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Lot 187

A rare sgraffiato pottery Jar
probably Al-Mina, 12th Century

10 April 2008, 14:30 BST
London, New Bond Street

£5,000 - £7,000

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A rare sgraffiato pottery Jar
probably Al-Mina, 12th Century

of squat form with bulging sides on a short foot, incised through a white slip with a band of geometric and split-palmette motifs, and a dotted band around the rim, painted in reddish brown slip, the rim with traces of green glaze, the interior incised with radial meandering lines
approx. 19 cm. diam. max, 14.2 cm. high

Footnotes

Al-Mina or Port St Symeon was an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast, north of Syria. At this centre of production, Byzantine craftsmen produced a group of ceramics of Byzantine form, but with Islamic decoration, some of which have kufic style inscriptions. The decoration on the present lot resembles incised wares from 12th Century Persia, examples of which can be found in the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait (see Oliver Watson, Ceramics from Islamic Lands, London, 2004, pp. 268-271).

Additional information