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Lot Essay
This bowl relates to a group of about one hundred ceramic vessels consisting of lustre painted and monochrome-glazed, incised and splashed vessels which were found in 1959 in a cave at Tell Minis, a village in the vicinity of Ma'arrat al-Nu'man in Central Syria, between Hama and Aleppo. The Tell Minis finds were 12th century in date, but differed considerably from those known then, such as Egyptian Fatimid wares, Raqqa wares and Persian Rayy and Kashan wares. They did, however, relate to wares found at Hama as suggested by Arthur Lane and Vagn Poulsen, then director of the David Collection, who had published the Hama excavation finds. Already in 1907 Gaston Migeon had suggested a Syrian origin for various items which were related stylistically to the Tell Minis group. Despite this, Tell Minis wares have continued to be attributed to Fatimid Egypt. Recent work on this group has for the first time attempted to identify the characteristics of the vessels belonging to this group (Porter, V. and Watson, O.: "'Tell Minis' Wares", Syria and Iran, Three Studies in Medieval Ceramics, Oxford, 1987, pp. 175-248).
Tell Minis wares comprise fine-grained, dense, hard and pure-white frit bodies, more like Fatimid wares than the coarser later Egyptian and Persian wares. The glaze is usually transparent, but is sometimes opacified when painted in lustre, and it tends to develop a crackle. Glaze and body cling closely together, and the whole body is usually covered by the glaze to just above the foot-ring. The colour of the lustre, where it is used, ranges from a strong orange to a yellow-green, a more commonly found variant. The decoration is mostly painted directly in lustre, rather than in reserve. The painting is executed in rapid strokes, sometimes sketchy, and is stylistically varyied. Motifs range from the human figure, animals, and calligraphic motifs to floral ornament.
Our bowl relates to Tell Minis lustre wares in technical details, shape, size, lustre painting and style. Its body is a fine-grained, whitish frit. The transluscent glaze has developed a wide crackle and covers the body almost completely. The shape of the body and its 23.5cm. diameter correspond to the majority of Tell Minis wares. Its walls rise directly from the foot in a slightly curved fashion. The lustre is of a yellow-greenish tinge and the floral decoration is applied with a rapid movement. Our bowl can be compared with a bowl in the Muse National de Cramique in Svres, depicting a bird set against floral scrolls (Porter and Watson, op. cit., pp. 208 and 225, no. A16). In terms of shape and quality of the lustre comparisons are a calligraphic bowl in the Freer Gallery of Art (Porter and Watson, op. cit., pp. 209 and 227, no. A24) and a bowl depicting a peacock in the Keir Collection (Porter and Watson, op. cit., pp. 208 and 225, no. A18).
It has been argued that Tell Minis wares ultimately are indebted to the potteries of Fatimid Egypt. This is evident in the frit body, the vessel shapes and the lustre decoration. Neither frit nor lustre had been used in Syria before the Fatimid period. Following the tentative chronology for Fatimid ceramics, it has been suggested that the occurrence of frit in Tell Minis wares would point to a 12th century date for the group (Porter and Watson, op. cit., p. 190). The close resemblance between Fatimid wares and Tell Minis wares has been interpreted as a sign that potters from Fatimid Egypt were working in Syria.
This bowl is very similar indeed and must be from the same atelier as another depicting two birds sold in these Rooms, 13 October 1998, lot 256. A further very similar bowl with a single bird is in a private collection in the United States.
Tell Minis wares comprise fine-grained, dense, hard and pure-white frit bodies, more like Fatimid wares than the coarser later Egyptian and Persian wares. The glaze is usually transparent, but is sometimes opacified when painted in lustre, and it tends to develop a crackle. Glaze and body cling closely together, and the whole body is usually covered by the glaze to just above the foot-ring. The colour of the lustre, where it is used, ranges from a strong orange to a yellow-green, a more commonly found variant. The decoration is mostly painted directly in lustre, rather than in reserve. The painting is executed in rapid strokes, sometimes sketchy, and is stylistically varyied. Motifs range from the human figure, animals, and calligraphic motifs to floral ornament.
Our bowl relates to Tell Minis lustre wares in technical details, shape, size, lustre painting and style. Its body is a fine-grained, whitish frit. The transluscent glaze has developed a wide crackle and covers the body almost completely. The shape of the body and its 23.5cm. diameter correspond to the majority of Tell Minis wares. Its walls rise directly from the foot in a slightly curved fashion. The lustre is of a yellow-greenish tinge and the floral decoration is applied with a rapid movement. Our bowl can be compared with a bowl in the Muse National de Cramique in Svres, depicting a bird set against floral scrolls (Porter and Watson, op. cit., pp. 208 and 225, no. A16). In terms of shape and quality of the lustre comparisons are a calligraphic bowl in the Freer Gallery of Art (Porter and Watson, op. cit., pp. 209 and 227, no. A24) and a bowl depicting a peacock in the Keir Collection (Porter and Watson, op. cit., pp. 208 and 225, no. A18).
It has been argued that Tell Minis wares ultimately are indebted to the potteries of Fatimid Egypt. This is evident in the frit body, the vessel shapes and the lustre decoration. Neither frit nor lustre had been used in Syria before the Fatimid period. Following the tentative chronology for Fatimid ceramics, it has been suggested that the occurrence of frit in Tell Minis wares would point to a 12th century date for the group (Porter and Watson, op. cit., p. 190). The close resemblance between Fatimid wares and Tell Minis wares has been interpreted as a sign that potters from Fatimid Egypt were working in Syria.
This bowl is very similar indeed and must be from the same atelier as another depicting two birds sold in these Rooms, 13 October 1998, lot 256. A further very similar bowl with a single bird is in a private collection in the United States.