

An important Raqqa lustre pottery Bowl Syria, late 12th Century
Sold for £4,780 inc. premium
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Provenance:
Debenham Collection;
Robert Strauss Collection.
This superb bowl with its distinctive colour lustre and glaze, is a rare example of Ayyubid lustre production from Syria. The lustre technique is thought to have travelled to Syria with Egyptian craftsmen after the burning of the potters' quarter in Fostat in 1169. In terms of potting, glaze and colour of lustre, this lot resembles so-called "Tell Minis" wares (Venetia Porter and Oliver Watson, "Tell Minis Wares" in Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, Vol. IV, Oxford, 1987, pp. 175-220). The shape and potting are, however, more akin to Raqqa pottery of the 13th Century. It is now thought that the Tell "Minis Group" is an early phase of Raqqa production. For a discussion of Syrian pottery, see Venetia Porter, Medieval Syrian Pottery, Oxford, 1981.