.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
With its boldly conceived central creature picked out in brilliant cobalt-blue and turquoise, this large dish is a particularly striking example of the rare group of polychrome ceramics known variously as laqabi or lakabi ware. The term, traditionally associated with the Persian la’abi, ‘glazed’ or ‘enamelled’, describes a distinctive technique in which the stone paste body was deeply carved and incised, the resulting ridges separating the coloured glazes during firing and creating an effect reminiscent of cloisonné.
The origins of lakabi ware have long been debated. Once attributed principally to Iran, archaeological and technical evidence has increasingly associated the group with Syria and Egypt. Discussing a particularly close dish in the al-Sabah Collection, Oliver Watson notes the discovery of lakabi sherds of both Tell Minis and Raqqa types in Syria, but importantly observes that none was found amongst the extensive industrial waste excavated at Raqqa, though they have been reported from Balis Meskene. He also draws attention to evidence for related production in Egypt, whilst questioning the traditional attribution of such wares to Iran (Oliver Watson, Ceramics from Islamic Lands, London, 2004, cat. K.2, p.291). More recently, Abd Al Khalik Ali Abd Al Khalik Al Sheikha has returned to the question of the origin of lakabi ware, arguing for its emergence in Egypt and subsequent production in Ayyubid Syria, notably at Raqqa “A New Look on the Ceramic Called Al-Laqabi”, Majallat al-Khalij lil-Tarikh wa’l-Athar, no.18, April 2023, pp.255-93.
The Al-Sabah dish provides an especially compelling comparison for the present example. At 35.6cm. diameter, it is similarly monumental in scale to the present 32.5cm. dish and shares its broad, shallow profile, flat everted rim, low foot and dramatically isolated central fantastic creature. Watson relates its shape and quality to the 12th-century Tell Minis group rather than the later Raqqa wares (op. cit., cat. K.2, p.291). A related dish with a centrally placed bird in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1979.210), is attributed to Syria, 12th century; the Museum notes that the ware was formerly attributed to Iran but that more recent evidence supports a Syrian origin. A further comparison is provided by the dish with two birds in the Toledo Museum of Art (1941.24), 28.3cm. diam., similarly attributed to 12th-century Syria.
The fantastic creature at the centre of the present dish, previously identified as a griffin, belongs to the repertory of heraldically conceived birds and animals characteristic of the group. Its powerful hooked head, sweeping wing and curling appendages are given unusual monumentality by the almost empty ground, while the isolated cobalt motifs around the rim echo its brilliant colouring. The combination of imposing scale, vigorous carving and remarkably economical decoration places this dish amongst the more ambitious surviving examples of lakabi ware.
The origins of lakabi ware have long been debated. Once attributed principally to Iran, archaeological and technical evidence has increasingly associated the group with Syria and Egypt. Discussing a particularly close dish in the al-Sabah Collection, Oliver Watson notes the discovery of lakabi sherds of both Tell Minis and Raqqa types in Syria, but importantly observes that none was found amongst the extensive industrial waste excavated at Raqqa, though they have been reported from Balis Meskene. He also draws attention to evidence for related production in Egypt, whilst questioning the traditional attribution of such wares to Iran (Oliver Watson, Ceramics from Islamic Lands, London, 2004, cat. K.2, p.291). More recently, Abd Al Khalik Ali Abd Al Khalik Al Sheikha has returned to the question of the origin of lakabi ware, arguing for its emergence in Egypt and subsequent production in Ayyubid Syria, notably at Raqqa “A New Look on the Ceramic Called Al-Laqabi”, Majallat al-Khalij lil-Tarikh wa’l-Athar, no.18, April 2023, pp.255-93.
The Al-Sabah dish provides an especially compelling comparison for the present example. At 35.6cm. diameter, it is similarly monumental in scale to the present 32.5cm. dish and shares its broad, shallow profile, flat everted rim, low foot and dramatically isolated central fantastic creature. Watson relates its shape and quality to the 12th-century Tell Minis group rather than the later Raqqa wares (op. cit., cat. K.2, p.291). A related dish with a centrally placed bird in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1979.210), is attributed to Syria, 12th century; the Museum notes that the ware was formerly attributed to Iran but that more recent evidence supports a Syrian origin. A further comparison is provided by the dish with two birds in the Toledo Museum of Art (1941.24), 28.3cm. diam., similarly attributed to 12th-century Syria.
The fantastic creature at the centre of the present dish, previously identified as a griffin, belongs to the repertory of heraldically conceived birds and animals characteristic of the group. Its powerful hooked head, sweeping wing and curling appendages are given unusual monumentality by the almost empty ground, while the isolated cobalt motifs around the rim echo its brilliant colouring. The combination of imposing scale, vigorous carving and remarkably economical decoration places this dish amongst the more ambitious surviving examples of lakabi ware.