Three ancient pieces form the Victoria and Albert Museum today. First this beautiful small shallow bowl, the label says Gubbio Italian dish 1520 – 30 Tin glazed earthenware. Obviously hump mounded, you could see the potters hand marks on the back.
Second, a fairly large jar from Southern Italian tomb about 200 BC. This Italio-Greek jar with winged female heads and winged love gods follows a typical Italian shape. Earthenware painted with black and white slips and other pigments.
Third, and my favourate from Iraq, probably Basra 850 - 900This tiny bowel is reduction fired lustre. Iraqi potters were the first to use lustre on ceramics. Around 850, they adapted the technique for glass making. Lustre wear was practiced through out the Middle East. By about 1150, the main centre was Kashan, in Iran. A treatise written there in 1301 by the potter Abu’l-Qasim contains detailed technical information on how to make lusterwares which he described as “shining like the light of the sun”.
4 comments:
Oh ... that winged head
just grabs me.
I envision you at the V & A
in those wonderful crayon stripe
socks.
Surely they would pick up any
cold gray day in London ... . .
Jjj
Imagine this: after I was thrown out of the V&A at closing time I went next door to The Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary also know as the Brompton Oratory. Like Westminster cathedral it is a very large church, but there is always something special about the Oratory, it is very traditional. So I snuck in there at dusk and in my Crayola socks and was immediately stilled. The priests there wear full length black flowing cassocks, and as I sat I realised that the movement of one was solely charged with lighting every candle in the church. He had a huge taper to reach the very long alter candles, he then proceeded around the Stations of the Cross and slowly illuminated the entire space by candle light. Very special moment, which lasted over an hour!
Beautiful pots all three, love each of them for their uniqueness. your socks sound delightful and what a special moment in the church.
Thank you for the photos of ceramics from the V&A. I love them.
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