VOLUME IX
Published 1994
Ernst J. Grube with contributions by Manijeh Bayani, Derek
Kennet, Peter Morgan, Nahla Nassar, Alastair Northedge
and Cristina Tonghini
This is the first of two volumes cataloguing the ceramic holdings in the Collection – nearly 2,000 objects produced all over the Muslim world. It concentrates on the beauty of the work of the early Muslim potters through a selection of 406 items.
The Collection contains many remarkable objects, including masterpieces with few, if any, parallels. Amongst these is a 9th-century relief-decorated dish, one of only a dozen in existence and arguably the most beautiful; an underglaze-painted openwork ewer from Iran – a technical tour-de-force with only one known counterpart; and a signed bottle which is the earliest known dated ceramic from Iran.
The various wares produced from the 7th to the 13th centuries are discussed at length in art historical and technical essays, which incorporate the latest archaeological evidence.
The items are illustrated in colour, with profile and detail drawings; the decipherable inscriptions are reproduced with translations; and a full scholarly apparatus provides references to comparative items and to further reading.