Jar

Jar: inverted pear shape, with cylindrical neck, and pronounced, beveled foot. Restoration at lip.
Clay: soft, white.
Glaze: brilliant green-blue, with small areas of iridescence. Thin greenish wash on the base. Decoration: painted in black under glaze.

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Historical period(s)
late 12th-early 13th century
Medium
Stone-paste painted in black under turquoise glaze
Style
Raqqa ware
Dimensions
H x W: 31.1 x 21.6 cm (12 1/4 x 8 1/2 in)
Geography
Syria, Raqqa
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1908.136
On View Location
Freer Gallery 04: Engaging the Senses
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar

Keywords
iridescence, Raqqa ware, Syria
Provenance

To 1908
Vincenzo Marcopoli, Aleppo, Syria, to 1908 [1]

From 1908 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Vincenzo Marcopoli in 1908 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1790, as well as Journal Voucher No. 2, December 1908, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Vincenzo Marcopoli (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

Jar: inverted pear shape, with cylindrical neck, and pronounced, beveled foot. Restoration at lip.
Clay: soft, white.
Glaze: brilliant green-blue, with small areas of iridescence. Thin greenish wash on the base. Decoration: painted in black under glaze.

Label

Before the devastating Mongol invasion in the mid-thirteenth century, the city of Raqqa in northern Syria became an important ceramic center.

This elegant jar is characteristic of one type of ware associated with Raqqa. It is decorated with bold black designs under a transparent turquoise glaze that is often quite thickly applied and appears almost in relief.

Published References
  • Ann C. Gunter. A Collector's Journey: Charles Lang Freer and Egypt. Washington and London, 2002. p. 33, fig. 2.4.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Art of the Arab World. Exh. cat. Washington, 1975. cat. 33, pp. 78-79.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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