What does this bowl tell us about the early global world?
This bowl asks viewers to consider what is valued across cultures around the medieval globe: beauty and wealth. Although it was made during the Crusades, it was valued by both Christians and Muslims.
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 simply in terms of beauty. However, lusterware bowls also had financial value. Technically complex, time-intensive, and requiring specialized materials, these ceramic wares were expensive and in limited supply. They were recognized as prestigious throughout the Mediterranean, and even secondary lusterwares sold for reasonable prices. This bowl was also universally valuable in terms of its use. Abbasid Caliphs and Crusaders used these bowls for luxury feasting, eating, and storing food in them the same way we use bowls today.
However, lusterware bowls' luxury status and innate monetary value also would have attracted European Crusaders. 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. Everyone is intrigued by an everyday object that has been dipped in the light of the sun.
