A LARGE POST SASSANIAN TURQUOISE GLAZED POTTERY STORAGE JAR, PERSIA, 6TH-8TH CENTURY

Of shouldered rounded form rising from the short foot to the tapering cylindrical mouth with everted rim, four handles to the shoulder, the lower shoulder with a band of decoration, similar applied small roundels above and below. Height: 48 cm. Diameter: 40 cm. PROVENANCE Private collection, Germany CATALOGUE NOTE This type of alkaline-glazed pottery, intended for storage of food stuffs or drinking water, had been produced in kilns along the Upper Euphrates since at least the Parthian period continuing through the Umayyad and early Abbasid periods, with subtle changes in shape and design. The distinctive silvery iridescence offset by the turquoise glaze only adds to their decorative appeal. Their story is also fascinating, for examples have been found as far afield as Fujian province in China. A tomb at Lotus Peak on the outskirts of Fuzhou, dedicated to one Liu Hua, who died in 930 AD, wife of King Wang Yangjun of the Min Kingdom (909-945 AD), yielded three similar turquoise-glazed jars, testament to the trading activities of Persian and Arab merchants along the southern coast of China at this time.