Ewer

Unknown

late 12th–first half 13th century · Stonepaste; underglaze painted in blue, luster-painted on transparent glaze · Islamic Art

Nineteenth-century antiquarians’ fascination with The Thousand and One Nights and its 9th-century protagonist, Harun al‑Rashid, provoked interest in the Syrian city of Raqqa, where this Abbasid caliph once resided, and in the ceramics unearthed there. These prized objects date to the Ayyubid period, however, not Harun’s time. Recent study confirms that Raqqa was an important ceramics center, especially in the first part of the twelfth century, but other centers produced so‑called Raqqa ware as well.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 12th–first half 13th century

Medium

Stonepaste; underglaze painted in blue, luster-painted on transparent glaze

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Henry G. Leberthon Collection, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. A. Wallace Chauncey, 1957