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

The Mongol armies of Genghis Khan invaded China and swiftly moved through Central Asia into the Islamic heartland in the 1220s. By the middle of the century, they had occupied a vast area extending from the Caucasus to Central Asia. Political stability in the region was restored in the second half of the century, allowing intense trade and exchange throughout Asia.

The Islamic pottery of this period is distinctive in its robust shapes, often sombre colouring and new motifs. Patterns of Chinese origin like lotuses, phoenixes and dragons were copied from textiles and other objects arriving from the Far East. They became an integral part of the decoration on all arts of the Islamic Middle East.

Bowl with foliate decoration (EA1978.1633)   Dish with panel decoration (EA1978.1609)   Bowl with vegetal decoration and central rosette (EA1978.1640)

Jug with floral and geometric decoration (EA1956.54)   Bowl with vegetal decoration in radial panels (EA1978.1595)   Jug with panel decoration (EA1978.1658)   Dish with hares against a foliate background (EA1978.2316)

Bowl with flying phoenix and vegetal decoration (EA1978.1649)   Bowl with flying phoenixes against a foliate background (EA1978.1637)   Bowl with flying phoenixes against a foliate background (EA1956.59)

Bowl with lotus blossom (EA1978.1671)   Bowl with lotuses and leaves (EA1978.1619)

Albarello, or storage jar, with vegetal and epigraphic decoration (EA1978.1683)   Dish with central six-pointed star and concentric bands of geometric decoration (EA1978.1610)