Samarra (pottery style)

A pottery style which takes its name from pottery found at Samarra, the temporary residence of the Abbasid caliphs in the 9th century. Samarra ware was unknown before excavations undertaken between 1911 and 1913. The pottery found at Samarra, however, probably came from nearby Baghdad and examples of this style have been found in Persia, Spain, Egypt and Syria, all places the style later spread to. It is characterized by thin bodies made of very finely levigated sulphur-yellow clay and by carefully applied soft tin glazes. A noteworthy technical achievement of Samarra ware is the brilliant gold luster deliberately combined with other metallic tones on both tiles and vessels. Decoration usually consists of single animals or larger designs on the inside of vessels with rings of dashes almost always decorating the exterior. Early examples from the 8th century successfully mimic gold dishes, suggesting that they were the earliest substitutes for forbidden table wares of precious metal. Much Samarra ware imitates the Chinese ceramics that were imported to the area.