The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

72 The Art and Architecture of Islamic Cairo
although its form may equally derive from a vase or leaf. The ambiguity
of these forms is very powerful, and without wishing to impose
too much of a twenty-first-century viewpoint, they are a reminder of
more recent examples of metamorphosis in the works of surrealist
artists like Max Ernst. A similar metamorphosis and ambiguity
appears in Abbasid pottery of approximately the same date.
TULUNID POTTERY
Pottery in the Samarra C style was exported from Iraq and it turns up
all over the Muslim world. It can be seen in a splendid ninth- or early
tenth-century bowl from Iraq in the David Collection, Copenhagen.
Here a varied but tightly arranged design of interlocking palmettes
painted in gold lustre is beautifully resolved within its circular format.
A similar strength of design can be seen in the interlocking palmettes
of a lustre bowl found in Persia and now displayed in the Iran Bastan
Museum in Tehran. Ibn Tulun encouraged the import of large
amounts of Abbasid pottery into Fustat and a number of Iraqi potters
settled in Egypt and vice versa. Luxury goods followed the trade
routes and it is possible that craftsmen travelled with them, eventually
settling and disseminating new techniques and designs. For this
reason precise classification of bronze, glass, textiles and pottery
according to region is not always appropriate or relevant. The
discovery of such artifacts in a given place is no indication that they
were made there. Without archaeological evidence of kilns, there is
absolutely no certainty that ‘Samarra’ ware found in Samarra was
actually produced there. Centres of production can be identified, but
these may not necessarily be synonymous with a regional style. Of
the foreign imports into Fustat, the most important was lustre ware
from Iraq. With its brilliant metallic sheen, this luxury product was
particularly desirable because it provided an acceptable substitute for
gold and silver plate. It involved a revolutionary technique which
was to have a far-reaching impact on Islamic art, influencing future
aspects of architectural design as well as ceramics.
Lustre painting involved the use of a pigment made up of a
compound of sulphur and silver, copper or other metallic oxides. The
pigment was mixed with red or yellow ochre and painted on an
opaque white tin-glazed surface that had already been fired. The pot
was then fired again at a lower temperature in a reducing kiln. If the
pigment was thin, the result would be a lustrous, metallic and iridescent
surface. Thick pigment would produce a bright copper or greenishgold
finish. 1 The origins of the technique almost certainly lie in Egypt