Arabic and Pseudo Arabic Carpet
1 media/Arabic and Pseudo Arabic Rug_thumb.png 2022-11-14T18:49:17-08:00 Abigail Koczko 64292fb6d9ec48a944d80c9b5c10c6d257aea1f9 39447 1 Carpet with Pseudo-Kufic Inscriptions. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Islamic Art. 17th Century. Turkey. 22.100.123 © The Metropolitan Museum of Art plain 2022-11-14T18:49:17-08:00 Abigail Koczko 64292fb6d9ec48a944d80c9b5c10c6d257aea1f9This page is referenced by:
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2022-06-15T11:40:10-07:00
Why was this made, and how was it used?
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Abigail Koczko
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2023-01-15T08:18:29-08:00
The “why”:
This bowl was made to imitate traditional Islamic art bearing an Arabic inscription. Arabic inscriptions in Islamic art were not uncommon, for the language was very important to Muslims. This pseudo-Arabic text, however, visually resembles Arabic but does not convey any legible meaning in that language.
A small number of traditional Islamic art pieces included pseudo-Arabic as a protective element. As seen in the prayer rug featured below, the right side has pseudo-Arabic to prevent people from stepping on the Arabic around the other three edges of the rug. This pseudo-Arabic was intentionally put into the rug as a protective mechanism.
The ceramic bowl in question would not have used the pseudo form of Arabic as a protective element. The bowl was for decorative purposes. This suggests that the bowl was decorated by an artist who was not literate in Arabic, but who admired the Arabic language and Islamic artwork. That artist might have been a Muslim or a Byzantine or a crusader.
The “how”:
Most early ceramic vessels were used for food or everyday household use. However, some pottery transitioned from being practical to being aesthetically pleasing. These elite ceramic pieces required considerable time and effort, including monetary investments, to create. The “Byzantine or Crusader Bowl" would have been primarily used as a decoration in one’s home or in another kind of setting, perhaps even a church. It would not have been been heavily used for serving food or other practical purposes, for the lustreware would degrade, and the piece would lose its value.
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2022-06-15T11:39:04-07:00
What is this?
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plain
2022-11-16T10:04:29-08:00
This is a restored ceramic bowl made during the 13th-14th Century in the Byzantine Empire. The most prominent feature of the bowl is the pseudo-Arabic inscription on the inner-quartered section of the bowl. The bowl has pale colored body, with a white slip and iridescent luster. The blue cobalt decoration stands out in the inner quarters. The psuedo Arabic inscription on the inner section of the bowl suggests it is a Byzantine, Crusader, or Frankish imitation of Islamic art.
Traditional Arab pottery is marked with a variety of shapes, naturally occurring hues, and most notably deep blue, turquoise, copper greens and earth reds. This ceramic bowl encompasses all aspects of traditional Islamic ceramics. The addition of the pseudo Arabic, though, hints that the creator of this object had no prior knowledge of Arabic, and attempted to copy the script onto the bowl. This attempt to transcribe the Arabic reveals that the bowl's source originates in a historically Arab occupied region.
Historically, as seen in later centuries, some traditional Islamic artwork featured the pseudo form of Arabic to protect the work of art from being violated due to the holy nature Arabic had in the Islamic world. As seen in the rug featured below, the right side has pesudo Arabic to prevent people from stepping on the Arabic around the other three edges of the rug. This protective element was intentionally put into the rug as a protective mechanism.
The ceramic bowl in question would not have used the pseudo form of Arabic as a protective element, for the aesthetic nature of the bowl would have wanted to make the Arabic script a focal point of the piece. This further solidifies the idea that the bowl was made by an outside admirer of the Arabic language and Islamic artwork.