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Posset pot: OC.170-1946

An image of Posset pot

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Object information

Current Location: Gallery 33

Maker(s)

Potter: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Fritware painted in five colours in or on a white glaze

Fritware, wheel thrown body and moulded handles and spout, coated in an opaque white, slightly crazed glaze; decorated with blue and turquoise in-glaze painting, black and red overglaze painting and gilding.
Shape: bulbous body with a cylindrical neck and plain rim, sitting on a low foot ring. Opposing cheetah handles and angular spouts are attached to the upper body.
Exterior: the rim is painted with a blue dentilated pattern. On the upper body, a frieze of mounted horsemen and two standing figures each separated by feather-like foliage, are identically dressed in hats, tunics, and leggings, occasionally wearing golf leaf arm bands. This frieze is delineated above and below by narrow bands of Arabic script, possibly pseudo epigraphic. On the lower body, a frieze of alternately transposed triangular floral garlands is painted. All these friezes are outlined in black and coloured with blue, turquoise, red and black. Two lion shaped handles, with red heads and bodies decorated with blue stripes and turquoise and red dots, are joined to the upper body. White glaze runs unevenly over the lower body and in places onto the foot ring.
Interior: blue paint continues on the rim, while on the neck black Arabic script (cursive) is painted. Remainder is undecorated except for a covering of white glaze.

Notes

History note: Oscar Raphael Bequest

Legal notes

Oscar Raphel Bequest

Measurements and weight

Height: 14.5 cm
Weight: 708 g
Width: 17.4 cm

Place(s) associated

  • Kashan ⪼ Iran

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1946) by Raphael, Oscar C.

Dating

12th Century, Late-13th Century, Early#
Circa 1180 CE - 1219 CE

School or Style

Seljuk

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Interior composed of pigment ( blue (in-glaze), black (over-glaze)) glaze ( white, crazed)
Exterior composed of pigment ( blue, turquoise (in-glaze); black, red (over-glaze)) glaze ( white, crazed, runs over the lower body with small areas left uncovered and unevenly onto the foot ring)
Exterior Body composed of gold leaf ( small areas of gold leaf form arm bands on the figures)
Rim Diameter 11.3 cm
Base Diameter 8.9 cm
Neck

Materials used in production

Fritware

Techniques used in production

Throwing : Fritware, wheel thrown body and moulded handles and spout, coated in an opaque white, slightly crazed glaze; decorated with blue and turquoise in-glaze painting, black and red overglaze painting and gilding

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: horizontal frieze painted over the glaze surface

  • Location: Neck interior
  • Method of creation: Hand painted in black
  • Type: Inscription

Inscription present: two narrow horizontal friezes with blue, turquoise or red colouration around script

  • Location: Neck and lower body
  • Method of creation: Hand painted in black
  • Type: Inscription

Inscription present: rectangular paper label, adhered to exterior base (under side of foot ring), with upper and lower edges serrated

  • Text: International Exhibition of Persian Art London 1931 (printed); R 31 (hand written in black)
  • Location: Exterior base, underside of foot ring
  • Method of creation: Printed and hand written in black
  • Type: Label

Inscription present: white circular label

  • Text: 13
  • Location: Exterior base, underside of foot ring
  • Method of creation: Hand written in black
  • Type: Label

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: OC.170-1946
Primary reference Number: 77606
Collection number: R 31
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 12 January 2021 Last processed: Friday 8 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Posset pot" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/77606 Accessed: 2024-11-05 14:45:40

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/77606 |title=Posset pot |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-05 14:45:40|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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