[SAVE] Why was this made, and how was it used?
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.
