Early Islamic Polychrome Jug - LO.714, Origin: Central Asia, Circa: 800 AD to 1000 AD, Dimensions: 7.75" (19.7cm) high, Collection: Islamic Art, Style: Splashed Ware, Medium: Earthenware, Globular jug with straight ringed neck and thick cordoned curved handle. The surface painted with vertical brush strokes in brown, green and ochre underglaze. It has been assumed for a long time that the so- called splashed ware of the Near East were manufactured under Tang Chinese influence. Yet that would have been extremely hard since Tang sancai ware was considered a funerary ware and thus hardly exported beyond the Chinese soil. Also, recently, similar green-splashed ceramics have been excavated from the pre-Islamic site of Qaryat al-Fau in Saudi Arabia which would further suggest an entirely independent development. However, the debate is still open and no definite evidence has come both ways For a discussion on the influence of Chinese sancai ware on splashed ware see: Rawson, Tite and Hugh, 'The export of Tang sancai ware: some recent research" , TOCS, 52, 1987-88, 39-61.

Antiquities
Ancient Near East