Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Islamic Ceramics

A select catalogue of the Ashmolean's collection of ceramics from the Islamic world from the 9th to 18th century, by James Allen (published Oxford, 1991).

Islamic ceramics, by James W. Allan

Publications online: 46 objects

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Jug with human-headed spout

  • Literature notes

    Despite the religious prohibition on the making of images, medieval Islamic taste shows a definite tendency towards zoomorphism - the transformation of functional objects into animal forms. Studies of medieval European bronze water-pouring vessels have shown the lion, horsemen and griffin forms most commonly encountered can be traced back to Near Eastern, Islamic metal prototypes. Surviving ceramic examples from the Islamic world include a group of three Syrian thirteenth century fountain-heads, a sphinx, a griffin and a horseman, and a number of pouring vessels from Iran, including oxen and seated lions. The small camel illustrated here appears to have been purely ornamental, as is a fine white-glazed figure of an ox from Syria (Victoria and Albert Museum) and a series of medieval Persian or Syrian ornamental figurines showing a woman and child. All are part of this same zoomorphic tradition, however.

    The camel [EA1984.31] is highly iridescent through burial in the ground, but appears to have been a blue and black design painted under glaze. It is a Bactrian, two-humped camel, common in Central Asia, rather than the single-humped Arabian dromedary. The load appears to consist of neat lengths of wood, carefully tied together in bundles. They could be part of a Turcoman, white felt tent (yurt) on the move, and the attractive possibility then arises of a set of ornamental camels each laden with the different parts of such a yurt.

    As common as complete animal forms for objects, was the use of human or animal heads for the mouths of jugs or ewers. The mouth of the jug (no. 21 [EA1978.1675]) is in human form, but could be the head of a sphinx. If so, it may well be designed to bring good luck to the owner, a role played by sphinxes throughout the early Islamic period. The inscription is illegible but would probably have suggested the repetitive good wishes commonly used to decorate early Islamic objects.

    [Bibliographic references:]
    E.C. Dodd, On the origins of medieval Dinaderie: the equestrian statue in Islam, Art Bulletin vol. 51 (1969) pp.220 – 232.
  • Details

    Associated place
    Asia Iran (place of creation)
    Date
    late 13th century - early 14th century
    Ilkhanid Period (1256 - 1353)
    Material and technique
    fritware, with decoration in lustre over a blue glaze
    Dimensions
    21.5 cm (height)
    12.5 cm max. (diameter)
    Material index
    Technique index
    coveredcoated glazed,
    Object type index
    containervessel jug
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Gift of Gerald Reitlinger, 1978.
    Accession no.
    EA1978.1675
  • Further reading

    Allan, James W., Islamic Ceramics, Ashmolean-Christie's Handbooks (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1991), no. 21 on p. 36, illus. p. 37

Glossary (3)

fritware, glaze, lustre

  • fritware

    Ceramic material composed of ground quartz and small quantities of clay and finely ground frit (frit is obtained by pouring molten glass into water).

  • glaze

    Vitreous coating applied to the surface of a ceramic to make it impermeable or for decorative effect.

  • lustre

    Metallic sheen obtained by applying a mixture of metallic oxides onto an already glazed ceramic that is refired at a reduced atmosphere.

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

  • Islamic ceramics, by James W. Allan

    Islamic Ceramics

    Despite the religious prohibition on the making of images, medieval Islamic taste shows a definite tendency towards zoomorphism - the transformation of functional objects into animal forms. Studies of medieval European bronze water-pouring vessels have shown the lion, horsemen and griffin forms most commonly encountered can be traced back to Near Eastern, Islamic metal prototypes. Surviving ceramic examples from the Islamic world include a group of three Syrian thirteenth century fountain-heads, a sphinx, a griffin and a horseman, and a number of pouring vessels from Iran, including oxen and seated lions. The small camel illustrated here appears to have been purely ornamental, as is a fine white-glazed figure of an ox from Syria (Victoria and Albert Museum) and a series of medieval Persian or Syrian ornamental figurines showing a woman and child. All are part of this same zoomorphic tradition, however.

    The camel [EA1984.31] is highly iridescent through burial in the ground, but appears to have been a blue and black design painted under glaze. It is a Bactrian, two-humped camel, common in Central Asia, rather than the single-humped Arabian dromedary. The load appears to consist of neat lengths of wood, carefully tied together in bundles. They could be part of a Turcoman, white felt tent (yurt) on the move, and the attractive possibility then arises of a set of ornamental camels each laden with the different parts of such a yurt.

    As common as complete animal forms for objects, was the use of human or animal heads for the mouths of jugs or ewers. The mouth of the jug (no. 21 [EA1978.1675]) is in human form, but could be the head of a sphinx. If so, it may well be designed to bring good luck to the owner, a role played by sphinxes throughout the early Islamic period. The inscription is illegible but would probably have suggested the repetitive good wishes commonly used to decorate early Islamic objects.

    [Bibliographic references:]
    E.C. Dodd, On the origins of medieval Dinaderie: the equestrian statue in Islam, Art Bulletin vol. 51 (1969) pp.220 – 232.
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