Collections: Arts of the Islamic World: Fragment of a Bowl Depicting a Mounted Warrior

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Fragment of a Bowl Depicting a Mounted Warrior

This fragment of a bowl, depicting a rider carrying a shield (and possibly a lance) atop a galloping horse, is decorated in the luster technique, in which a metallic oxide glaze is applied to the body before firing, leaving a shimmering surface reminiscent of precious metals. Although this object was produced in Egypt during the period of the Fatimid dynasty (909–1171), luster was first developed as a decorative technique for ceramics in Iraq in the ninth century. The technology was also used in Syria and Iran between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, and was revived in Iran in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. Surviving Fatimid Egyptian examples of lusterware were likely excavated at the site of Fustat (Old Cairo) in the early part of the twentieth century. These often display high-quality draftsmanship in the rendition of both humans and animals, quite similar to architectural and manuscript painting of the period.


• Medium: Ceramic
• Place Found: Fustat, Egypt
• Dates: 11th century
• Dynasty: Fatimid
• Period: Fatimid
• Dimensions: 15 1/2 x 15 1/2in. (39.4 x 39.4cm)
• Collections: Arts of the Islamic World
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Arts of the Islamic World, 2nd Floor
• Accession Number: 86.227.83
• Credit Line: Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
• Image: Top, 86.227.83_top_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
Fragment of a Bowl Depicting a Mounted Warrior, 11th century. Ceramic, 15 1/2 x 15 1/2in. (39.4 x 39.4cm) . Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.227.83 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.227.83_top_PS1.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: Pink earthenware body, monochrome lusterware Found in Fustat (old Cairo). Buff clay, white slip ground covered with clear glaze. Overglaze decoration in olive luster. Bearded cavalier with turban and large shield, adorned with a crescent in left hand. A rabbit trots alongside the horse and rider through palmette vines. The rider's foreshortened foot, his intense sideward gaze, and the scarf or turban end trailing out behind him all illustrate the earthly vitality of this piece. Scenes of hunting, fighting, dancing, and musicians were very popular in the Muslim world from Umayyad times onward, especially for royal patrons or wealthier classes who acquired these wares.