A Look at the Pottery Style of Abu Zayd Kashani

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Archaeology, Shahid Beheshti university, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Archaeology, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.

Abstract

The Islamic Middle Ages represented the flourishing period of various arts, including pottery, during which
the increased artistic freedom gave rise to ingenious artistic and literary creations. Geographical and political
situation in Kashan caused its local pottery to develop into a trans-regional industry. Despite the similarity between
the themes used by the local workshops, differences are also evident. For precise identification of styles used
in individual workshops, it is necessary to identify the styles specific to individual workshops and potters. Abu
Zayd is the most common signature found on the Kashan pottery style. His aspiration to perpetuate his name on
his works suggests that he was the leading figure in the advent and later advance of the style. The findings of
this research show that a large number of works produced during and after Abu Zayd’s lifetime closely resemble
his own creations. He worked in the Kashan style, and his techniques were retained in other workshops after his
demise. Potters have bequeathed valuable works that were modeled after Abu Zayd’s style. The study of Abu
Zayd’s works reveals that while they share wide similarities with those of his fellows, a part from his signature he
had employed his own peculiar designs and motifs. There are cases of single designs in which the main patterns
were worked by Abu Zayd and the details were left for other hand(s). Such collaboration as well as mentoring were
the main reasons behind the dissemination of his style.

Keywords

References

References 
Amid, H. 2009. Amid Persian dictionary, (In Persian), (pp. 1288). Tehran, Iran: Amir Kabir.
Arabbeigi, A. & N. Abdi. 2014. Iconographic analysis of the image of luster plate from Kashan with criticise of Guest and Ettinghausens opinions. Name-ye Honarha-ye Tajassomi va Karbordi, 14, 19-32.
 
Bagherzadeh, F. 2015. Religious painting in Iran, research on two images of wearing robe ceremony (583 AH/1187 AD), (In Persian), Bastab Pazhoohi, 17, 91-98. 
Bahrami, M. 1936. Le problème des ateliers d'étoiles de faïence lustrée. Revue des arts asiatiques, 10(4), 180-191.
 
Bahrami, M. 1946. Further dated examples of persian ceramic wares. Bulletin of the Iranian Institute, 6/7, 110-119. 
Bahrami, M. 1948. Industries of Iran: pottery dishes ,(In Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran.
Blair, S. 2008. A brief biography of abu zayd. Muqarnas, 25, 155-176.
Dehkhoda, A. 1994. Dehkhoda dictionary, (In Persian), (Vol. 10). Tehran, Iran: Publications and printing of university of tehran.
Ettinghausen, R. 1935. Important pieces of persian pottery in london collections. Ars Islamica, 2(1), 45-64.
 
Ettinghausen, R. 1936a. Dated persian ceramics in some american museums. Bulletin of the American Institute for Persian Art and Archaeology, 4(3), 145-151. 
Ettinghausen, R. 1936b. Evidence for the identification of Kā͟s͟hān pottery. Ars Islamica, 3(1), 44-75.
 
Ghouchani, A. 1987. Luster and underglaze painted pottery, (In Persian), Bastanshenasi va Tarikh, 2, 30-41.
Ghouchani, A. 1992. Persian poems on the tiles of Takht-e Soleiman, (In Persian), (Vol. 1). Tehran, Iran: Markaz-e Nashr-e Daneshghahi.
Ghouchani, A. 2016. The hadiths of the luster tiles of Imam Reza's holy shrine, (In Persian),Mashahd, Iran: Publication of Museums and Document Center of Astan-e Ghods-e Razavi.
Grace, D. G. & R. Ettinghausen. 1961. The iconography of a kāshān luster plate. Ars Orientalis, 4, 25-64.
 
Grube, E. J. 1965. The art of islamic pottery. The metropolitan museum of art bulletin, 23(6), 209-228. https://doi.org/doi:10.2307/3258167
Karimi, F. 1988. Abu Zayd Kashani, (In Persian),The great islamic encyclopedia. (1 ed., Vol. 5, pp. 507-509). Teharn, Iran: The centre for the great islamic encyclopaedia.
Kolbadinezhad, M. 3013. Style study and laboratory luster ware tiles in Imamzadeh Masoumeh (holy shrine and Astaneh museum) and Imam Reza s Shrine (Ph. D), Tarbiat Modares university, Tehran, Iran. Retrieved from https://parseh.modares.ac.ir/thesis/1175820 
 
Mason, R. B. 1997. Early Mediaeval Iraqi Lustre-Painted and Associated Wares: Typology in a Multidisciplinary Study. Iraq, 59, 15-61. https://doi.org/doi:10.2307/4200435
Mo’in, M. 1992. Persian Dictionary ,(In Persian),(8 ed., Vol. 3). Tehran, Iran: Amirkabir Publications Institute.
Pope, A. U. 2008. The art of pottery and tile making in the Islamic era; A: history, In Pope, A. U. P, Ackerman. (eds). A survey of persian art: from prehistoric times to the present; The ceramic arts, calligraphy and epigraphy ,(In Persian), (F. Karimi, Trans. 1 ed. Vol. 4). Tehran, Iran: Elmi Farhangi.
Watson, O. 1985. Persian lustre ware. London; Boston: Faber and Faber.
Watson, O. 1994. Documentary Mina’i and Abu Zaid’s bowls. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 119(2), 168-170. 
Yazdani, M.; H. Ahmadi; S. M. Emami & M. A. Gorji. 2015. Chronology of mina'i pottery based on inscribed samples, (In Persian), Honarhay-e Ziba- Honarhay-e Tajassomi, 20(30), 45-56.
https://www.freersackler.si.edu
http://www.mfa.org 
http://www.davidmus.dk 
http://www.britishmuseum.org  
http://www.metmuseum.org
Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies
Volume 12, Issue 2
2022
Pages 59-72

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics