拍品專文
Inscription:
Around the neck and body in kufic, possibly repetitions of al-daw[la], 'wealth'
The decoration on the present lot closely resembles that on lot 32 in the present sale, and like it can be described as an example of the Kashan ‘miniature’ style. Its form however is much more unusual, and far better represented by later blue and white examples from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Of them, Arthur Lane comments that they enjoy the ‘peculiar distinction of being almost the only pre-sixteenth century Islamic pottery that has survived above ground since it was made’. They were made to transport fruits and spices, and were referred to by their Arabic name al-birun. This word became corrupted when they were traded with Europeans, and a pot of this type has since been referred to as an 'albarello'. They were particularly associated with apothecaries and widely imitated, and are commonly seen in the Hispano-Moresque pottery as well as Italian majolica.
Other Kashan lustre albarelli are in London, in the collections of the British Museum (acc.no.G.252) and the Victoria & Albert Museum (acc.no.369-1892). Another example which shares its ascending ‘chain’ motifs with ours is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.2013.255).
Around the neck and body in kufic, possibly repetitions of al-daw[la], 'wealth'
The decoration on the present lot closely resembles that on lot 32 in the present sale, and like it can be described as an example of the Kashan ‘miniature’ style. Its form however is much more unusual, and far better represented by later blue and white examples from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Of them, Arthur Lane comments that they enjoy the ‘peculiar distinction of being almost the only pre-sixteenth century Islamic pottery that has survived above ground since it was made’. They were made to transport fruits and spices, and were referred to by their Arabic name al-birun. This word became corrupted when they were traded with Europeans, and a pot of this type has since been referred to as an 'albarello'. They were particularly associated with apothecaries and widely imitated, and are commonly seen in the Hispano-Moresque pottery as well as Italian majolica.
Other Kashan lustre albarelli are in London, in the collections of the British Museum (acc.no.G.252) and the Victoria & Albert Museum (acc.no.369-1892). Another example which shares its ascending ‘chain’ motifs with ours is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.2013.255).