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

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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. 

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