Pseudo-Inscriptions in Medieval Ceramics

As inscriptions were introduced to the ornamentation of Medieval Ceramics, we were able to see that there was now greater access to quality ceramics, as similar styles were being produced in other different cities. Considering that the majority of those who would have purchased the elegant epigraphic dishes from Nishapur and Samarkand would have been literate and likely belonging  to the middle class, it makes sense that a similar, form of ceramics would be created to meet the demands of a lower class, the members of which were likely illiterate. Ceramics of this form developed in 6th century Iraq, in the form of incantation bowls. This pre-Islamic art form was created as a ritualistic defense against ghosts and spirits believed in the Zoroastrian religion in the pre-Islamic Middle East. The bowl in figure one was created in Iraq in the 6th century and contains nine lines of pseudo-script, made to convince illiterate customers that what they were buying was genuine. Similarly, the bowl in figure two was created in a style similar to the epigraphic bowls from Samarkand and Nishapur: a concentric band of "script" around a dish on a white background. This script, however, is not real, and was likely created for illiterate consumers, or for those who desired the elegant epigraphic bowls but did not have the means to do so. This fascinating development in ceramic ornamentation reveals much about how style was proliferated along the Silk Road, and throughout social classes. 

Works Cited 

Wilkinson, C. K. (1973). Nishapur: Pottery of the Early Islamic Period . New York, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art .

Jenkins, M. (1983). Islamic Pottery: A Brief History . New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art .

Ettinghausen, Richard. 2001. Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250. Yale University Press New Haven.