Lot Essay
White wares were introduced to Persia probably in imitation of the Ting Chinese Wares carved in shallow relief under a plain white glaze. The Persian examples, when in the form of jugs, were made using a two-part mould. Generally they are very static in composition, often with simple large inscriptions. When they are figural, usual examples have the figures conceived as separate images against a foliate ground (Pope, A.U.: A Survey of Persian Art, London, 1938, pls.759-764 etc.). A rarer form is that where the moulded figures are set against a pierced ground. Examples of this type were discovered in the Gurgan finds (Bahrami, M.: Gurgan Faiences, Cairo, 1949, pl.IV for example) and are thus dateable to just before the Mongol invasion in 1220. When this piercing occurs, the decoration is restricted to a single band of figures on an otherwise plain ground. Lot 169 in this sale is a further example of this latter group.
In the present jug, not only does the figural scene cover the entire body of the vessel, but also the ground throughout is pierced. What is even more remarkable here is the painterly way in which the hunting scene is depicted. Many of the animals overlap each other and have a great urgency in their movement. There is also no seam showing where the two halves of the mould would have joined, adding to the continuity of the design. There is also very considerable delicacy shown in the depiction of some of the smaller motifs such as the bows of the mounted archers and the legs of the deer. This is visible even though the thickness of the glaze by its very nature blurs the definition of the original design. No surviving miniature of the period better conveys the energy and excitement of a hunt on full chase.
Such a vessel would have been very liable to destruction in the kiln. The different thicknesses in the moulding and pierced areas, coupled with the general weakness of the pierced structure, would explain why no other vessels of this type have survived. Even more surprising then is its present condition. To judge from the iridesence, this was buried, unlike the Gurgan pieces, without the protection of a large storage jar. For it to have survived with the body intact is remarkable indeed.
In the present jug, not only does the figural scene cover the entire body of the vessel, but also the ground throughout is pierced. What is even more remarkable here is the painterly way in which the hunting scene is depicted. Many of the animals overlap each other and have a great urgency in their movement. There is also no seam showing where the two halves of the mould would have joined, adding to the continuity of the design. There is also very considerable delicacy shown in the depiction of some of the smaller motifs such as the bows of the mounted archers and the legs of the deer. This is visible even though the thickness of the glaze by its very nature blurs the definition of the original design. No surviving miniature of the period better conveys the energy and excitement of a hunt on full chase.
Such a vessel would have been very liable to destruction in the kiln. The different thicknesses in the moulding and pierced areas, coupled with the general weakness of the pierced structure, would explain why no other vessels of this type have survived. Even more surprising then is its present condition. To judge from the iridesence, this was buried, unlike the Gurgan pieces, without the protection of a large storage jar. For it to have survived with the body intact is remarkable indeed.