Cleveland Museum of Art

Dish with Splashes of Green

Date

830–900

Medium

Earthenware with overglaze design

Culture

Iraq, Basra, Abbasid period (750–1258)

Department

Islamic Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This dish displays two great technological advances of the 800s: the invention of opaque white glaze made with tin (imitating Chinese porcelain) and painting in cobalt blue. The blue paint was sometimes used to decorate the center of the bowl with floral and geometric designs, as seen here, or to write Arabic inscriptions offering blessings and well wishes. The green splashes around the rim reflect a popular color choice at the time. The splash effect was made by placing green glaze at the edge of the rim and then allowing it to run toward the center of the dish.

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