A Syrian Storage Jar with Scrolling Blue and White Foliate Decoration
1400-1500
Syria, Damascus
33 cm height; 22.5 cm diameter; Fritware jar, baluster-shaped body with tapering cylindrical neck and rolled rim, facetted octagonal sides, separated by broad raised bands, covered in white slip and painted in underglaze cobalt blue, with clear glaze.
Impressive jars like this one were made in Egypt and Syria during the Mamluk period for the storage and transportation of goods and foodstuffs. Though this type of storage jar with underglaze painted decoration was largely produced in Damascus, it is possible that there were other centres of production in the lands ruled by the Mamluk Empire during this period. The rich decoration of these pots tends to feature foliate decoration, animal figures, and calligraphic inscriptions, almost entirely in blue and black underglaze painting.
