder and repeats itself low down around the belly of the body. Two-thirds of the body carries an inscription in a fine knotted Kufic. Behind this inscription and on the neck of the vase are finely scrolled leaved shoots, in a spirited style characteristic of Syrian ware.

Vases of a similar form existed already under the Parthians and the Sassinids, as shown by the digs in Susa in Iran. The tradition was perpetuated in Islamic culture, under the Fatimid[1] Caliphate in Egypt, in Seljuk Iran and also in Northern Ayyubid Syria. The form was also exploited in metal as shown by the celebrated Barberini Vase in the Louvre museum. During the Mamluk era (1250-1517), these vases took on a squatter silhouette of which a characteristic example is the vase in the al-Sabah collection.

These jars were commonly used for the storage and transport of commodities such as spices, ointments and pharmaceutical substances.  The glazed ceramic protected these products from light, heat and humidity. The jutting lip of the vase allowed the mouth to be sealed by means of a cloth with a cord tightened around it. The Mamluk dynasty, which dominated the trade in the Mediterranean, developed its exports to Europe considerably. These vases with “exotic” forms and decoration enhanced the value and mystery attached to the products they contained. Many of the inventories of the period give us information about the distribution of these vases, commonly known as “Damascus ware”: the inventory of the King of France, Charles V, mentions in 1380 “a pot from Damascus filled with fresh ginger”; the apothecary in Barcelona had for his part  “59 pots from Domas” in 1364. These vases were also appreciated for their aesthetic value and influenced European potters[2] considerably. Stored for a long period in palaces and dispensaries, they were rediscovered at the end of nineteenth century, notably in Italy and Sicily.

A number of baluster vases exist, of different sizes and decorated by various methods. This one, from the al-Sabah collection, belongs to a small but prestigious series; a dozen vases and albarelles (vessels for storing medicines and ointments) with a lustre finish from the Mamluk workshops, preserved intact. The siliceous clay allowed the potter to build relatively delicate pieces. In the majority of cases, the golden lustre, tending sometimes towards a greenish tone, was overlaid with a cobalt blue glaze.  The decoration of these pieces is often calligraphic, but you can also see birds in flight, peacocks and phoenixes inspired by the Iranian repertory, on backgrounds of leaves or interlaced palmettes.

Traditionally, it is agreed that ceramic lustre production had ceased in Cairo after the arrival of Saladin (1171) to the benefit of the workshops in Northern Syria, where production was concentrated in Damascus following the Mongol invasions (1259). This activity lasted until the fire in the potters’ quarter in Damascus, set by Timor (Tamerlane) in 1401. The vase in the al-Sabah collection, with its inscription mentioning Damascus, as well as the inventories from Medieval Europe, helps support this hypothesis. However, following the discovery in Cairo of ceramic lustre shards of the Ayyubid and Mamluk type[3], and after the discovery of evidence of the continuation of ceramic production (although not lustre) in Damascus after the destruction by Timur, it would seem that the situation is more complex and that the role of Egypt in this production must be taken into account.

[2] Cf. earthenware jar bearing the arms of the Abbot of  Santes Creus Jaume Valls, 1534-60, Museum of Ceramics,  Barcelona.

[3] Mostafa, M., 1955 ; Lane, A., 1971.