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Bringing the Holy Land Home: The Crusades, Chertsey Abbey, and the Reconstruction of a Medieval Masterpiece

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Why was this made, and how was it used? By Grace P. Morrissey '22

Lusterware ceramics, like this Figural Islamic Bowl, were first created in response to Islamic potters' contact with Chinese porcelains. During the 9th and early 10th centuries, Abbasid rulers imported highly valuable Tang Dynasty porcelains from across the Indian Ocean and up the Persian Gulf. The Abbasid court deeply admired the beauty and exoticism of these Chinese wares, and as a result of these cross-cultural transactions pottery objects became accepted as worthy of royal use for the first time in Islam. Islamic potters shared the court's affinity for Chinese porcelains, and were deeply impressed by the elegance, strength, and whiteness of these imports. As such, they sought to mimic the milky white surfaces, thin walls, elegant profiles and durability of Chinese ceramic white wares.

Chinese ceramicists use clay with kaolin deposits which results in a fine, white consistency used in the production of porcelain. However the earthenware clay available to Islamic potters in Mesopotamia was not equipped to create ceramics of either Chinese color or consistency, due to a lack of kaolin deposits in the region’s soil. Thus Islamic potters had to experiment with earthenware and a variety of glazing techniques, in order to approach the white glaze and thin forms used by Chinese potters. Lusterware comes as a result of these experiments. Early Islamic potters realized that covering an earthenware ceramic with a lead and tin oxide glaze would create an opaque white surface, similar to those of Chinese ceramics. This white base was then painted with silver and copper metallic oxide glazes to create the monochrome on white aesthetic they were looking for. However firing these metallic oxides had the added benefit of creating a unique shimmer and iridescence on the ceramic's surface.

From the beginning, lusterware were created as luxury ceramics and were intended for use in Islamic royal courts. Due to the complex nature of the lusterware firing and glazing process, these ceramics were incredibly expensive and were not widely produced. Thus, only members of the wealthy court classes could afford to purchase and use them as dinnerware. However these ceramics’ aesthetics also reflected their luxury use as feast ware. Abbasid luster ceramics, created for the royal courts at Baghdad and Samarra, were decorated to reflect the power and prestige of the caliph. Decorative motifs frequently included rulers feasting, royals being entertained, righteous battles, animals associated with good luck, and auspicious inscriptions bestowing blessings on the caliph.
Later lusterware was also created for the Persian Seljuk and Il-Khanid courts, however by this time an emerging wealthy middle-class also coveted the deluxe dinnerware, and images of courtiers enthroned, feasting, and hunting like royals, became prevalent. Lusterware ceramic's shimmering surfaces, emblazoned with symbols of courtly wealth and success would have adorned the banquet tables of rulers. These ceramics served both a practical role storing and serving food, but they also served as symbols of wealth and prestige. Set alongside opulent vessels of gold and silver, royals feasting from lustreware bowls and plates would've felt as though they were eating off the rays of the sun.

The figural element included on this bowl provides further evidence that this object was used in a secular feasting context, as figural depictions are not used in Islamic religious art.Further, the metallic quality of the lusterware visually mimics gold, which is significant because in Islamic religious practice Muslims are not supposed to eat off of golden ware. Thus, lusterware's ceramic materiality provided a loophole for luxury dinnerware.

Due to their luxury status, expensive lusterwares were valued across cultures. Europeans in the Spanish courts of Saville, and later European crusaders, sought out and used lusterware items, despite their Islamic production and form.
Where was this produced? By Grace P. Morrissey '22
Scholars at the Worcester Art Museum have been able to attribute this bowl to Rayy, a medieval city just outside of present day Tehran, Iran. A descendent of Ancient Rahgah - one of the earliest cities in Iran - Rayy was captured by Muslim Arabs in 640 and later served as the residence of the governors in charge of eastern Iran. By the 10th century Rayy had become one of the most prominent cities in Western Asia, and flourished under Seljuk rule. Alongside Kashan, Rayy was a famous center for silk and ceramic production. Archeologists have attributed both enamel and lusterwares of a variety of shapes, patterns and sizes to the Rayy region. However, mysteriously, no kilns have ever been excavated from the city.
Rayy is one of many in a long line of major lusterware production sites. Lusterware was first produced in Basra, Iraq, and later in Iran. Production then traveled around the Mediterranean moving west into Egypt under the Fatimid Caliphate, and spreading across North Africa into Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Libya. The ceramic technique was then introduced in Málaga, Spain, before returning to the near East under the Persian Seljuks.
Where did this go?
By Grace P. Morrissey '22
The Worcester Art Museum acquired this bowl via museum purchase in 1918, however the bowl's history before this is unclear. However, due to the extensive amount of trade and travel that took place during the Crusades, it is evident that this bowl traveled well beyond its site of production in Rayy.
Moving around the Mediterranean, Crusaders acquired an array of portable works including luxury textiles, ivory, carvings, and sacred reliquaries, however they also purchased mass produced marketplace objects, such as metalwork, ceramics, and glass. They used these objects during their time on Crusade and subsequently took them back home to Europe. Ceramic bowls, like the WAM's Figural Islamic Bowl, served both a functional and symbolic purpose during the Crusades. These works of lusterware were functional in that they could be eaten out of and used for storage, however their shimmering surface and Islamic aesthetics connected them to the Holy Land and Crusaders' Islamic encounters.
However it is not immediately apparent how this bowl, or others like it, would have been transferred from one cultural context to another. Scholars propose three plausible options for how Islamic ceramics were relocated into European contexts; first, via gifting, second, via plunder, and third, via trade, as these were the primary means of distribution for most objects traveling in the Medieval Mediterranean. Gifting of lusterware ceramics seems reasonable, as they were considered luxury items by both Islamic and European audiences; however, catalogs from the time documenting objects circulating among Mediterranean courts only mentioned Chinese porcelain vessels, and not other ceramic wares. Similarly, Medieval lists of war booty record gold, silver, jewelry, and luxury textiles, but make no reference to ceramics. As a final option, trade becomes the most likely. The sheer quantity and consistency of quality of the Islamic ceramics that now exist in European collections speaks to the fact that these wares were likely exchanged on the commercial market. Artisans in and around the Holy Land were known to produce wares for sale as lucrative souvenirs for European crusaders, and luster ceramics could fit within this narrative.
What does this tell us about the Crusades? By Grace P. Morrissey '22
This bowl's connection to the Crusades is not visually evident, there is no use of religious imagery, no clear evidence to suggest a specific transfer from Muslim merchant to European Crusader, and no presumed change in its use. Instead this bowl asks viewers to consider what is valued across cultures; namely beauty and money.

Visually striking, the Worcester Art Museum's Figural Islamic bowl is characteristic of Islamic ceramics as seen in its dynamic geometric and figural patterning, bold reserve coloring, and luster sheen. This figural bowl's visual rhythm and shimmering surface were valued by Islamic courts and Crusaders alike, simply in terms of beauty. However lusterware bowls also had financial value. Technically complex, time-intensive, and requiring the use of specialized materials, these ceramic wares were expensive to make and in limited supply. Recognized as prestigious throughout the Mediterranean, and even secondary lusterwares sold for good prices. This bowl was also universally valuable in terms of its use. Abbasid Caliphs and Crusaders alike, used these bowls for luxury feasting; eating and storing food in them the same way we use bowls today.
For traveling Crusaders, ceramics such as this lusterware bowl were valued for both their visual connotations and financial value. The bowl’s aesthetic exoticism and visual connection to the Holy Land would have made this bowl an important souvenir for a returning Crusader. Cross-cultural objects like this lustreware bowl would have visually referenced a Crusader’s travels reminding them of the mix of cultures and peoples they encountered while on Crusade. However lusterware bowls luxury status and innate monetary value also would have attracted European Crusaders. Both Islamic and Crusader cultures recognized the symbolic power of lusterware, and used it to connote power, prestige, and wealth. The shimmering iridescence that gave this bowl its prestige with Medieval viewers, continues to attract onlookers today. Evidently everyone is intrigued by an everyday object that has been dipped in the light of the sun.