29 - Сeramics_eng_art

Tajikistan XIII. Glazed ceramics with pseudo-epigraphic motifs, XIV. Glazed chirag, Khul’buk. Khul’buk. XV. Glazed ceramics, Shakhristan. XVI. Glazed washing vessel in the form of a lion, Shakhristan. 149

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics XVII. Glazed luster bowl, Kalai Bolo fortress, Isfara XVIII. Glazed ceramics, Shakhristan. district. XIX. Glazed bowl, Shakhristan. XX. Glazed vessels, Shakhristan. 150

TURKMENISTAN The development of the crafts typical of the urban centres of the Middle Age serves as the eco- nomic context for the medieval applied art of Central Asia of that time. Not only did the ar- tistic crafts bring economic benefits, but they also had an aesthetic value, creating and de- fining the specificity of artistic culture of their time. Pottery occupies a significant place in the material culture of medieval Central Asia at- tracting the attention of researchers. Often ceramic items are used to clarify historical dates, especially when other finds that would help to do so, are insufficient or completely absent. Glazed ceramics of the 9th–12th centuries. Ceramic production in South Turkmenistan has a long tradition. However, it reaches its highest peak in the Middle Age, when glazed ceramics with highly artistic décor replaces rougher unglazed pottery. Archaeological studies of medieval settlements of the southern and southwestern Turk- menistan yielded a considerable collection of glazed ceramic items. In this publication we an- alyse the methods of decoration, the main types of ornamental composition and their ele- ments based on the glazed ceramic items of the 9th–12th centuries. The invention of glaze in the 9th century did not bring about any new types of ceramic items: people continued to use the forms which had been widely spread in the unglazed ce- ramics, which had an established reputation and simply covered them with glaze and painting. Changing somewhat in contours and becoming more comfortable with time, some of them remained in use for many centuries. However, completely new technological methods and ornamental principles are devel- oped in the ceramics of Khurasan and Khoresm, (as elsewhere in the Middle East), start- ing from the 9th century. First the simplest potash-alkaline glaze appears on the medieval ceramic items in Turkmenistan. It is not very strong, slightly dim in colour and not really shiny, which stimulated the search and development of new glaze compositions (Pugachenk- ova, 1976, p. 133). In the 10th century, along with potash glaze, lead and tin glaze become widely spread. The latter is dense but not transparent; its varieties can be successfully used for monochrome solid coatings, but unsuitable for multi-colour painted items. Lead glaze met the techno- logical and artistic requirements to the greatest degree: transparent, colourless and with shiny surface, which can be used in monochrome and painted ceramic to the best effect. The transparency of the glaze requires that pigments are applied against the white slip, not the greenware. The 10th century was marked by the development of glazed ceramics throughout Central Asia, where at this time emerge several major centres of ceramic production defining the ar- tistic trends of a number of art schools. In North Khurasan—Turkmenistan such centres included Merv, Nissa, Shehr-Islam and Dekhistan. The pottery kilns and glazed ceramics of the 9th–12th centuries from Merv are among the best known items from the region. (Luni- 151

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics na, 1962, from p. 217; Atagarryev, 1966, from p. 17.). The glazed ceramics of the 9th–10th cen- turies from Nisa was discussed in M. E. Masson’s item (Masson, 1949, p. 57–60). Most ceramic items are covered with the enamel close to the potash glaze. The basic types are: 1) rough dark-green; 2) yellowish-brown; 3) marble-like, with yellow, green and white drips. The predominant form of vessels: 1) bowls with an edge rounded inward and a flat base; 2) deep plates with the same cross-section of the walls, and 3) jugs with steep shoulders, a wide neck and a flat bottom. The ornamentation of the polychrome ceramics: 1) geometric fig- ures; 2) botanical patterns; 3) zoomorphic motifs (mostly images of birds); 4) abstract motifs. In the 10th–12th centuries the forms of glazed ceramics become more diverse due to a wid- er range of the profiles of produced vessels. Colour and harmony between the background and ornament play a significant role in the artistic appearance of glazed ceramic items. Despite a narrow range of colours used and a limited number of ornamental elements, the decoration of vessels looks very diverse and complex thanks to the variety of combinations of shades and decorative elements. Glazed ceramics of that period is mostly covered with slip and then painted. The introduc- tion of slip diversified the polychrome and monochrome painting and improved the techni- cal qualities of items. Slip covered the inner and partly, at the rim, the outer surface of open vessels, and very rarely it covered the whole vessel on both sides. Closed vessels were cov- ered with slip only on the outside. Slip increased the brightness and purity of the painting colours. The following colours of slip coating were the most popular: white, with light yellow and pinkish shades, greyish-pink, red and black. White slip is predominating. It was painted with both monochrome and polychrome painting: polychrome painting over greyish-pink slip and only white over red and black. The decor applied on ceramic items by scratching or with a brush. Scratched and drawn décor on the unslipped surface. This group consists of bowls, ba- sins and pialas with a flat bottom (diameter 6–11 cm), rounded walls and rims with the edge bent inward or outward (diameter 11–19 cm). The scratched ornament covered with glaze stood out with its dark lines (ill. I). The painting was made in yellow, green and black pig- ments on greenware. The ornamentation: 1) abstract: patterns are arranged radially from the centre (crosshatched, dotted, stripped), 2) zoomorphic motifs (mostly the images of birds). The painting with dark-green and lemon-yellow pigments outlines by black contours makes the vessel look rough. Pattern scratched over slip: one of the earliest types of decor. In the second half of the 9th– 10th centuries most of the ceramics with scratched pattern without any painting was cov- ered with green glaze. Such decoration is quite common throughout the southern Turk- menistan. Later, in the 10th–12th centuries this type of ornamentation becomes more diverse both in motifs and in the range of colours. Often transparent colourless glaze with green, yellow and brown blurs that gives an item a soft golden colour is applied on white slip with a scratched pattern. The ornament on ceramic items with marble-like glaze is more complicated compared to the vessels described above, both in terms of the technique of its application as well as in the ornamental motifs. Here we can give an example of an item decorated with an im- itation of epigraphic ornament and a corded ornament, both scatched on a slipped surface. 152

Turkmenistan The space between the epigraphic ornament and the corded band is filled with crosshatch and spiral curls. Painting on a slipped surface includes the following types. Light and dark brown painting on white slip decorates the largest group of vessels. Brown painting on white slip consisting of a speck in the centre of a bowl, an epigraphic ornament, stylised botanical ornamentation and zoomorphic motifs (fig. 1) can be found in all parts of the medieval southern Turkmenistan. Black painting on white slip. A significant part of ceramic items from Merv belongs to this type. Various kinds of ornamentation can be seen there as in the previous group: heart-like spots, triangles, epigraphic ornamentation, stylised floral and zoomorphic mo- tifs (fig. 2.4, 5, 6). Monochrome painting with coloured spots on white slip is also quite common. The orna- ment is made with black, brown and khaki paints, and after that green, yellow and brown spots are applied. In some cases these spots complement the overall composition, in others they break it. According to E. M. Pescherova, there is a common belief among the settled population that spots can protect people from the ‘evil eye’ (Pescherova, 1959, p. 79). Obvi- ously, medieval potters also believed that spots protected a vessel and its contents against the ‘evil eye’ (fig. 1,5). Polychrome painting on white slip is basically made in three combinations of colours: black-green-yellow, brown-green-yellow, khaki-brown-yellow and black-brown-red. The or- nament is geometric, botanical, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic (ill. II). Brown painting on greyish-pink slip. This kind of painting is not frequent and stands out thanks to the softness of its colours. The ornamentation is mainly zoomorphic: birds (ill. III, IV). Polychrome painting on pink slip. Like the previous type, multi-coloured painting on the pinkish slip is not common. The ornament is mainly botanical, made with daubs of brownish and light-green paint. White painting on red slip. All the surfaces of a bowl are covered with red slip, and then the inner surface of the slip is decorated with white paint. The ornament is stylised botanical. White painting on black slip. Black slip, as the red slip in the above example, covers both sides of a bowl. Epigraphic ornament, as well as the one made n the form of three specks or ‘hearts’ is used quite often. Ornament on glazed ceramics of the southern Turkmenistan of the 9th–11th centuries includes several groups of patterns with different motifs—geometric, stylised, botanical, abstract, epigraphic, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic. They are often used in combina- tions to make more or less complex compositions. Each part of the body of a ceramic item was covered with an appropriate ornament. In some cases the entire surface was painted with a single ornament, in others—the artist divided the surface of an item into individual areas or sectors. Geometric ornament. The simplest and most widespread type of artistic geometric or- nament is based on lines or strips. Most often they are painted in dark colours and then the strips serve as an outlining or emphasising element of décor. They are also used to divide the painted area. With the help of lines separate compositions are created; for example, they divide the surface of a bowl into several sectors, each with a pattern. All the lines are drawn 153

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Fig. 1. Merv 9th–11th centuries. 154

Turkmenistan Fig. 2. Merv 9th–11th centuries. 155

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics with black paint; spots are made in yellowish-brown. Compositions made of bundles of lines are not rare. Alternating yellow and green strips are drawn carelessly between them with a brush. There is also a composition of interweaving bundles of lines, but unlike the previ- ous one, a circle with a green spot inside is drawn with black paint in the centre of the bot- tom. The bundles of interweaving four lines branch off from the centre to the rim. Alternat- ing yellow and green strips are drawn between the bundles in a way similar to the previous fragment. Colourful ornamentations on these sherds are also similar; the elements creating the overall composition are also identical, but the ways to use these elements are different (fig. 2, 2; ill. III, V). Such ceramics from Merv date to the second half of the 10th – first half of the 11th centuries. (Lunina, 1962, p. 225). Very often the straight strip at the rim is complemented with dents and triangles. This pattern was widespread in Central Asia since the Eneolithic era to the Middle Age. The Turk- mens know this ornament under the names of tumorcha or dogajik which means ‘talisman’. It is still a frequent element of embroidery and carpet-weaving, and has a magical meaning. A variety of compositions based on the pattern of the rhombus were quite popular in the medieval Turkmenistan. A pattern based on such structure with a chequered board of equal squares is a typical unlimited ornament which decorated both the whole in- ner surface of a bowl and a part of its bottom or the wall. For example, such is the sherd of a bottom covered with white slip on both sides. The inner surface is painted. Look- ing at the part of the composition that remained, one can conclude that the round shape of the bottom was outlined with two wide black strips, with a wide crosshatch and spots at the intersections. The remaining part of the composition is painted with black paint and covered with greenish-yellow glaze. On another fragment of a bowl, this ornament is located both within the circle of the bot- tom and on the rim, also enclosed in a circle. In contrast to the previous example, the spots here are made with light and dark brown paints. A composition with rhombic ornamenta- tion can be seen in an ornament in a shape of a wide strip with rhombuses painted under the rim on the inner surface of a vessel. There are stylised leaves placed between the large rhombuses. This pattern resembles a strip of pattern on the lower part of Turkmen girls’ traditional skullcaps. Sometimes a geometric pattern forms a complex composition with interwoven figures. Such is the ornament in the form of a six-pointed star, formed by an intersection of two triangles, with each side of the triangle passing into another with a round bend. Another hexagon is in- terwoven with the hexagonal star along the perimeter. In this ornament we can see an inten- tion to fill up the internal field more densely: here we find points stretched into small ovals, a flower in the centre and so on. On the other dish there is a similar hexagonal star inter- laced on the edge with a six-petal rosette, with a stylised inscription of three letters inside. Sometimes a stylised bird is placed in the space within the contours of an eight-pointed star, formed by an intersection of two quadrangles. In the centre of the bottom of a bowl there is a composition of two complex interwoven ovals. On another bowl two overlapping ovals are inscribed in a circle touching it with their sharp sides; and here we also can see an aspi- ration for using most of the interior space. Lunina found such geometric ornaments in Ex- cavation 2 of the ceramists’ quarter in medieval Merv, which belongs to the 10th – early 11th centuries. (Lunina, 1962, p. 224). 156

Turkmenistan The motif in the form of two interlaced ovals is one of the earliest ornament, which has a parallel on a stamp made in the Bronze Age, where two snake-like dragons are inter- woven (Sarianidi, 1976, p. 46). A motif that was re-interpreted and lost its figurative content still preserved its meaning, which explains its vitality for thousands of years. This pattern is also found in different forms on ceramic items of the 10th–11th centuries from Samarkand. (Shishkina, 1979, p. 58, tables 20, 25). Stylised botanical ornament. Items decorated with botanical ornaments that accom- pany images of the animal and avian world form a special group of ceramic items from the southern Turkmenistan. But it also acts as a separate decorative element on various ves- sels. A potter displays his taste making a stylised botanical motif into an ornament and em- phasises its expressiveness with different technical devices. A vivid colour scheme makes even a simple drawing look bright. Botanical motifs on ceramic items are made in a free, flexible manner (ill. V). An ornament in the form of a leaf with distinct details is also widely spread. This draw- ing apparently imitates a pattern originating from the Eneolithic period: ‘the tree of life’ with its magical meaning. ‘The notion of the tree of life, ‘derekhte heyat,’ was apparently connected with Zoroastrianism. It is believed that each leaf of ‘the tree of life’ means a liv- ing person; the leaf falls slowly when the person dies. If in the fall it touches someone else’s leaf of life, that person will hear noise in his ears’ (Demidov, 1964, p. 5). A ceramist used the ‘tree of life’ ornament, apparently to wish longevity both to the own- er and to the vessel itself. It is possible that strips in the form of small bushes on the in- ner surface at the rims of bowls also imitate the ‘tree of life’ ornament. On some fragments it is the only decoration of a vessel, and sometimes it is a part of a larger composition, where there are geometric elements in the form of parallel lines and circles combined with botanical motifs. Rich colours are made with white or black, light and dark brown paint on the white background. Trefoils made of petals of different forms play a great role in the decoration of stylised botanical ornamentation. A painting on a fragment of a bowl depicting thin stems with trefoils on the top with two bending petals on both sides, reaching out over the wall to the rim, is made in an ex- pressive and elegant manner. The flower resembles a tulip. The painting is made with dark green and brown paints on the white background which acquired a greenish hue in the kiln. A sherd of a plate covered with white slip and greenish-white glaze has soft and beau- tiful colours. A strip is drawn with dark brown paint under the rim on the inner surface. Dabs are made carelessly with greenish-brown paint; white ornament is drawn in the form of flowers that resemble water lilies. The technique of decoration resembles reserve, but here the background is made with the use of a brush, while the ornament is composed of the un- painted parts of the slip. Flowers in compositions were depicted in different ways. Rows of white round spots, with careless dabs imitating flowers are painted on a fragment of a bowl, covered on both sides with red slip (ill. VI). A fragment of a small jug with a bloated body still has a broad strip of ornament, with the stems bent into a circle, ending in the centre of the circle with a trefoil with strongly bent leaves. The ornament is made with grey paint; a red strip runs along the rim. 157

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics A fragment of a dish covered on both sides with white slip also has a part of a composi- tion, which depicts a trefoil. Apparently the drawing consisted of a combination of geomet- ric, stylised botanical and epigraphic patterns arranged in concentric circles on the inner surface of the dish. The composition is made in black and coloured with yellow and green strips and daubs. A fragment of a piala covered on both sides with white slip has a similar trefoil painted on the accentuated bottom with two bent petals; but here the flower is highly stylised, re- sembling the Turkmen ornament gochak used in all types of weaving. Flowers are presented in the form of bouquets. On one of our fragments there remains a part of a composition with a bouquet of six flowers. The image is made with reddish-brown and dark brown, nearly black, paints over white slip (figs. 1.4, 2.7,12, and 19). The bouquet motif spread in Sogd in the late 9th – mid 10th centuries (Shishkina, 1979, p. 57) and in Merv a little later—by the 10th – early 11th centuries (Lunina, 1962, p. 254). The images of fruit and berries placed on the bottom of bowls and on the walls of jugs have a special place among different kinds of botanical ornamentation. One fragment of a bowl has four berries connected with one another, depicted in the centre of the bottom. They are contoured with dark brown and covered with green and ochre paints. The glaze is colour- less and transparent; the green and ochre paints covered the white slip creating a cool hue. On another fragment a drawing in the form of fruits, probably, apples that are on both sides connected with a wavy line of stems-tendrils, is painted at the bottom of a white slipped bowl. The ornament is made with dark brown paint, apparently, on a wet slip, as its contours are not clear, which creates the impression of vague contours made with light brown paint. The outer surface of the jug is covered with white slip over which there is an ornament made with light and dark brown paints. The painting is coloured with spots of dark green paint. A brown strip runs around the base of the handle and under the rim. On the wall there is an oval fruit filled with tiny netting, from the upper part of which diverge two nar- row strips imitating a branch. Thanks to the extreme diversity of botanical ornamentation it is impossible to list all its mo- tifs. It should be noted that botanical ornament continuously developed with time and was en- riched with new elements invented by ceramists’ fantasy. The motifs of botanical and floral pattern are most articulate in the group of edge orna- ments, based on the wavy line of the bindweed. Delicate forms of a curved leaf are widely used there. This ornament is called islimi: a wave-like bine with leaves or semi-palmettos branching from it alternately in the upward and downward directions. The islimi group is stylistically diverse and includes ornaments of various forms; but in most cases islimi ex- ists in the classic version, as a fringe. Islimi is used widely both in the decoration of ceramic items and in architecture. In the ceramics of the Murgab oasis it is mainly drawn on closed vessels. A similar ornament can be seen on medieval ceramics from Nisa (Masson, 1949, p. 71, fig. 34), on bowls from Afrasiab (Vyatkin, 1927, p. 49, fig. 58) and in the embroidery of almost all Central Asian population groups (Belinskaya, 1965, p. 25). Abstract ornament. A great role in the decoration of glazed ceramics from Merv is played by abstract ornament. The spotty ornament is the most popular variety. Open vessels, such as bowls, plates and dishes, are often decorated with it. One or several connected spots 158

Turkmenistan are placed on bowls in the centre of the bottom. There are open vessels with the whole in- ner surface filled with spots in the form of blots. Spots are painted separately or in compo- sitions; they can be of a geometric and botanical character and made with drops of glaze (figs. 1,5; 2,3; 18). An ornament played the role of a talisman. The drawing in the form of strips of black and white points and the widespread black bands interweaving some- times on a reddish-brown background, with white consecutive points inside, belong to this type. The motif of the black band with white dots is present on numerous sherds of the 9th– 10th centuries from Afrasiab (Shishkina, 1979. Table 14). Dark points on the ceramic items from Merv are used in the composition, where wavy lines are drawn in zigzags with dots on their bends. This ornament is present on the in- ner side of a fragment of an open vessel. From the remaining part of the composition one can conclude that the usual symmetrical arrangement of groups of ornaments is bro- ken here. As a rule, the decor on open vessels covers the entire surface in an uninterrupted composition, or a line is drawn around the bottom and then parallel strips above it. This fragment has an ornamented circle that occupies a part of the bottom area and a part of an- other circle with an ornament in the form of hooks and spots, which covers the other part of the bottom and a part of the wall. An ornament in the form of three grouped spots (‘hearts’) is quite widespread. On sev- eral fragments it is located in rows from the bottom to the rim, and sometimes the elements of this pattern are scattered carelessly on the surface of bowls. The ornament was painted with black paint on white slip or vice versa. This kind of ornamentation on the ceramic items from Maverannahr is dated back to the 9th–10th centuries (Bolshakov, 1954, p. 8). Ceramic items covered with green glaze and so-called marble-like ceramics are wide- ly spread. In the first group linear ornamentation is drawn in the form of concentric cir- cles, curls, wavy lines, strokes and other simple ornamental motifs was put under the glaze. The decoration on the bowls with green glaze mainly consists of spiral curls. The vessels with marble-like glaze have a more varied and complex ornament. Here the inner surface of a bowl is divided into segments that are filled with drawn linear orna- mentation—zigzags, wavy lines, spirals, or a crosshatch covering the whole surface. Over these simple drawings the strips of green and yellow-brown glaze are painted. In the firing these strips mixed with each other creating a striking visual effect. According to Bolshakov, underglaze engraved ornament with marble-like painting was not made in Maverannahr until the 10th and after the 11th centuries (Bolshakov, 1954, p. 8). The dotted ornament outlined with contour lines which fill the rest of the free field of scene images or other compositions also belongs to the group of abstract ornaments. The dotted ornament also symbolised plurality. In the Tajik applied arts such dots are used in the or- nament bachagon (children) (Belinskaya, 1965, p. 60). Quite often a tortuous line with dots on one or both sides can be seen on different ceram- ic items. This seemingly abstract ornament is perhaps a stylised image of a snake. Some- times the tortuous line acquires a botanical character, while the dots tend to coalesce with the zigzag, turning into a sort of oblong spots. The cosmic symbols—the sun, the moon and stars—were, no doubt, the earliest emblems of natural elements. These emblems preserved the tendency towards elementary natural- ism through such forms as a circle, sickle, rosette and dots, as well as rhombus and cross. 159

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Over the centuries they received a new religious content. Despite the dominance of Islam, the ancient cults of heavenly bodies were extremely tenacious. In the ceramic items we are discussing, the compositions based on a cosmic symbol, main- ly that of the sun, are painted as a circle from which lines of the same colour radiate. Such composition is also common in kashin ceramic items from Misrian (western Turkmenistan) (Atagarryev, Byashimova, 1979, p. 99, fig. 2.2,3,6). One of the fragments of bowls from Merv has a rosette, on which the features of a hu- man face are depicted: eyebrows, eyes and nose with dots made with a tip of a brush with green, ochre and dark brown paints. The rosette is located in the centre of the bottom, which is typical for the solar symbols. Epigraphic ornament. Epigraphic ornament is widely spread in the décor of glazed ce- ramics from Merv and kashin ceramics from Misrian. It is often used as separate decoration of vessels, but it is also found as a complement to the main composition. Epigraphic ornament on glazed ceramics was usually made with black and dark brown paint on the white back- ground and with white paint on the black background. The ornament usually formed a strip along the rim and on the central diagonal of the whole inner surface of bowls, or it made a strip on the walls of closed vessels. On kashin ceramics epigraphic ornament was made in the form of concentric strips at the board or on the wall of a vessel. The calligraphic techniques used in the ceramic we are studying are as follows: ‘ceram- ic italic’ and ‘simple’ and ‘flourishing’ Kufi. The ‘simple’ Kufi script is a strict and well-pro- portioned hand. According to Bolshakov, in the ceramics of Samarkand the stems of high and low letters have a ratio of 4 to 1, reaching sometimes that of 6 to 1 (Bolshakov, 1958, p. 27). The thickness of the main legs of all the letters is the same; there are no hairlines or minims. The letters are sometimes adorned with dots. Ceramic items from Merv have the inscriptions with the same ratio. A greater number of inscriptions are made in the ‘flour- ishing’ Kufi hand. The letters have the same form, with split serifs. In more complex forms the stems of alifs and lams make an arch-like bend in the lower part, and the split serifs resemble palmettos. V. A. Krachkovskaya dated the inscriptions in ‘simple’ Kufi hand on ceramics back to the 9th century (Krachkovskaya, 1949, p. 4). The Kufi script with split serifs is dated by Bolshakov to the 10th century (Bolshakov, 1958, p. 26). Most often these are stylised in- scriptions, which turned into an ornamental element. Those inscriptions that could be read are ordinary good wishes often found on ceramic items. The stylised word ‫( ﺍﻠﻤﺪ‬al-madd) wishing longevity to the owner or to the vessel can be often seen in the inscriptions on ceramic items from Merv and Asadabad of the Murgab oasis. The word ‘al-madd’ also means ‘supplies’, ‘provision’. The word ‫( ﺒﺮﮐﻪ‬baraka—blessing) is often painted on ceramics. As a rule, it is located in the centre of the bottom of small bowls. According to Bolshakov, this word is an abbreviated good wish ‘blessed is the owner of this’ (Bolshakov, 1958, p. 35). The good wish ‫( ﺍﻠﻤﺪ‬al-madd) was used with baraka in the 10th century and with с ‫(—ﺍﻴﻤﻦ‬al- yumn) in 11th–12th centuries; the distorted form refers to the late 11th–12th centuries (Bolshakov, 1958, p. 35). On the sherds of the ceramics we are studying we can often see the strongly distorted word ‫ ﺍﻠﻤﺪ‬in the form of an ornament on the bottom or inner the surface of the wall of a bowl, the epigraphic prototype of which we have not been able to trace. 160

Turkmenistan Fig. 3. Merv 12th–13th centuries. The imitation of epigraphic ornament—pseudo-epigraphic décor—is widely spread. In most cases these ornaments also formed a diagonal strip over the inner surface of bowls of a dif- ferent size. A fragment of a bowl has a strip of ornament in the form of a diagonal line painted in black on the white slip; on the one side of the line there are alternating palmettos bent to the left and a group of points producing the impression of an inscription in the ‘flour- ishing’ Kufi hand. In one case there is a line drawn on a sherd, on one side of which there are S-like signs, al- ternating with two vertical lines; in the other case similar vertical lines alternate with three connected rounds. Inside a small cup there is a diametric line with small rounds on one side with dots inside and between them. On a fragment of a bottom covered with red slip on both sides there is a diametric strip of an ornament which resembles an epigraphic inscription: vertical coupled lines with tri- angular flags pointed upwards in various directions. Between the pairs of these lines-flags there is an arched ornament, drawn in black on a greenish-yellow strip. There are also bowls with an ornament in the form of curls alternating with points painted on the inner surface of the bottom. Apparently, it also has a pseudo-epigraphic character. 161

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics In one case a bird with a large beak is depicted on a fragment of the bottom of a small bowl from Merv; the inscription ‫ اﻠﻪ‬is placed right under the bird, probably meaning ‘allah’. Krachkovskaya dates the process of stylisation of inscriptions and turning them into a pseudo-epigraphic, unreadable pattern back to the 11th century (Krachkovskaya, 1955, p. 53). The ceramic items with inscriptions from Merv also date at the early 11th century (Lunina, 1962, p. 272–273). On the kashin ceramic items from Misrian of the 12th–13th centuries the inscriptions were made in the naskh style; many of them simply transformed into an ornament and are no long- er readable. The inscriptions that we could read consist of the usual good wishes: affluence, happiness and the like. Zoomorphic ornament occupies a significant place in the decoration of glazed ceramic items. Birds play the leading role in zoomorphic ornamental motifs. Judging from the find- ings, the most favourite was the depiction of single birds and couples, inscribed in the circle of the bottom. The technique has certain characteristic features: the body is mainly contoured with black and brown paints; the wing is depicted separately from the body and is sometimes connected with its sharp end to the tail; the eyes are usually marked by a dot in the middle; the neck is divided by two thin bent strips. A stylised bird is depicted on a fragment of a white slipped bowl. It is contoured with black paint. The eye is marked by a ring with a dot in the centre; there are three curls in the place of the beak and a palmetto-like curl instead of the crest; the crop is well articulated. A stylised bird is drawn on another fragment of a bottom, contoured with brown paint. There are spots of brown colour painted on the trunk and on the tail of the bird. An image of a parrot on a sherd of a bowl is particularly interesting. It is painted with black paint, in light brush strokes. The painter pictured the bird quite expressively: a blunt beak and a large eye, marked by a ring with a dot in the centre; but unlike the previous im- ages, three strips of the same black colour go from the ring of the eye to the beak. The im- age of the parrot is complemented by colourful green and yellow spots (Byashimova, 1980, p. 463–464). On the walls of both open and closed vessels birds were often depicted in few strokes. The drawing of a bird in flight made on a fragment of the wall of a bowl with no more than two dabs of a brush, which is nevertheless done very expressively and makes the bird re- sembling a flying seagull. The bird is made with brown paint on greyish-pink slip. On an- other fragment of a bowl flying birds are drawn on the edge of the rim with dark brown paint on white slip. They are also painted with few brush strokes. In this case the bird re- sembles a pigeon. A fragment of the bottom of a bowl has a part of a composition with the image of a bird with a large round eye and the pupil in its centre. The bird is painted in black and resem- bles a crow. The images of birds resembling a peacock are found in Merv (Lunina, 1962, p. 249, fig. 17). Masson dates the glazed pottery with a characteristic depiction of birds originating from the medieval town of Anau back to the 9th–10th centuries (Masson, 1949, p. 53). The birds are treated more conventionally and are made in black contours on the greyish-yellow background (Levina, 1951, p. 358). Fragments of ceramics with stylised birds are found in significant numbers at Nisa and Zamakhshar; there they belong to the 9th–10th centuries 162

Turkmenistan (Vakturskaya, 1959, p. 59). Birds can often be seen on kashin ceramics of the 12th–13th cen- turies from Misrian (Atagarryev, Byashimova, 1979, p. 97–103, figs. 1–4; Byashimova. 1989, p. 206–208, table 84, 86). A fragment of a clay head of a bull with a fragment of the horn found by Lunina is also quite interesting. The head is covered with brown glaze. The eye is bulging, white, with a dark brown pupil; the nose is drawn with a white strip; the arched eyebrows are of the same col- our. The horns are red on the reverse, with white strips on the sides. They diverge widely, what makes the head resemble that of a yak (Lunina, 1962, p. 248). Anthropomorphic images rarely decorate the ceramic items from Merv. A part of a fig- ure of a standing or walking man with a red flower in his right hand remained on a frag- ment of the bottom of a bowl. He is painted on the green-white background with brown paint. He wears a skullcap on his head, apparently, an embroidered one; the hair is visible from under the skullcap; the eyebrows are not continuous, the eyes are large and round and the nose and the mouth are small. The man is dressed in a robe with wide red-and- white strips with a white belt. Stylised facial features are depicted on the bottom of four fragments of bowls: eyebrows, eyes, and two strips or botanical ornament in the form of palmettos instead of the nose. Anthropomorphic drawings on glazed ceramics of the 9th–11th centuries from Novaya Nisa are represented by an image of a running man in coloured trousers. An old man and a young man are depicted on kashin tiles of the 13th century. The figures of people, especially girls, who are depicted on either side of a tree, ‘the tree of life’ are often found on the kashin ce- ramic items from Misrian in the 13th – first half of the 14th centuries. The girls usually have the Kashan (Iranian) type of face: a round face with a heavy chin; but the skullcaps with a silver ornament and the four plaits make them resemble modern Turkmen girls. These images are usually painted on luster vessels (ill. IX, X). Analyzing the described complex of ceramic items from Turkmenistan, it should be men- tioned that despite some durability of forms and elements, the ornament was continuously changing. Changes occur mainly within the elements, while the composition remains the same. Individual motifs lose their original configuration, becoming more general in nature. The lan- guage of applied arts of medieval Turkmenistan is diverse and expressive. The world around the man was the principal content of people’s art. The figurative forms of ornaments are full of diverse motifs, borrowed from historical, cultural and aesthetic traditions. During the excavation of a wall to the South-West of the site Novaya Nisa, the fragments of glazed ceramic items were found on its surface with an underglaze ornament of pale yel- low colour outlined by black drawing, as well as sherds of thin-walled glazed ceramic items with a bright painting and yellow, light and dark brown, and green glaze, which are dated back to the 9th–13th centuries. There are items made of high quality kashin in the 12th century discovered at the site along with painted luster tiles shaped like crosses and eight-point stars belonging to the second half of the 13th century. An image of an old man can be seen on one of them, a youth surrounded by a border with Persian verses on the other (Masson, 1949, p. 78, fig. 38). Dyakonov and Gy- uzalyan, specialists in epigraphy, believe that the technique, in which the Persian poetry was written, is similar to the tiles from Damgan, dated back to 1267 (Masson, 1949, p. 78). 163

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics A carved table, covered with blue-green kashin glaze found in the cemetery Chelyk around Nisa can be dated to the late 13th – first half of the 14th centuries. Complex Arabic inscrip- tions in the naskh style are depicted on the table. Masson believes that the inscription con- tains one word ‘ahmar’ (red) (Masson, 1949, p. 78, fig. 39). Whole complexes of glazed ceramic sherds of the 14th century with blue glaze and violet- black underglaze painting were found in the ruins of the khanaka Seravi on the outskirts of the modern village Baghir. Fragments of defective ceramic items found there provide an evidence of the local origin of this ceramics (Masson, 1949, p. 79). Luxurious, thin- walled kashin tableware of the 14th century with ornamentation in the form of the whirl ro- sette and radial strips running from the bottom to the rim was discovered in the territory of Novaya Nisa. Fragments of highly artistic kashin ceramic items of the 15th century were found to the North- East of the citadel of Novaya Nisa, in the quarter of the houses of wealthy citizens of that time. The abundance of zoomorphic elements attracts particular attention (ill. XI,XII) The excavations of Novaya Nisa yielded a large number of fragments of imported Chinese porcelain, pure white and white with blue tint, among which there are items of the early Ming porcelain, for example, sherds marked with the characters of the name of the emperors Yong Lo (1403–1424) and Cheng-Hua (1465–1487) (Pugachenkova, 1949, p. 401). The pas- sion for the beautiful Chinese porcelain in the 15th century made an impact on the ceramic production in Central Asia, including Nisa, where appeared local ceramic imitations based on kashin slip with bright cobalt painting. Parts of compositions with botanical (luxuriant flowers and stylised curls and leaves) and zoomorphic (mostly birds) paintings can be seen on the sherds. The analysis of the ceramic material of Turkmenistan allowed us to classify the content and the types of the main forms of clay and kashin glazed ceramics. The ornamentation of the ceramic items that we have studied is closely connected to the art of the neighbouring historical and cultural areas. The commonality is seen in the similarity of multiple artistic techniques, the identity of colour system, in the proxim- ity of the elements of the ornament and ornamental complexes. First of all, there are some analogies of individual patterns that are common for the peoples of Central Asia: horns, a spiral, triangles, a tree, almond-like leaves and others. There is also a compositional sim- ilarity of entire groups of ornaments, comprising similar elements. The common features of the ceramic arts of Turkmenistan and the art of other coun- tries is not limited to the territory of Central Asia. Several similarities make it comparable to the art of medieval Iran. We can give as examples the compositions with radial strips that divide the internal field of a bowl into several sectors, as well as the compositions with botanical and zoomorphic motifs, especially containing the images of birds. 164

Glazed ceramics (13th –early 14th century) Glazed bowl. 13th–early 14th century. Otrar oasis. Kazakhstan. 165

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Glazed bowl. 13th–early 14th century. Otrar oasis. Kazakhstan. 166

Glazed ceramics (13th –early 14th century) Glazed bowl. 13th–early 14th century. Otrar oasis. Kazakhstan. 167

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Glazed jar and lid. 13th–early 14th century. Otrar oasis. Kazakhstan. 168

Glazed ceramics (13th –early 14th century) Glazed bowl. 13th–early 14th century. Otrar oasis Kazakhstan. 169

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Glazed bowl. 14th century. Western Kazakhstan. 170

Glazed ceramics (13th –early 14th century) Glazed oil lamps. 12th–early 13th century. Osh. South Eastern Ferghana. Kyrgyzstan. 171

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Cashin glazed bowl. 14th century. Western Kazakhstan. 172

Glazed ceramics (13th –early 14th century) Vessel with a lid and handles. 12th–13th centuries. Turkmenistan. 173

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Glazed dish with carving on manganese painting. 12th–early 13th century. Bailakan. Azerbaijan. 174

Glazed ceramics (13th –early 14th century) Glazed polychromatic bowl with a picture of a running zebu on the botanical background. 12th– early 13th century. Azerbaijan. 175

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Glazed polychromatic dish with a genre picture. 12th–early 13th century. Bailakan. Azerbaijan. 176

Turkmenistan I. Nisa 9th –11th centuries. II. Merv 9th–11th centuries. III. Merv 9th –11th  centuries. IV. Asadabat 9th –11th centuries. 177

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics V. Merv 9th–11th centuries. 178

Turkmenistan VI. Merv 9th–11th centuries. VII. Nisa 12th –13th centuries. VIII. Nisa 12th –13th centuries. IX. Misrian 12th –13th centuries. 179

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics X. Misrian 12th–13th centuries. XI. Nisa 14th–15th centuries. XII. Nisa 14th–15th centuries. XIII. Nisa 12th–13th centuries. 180

UZBEKISTAN In terms of the shape and artistic and technological characteristics, the development of ceramic production in the medieval Maverannahr, and in a narrower sense in Uz- bekistan, can be divided into several periods, the first of which falls on the 9th – ear- ly 13th centuries. Although medieval glazed ceramics of the Muslim East, in general, had a uniform style and met the requirements of fashion, the items from Maverannahr had their own distinctive features, most visible in the use of local materials and tradi- tional ornamental motifs. In this paper we make an attempt to analyse the issue from a broader historical perspec- tive. For this purpose the materials from new ceramic complexes (the importance of which was poorly reflected in earlier publications) are introduced to the academic reader, and cer- tain amendments are made in relation to the dynamics of their development, and well-known materials of the given period from the leading ceramic centres of Uzbekistan receive addi- tional attention. The everyday household glazed ceramics of the 9th – early 13th centuries is represented by tableware, kitchenware and special purpose items. The table crockery, which has a wider range, can be divided into bowls, cups, dishes, saucers, plates and other forms. On the base of ethnographic parallels, we believe that it could be of a ‘ceremonial’ (expensive dishes for the reception of guests, or the decoration of a living room) or ‘everyday’ character (cheap dishes for the everyday use). The kitchenware mostly consists of unglazed jugs, pots, caul- drons and lids. The special purpose ceramic items include lamps, inkpots, pencil cases, chil- dren’s pots for cradles, toy dishes, zoomorphic figurines and other forms. The rapid development of the production of glazed ceramics from the late 8th century is at- tributed by some researchers to the Islamic ban against the use of utensils made of precious metals, which was not probably observed (Tashkhojaev, 1967, p. 9). Nevertheless, in the 9th– 10th centuries dishes with ornamentation on ishkor (alkaline) glaze, and then on lead glaze imitate the dotted motif in reserves typical for metal items (ill. I, II). At the same time we believe that wooden kitchenware, as well as metal dishes, was the pre- cursor of the forms and decorative compositions of glazed ceramic items. Materials from a number of burial mounds (Litvinsky, 1972, p. 42–43; Voronets, 1954, p. 74; Sprishevsky, 1956, p. 71), as well as ethnographic literature related to the mountainous, nomadic and ag- ricultural areas (Peschereva, 1959, p. 300, Agapov, Kadyrbayev, 1979, p. 238, fig. 3; Shani- yazov, 1974, p. 280) indicate at a wide use of wooden utensils that, unfortunately, can rare- ly be found because of the vulnerability of wood as a material. Some items of early forms of glazed ceramic dishes of the first half of the 9th century from Samarkand and Bukhara (Shishkin, 1979. Table XLI, figs. 6, 7) with a bottom on three conical legs (ill. III) may serve as an example. Such characteristics can be easily parallelled to those of wooden items from the castle on the hill Mug, geographically close and chronologically prior to the above mentioned items (Bentovich, 1958, p. 360, fig. 2: 1). Wooden spoons and tables on four 181

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics legs are widespread in the Central Asian monuments of the early Middle Age and the An- tique period along with dishes, bowls and cups of different sizes (Litvinsky, 1972, p. 42–43; Litvinsky, 1978, p. 62–70; Zadneprovsky, I960, p. 125; Arzhan ..., 2004, p. 58). At that time prototypes of lathes were already used in the production of many of these items, which un- doubtedly served as a model for the production of glazed ceramics. Early types of massive dishes of the 9th century covered with ishkor (alkaline) are good example. The ceremonial items were apparently used to decorate rooms, and the 10th century truncated conical bowls is an evidence of this. Their large size and thin walls could hardly meet the requirements of the everyday life (ill. IV). Explorations in Afrasiab, Varakhsha, Jighirbent show that hemispheroidal bowl-like ves- sels on concave disk-like bottom plates or three blunted conical feet are often unearthed there along with items with dark green glaze in the form of hemispheric or cylindrical cups or the simplest saucer-like chirags with a flattened nose, with a loop-like handle or without it (ill. III). They are decorated with tricolour painting on clay under turbid glaze, and radi- al sectored composition consisting of rhombuses with small dots, which are marked with bright yellow and emerald green patches in a checkerboard pattern (Inevatkina, Shpene- va, Lushnikova, 2000, p. 68; Shishkina, 1979, p. 35; Vishnevskaya, 2000, p. 36, 41). A layer with fragments of glazed bowls with overglaze painting of turquoise-green ishkor ceram- ics of the 9th–10th centuries is located above the layer containing the above mentioned items from Afrasiab. In general, we can see that by the mid–9th century the items with high-quality matte tin-alkaline glaze tightly stuck to the clay were produced in large quantities in Maveran- nahr (ill. I), which clearly seen in the materials from Afrasiab, Samarkand (Terres secretes de Samarcande ..., 1993. figs. 103–105, 108). However, the peak of the production of glazed ceramics begins in the late 9th century, when the new technology of shiny transparent lead glaze of various colours is developed. Well-designed botanical, geometric and epigraphic ornamentation on the dotted background continues the decorative traditions of the local metal items (ill. II). During this period, the green-yellow range of painting and scratched ornamentation mostly of a botanical and geometric character on white slip and under transparent shiny lead glaze becomes popular in the decoration of glazed tableware (ill. V). As has been al- ready mentioned in one of the previous articles, this colour scheme was named by archaeol- ogists ‘fried eggs with onions’. It was widely spread on the pottery of the Tang Empire (Wil- liam Watson, 1984). This kind of decor could have been exported to Central Asia through the crafts centres of the Near East. This group may include one-colour items with green or yellow glaze or stains of the same colour (ill. VI). According to the ethnographic materials, this colour was widely spread in the region in the late 19th – early 20th centuries and sym- bolised the sun and verdure, i.e. life. In the late 9th – early 10th centuries painters (nakkoshi) were actively involved in the dec- oration of items, and their high professionalism transformed the pottery of Maverannahr from the objects of handicraft into artifacts. Their craftsmanship was particularly impor- tant in executing complex botanical, geometric, zoomorphic and epigraphic motifs. Using the exclusive decorativeness of the Arabic script, calligraphers ornamented crockery with be- nevolent inscriptions, wishing good health, welfare, prosperity, and with proverbs reflecting 182

Uzbekistan the main spiritual values of Islam: ‘Generosity is the property of righteous men,’ ‘Patience is the key to joy’, ‘Greed is a manifestation of poverty,’ and others. Among more recent dis- coveries are personal inscriptions-dedications: ‘Bless Abu Jafar Ibn Saud’ from Tashkent or ‘Bless Emir of Samarkand’ (Ilyasov, Imamberdiyev, 2002, p. 126, 131). At the time of the ad- vanced and late Middle Age there was a custom to give people presents placed on expensive trays. Apparently, these trays were used only on such occasions. And certainly, this kind of tableware with epigraphic motifs could also be used in the decoration of mehmankhanas (living rooms), and the chosen sayings could indicate life priorities, mentality, or could sim- ply be the motto of the owner of the house (ill. VII). Along with the great variety of forms and decoration of glazed ceramics of Maveran- nahr, which was used to decorate the interior of houses of the opulent social classes, there was still a great variety of unglazed items customary used by the urban and rural population, which were mass produced but not less visually expressive. The forms and the functional purposes of these items were more conservative, as was the life of villagers, the largest part of the population. However, conservative forms of unglazed ceramic items retained their local regional features for a longer time, which, unfortunately, makes them more difficult to clas- sify chronologically. A research undertaken in this direction is more complicated and time consuming, requiring special considerations of various sorts. The 10th century unglazed ce- ramics from Paikend that we are discussing below, cannot fill this gap, and only partially defines the scale of the significance of such types of items in the everyday life of the rural population and the poorer urban classes of the period. The complex was obtained from a badrab (waste collector), unearthed at the level of the top stratigraphic tier of the Rabat 4 at the site of Paikend, functioning from the late 9th to the middle-third quarter of the 10th century. The whole material, except for one frag- ment of a glazed bottom, consisted entirely of unglazed items of table crockery and to a lesser degree of domestic household utensils, which are of great interest both for the characteris- ing of the handicraft industry and the private life of an average family from Paikend. The complex consisted of small bowls (ill. VIII. 1), mugs of different shapes and sizes with loop-like handles (ill. IX) hurmachas with many decorative handles and sprigs stuck to the shoulders (ill. X) and table jugs of various forms, including ones with special lids with hinges (ill. XI). A ceramic cauldron, a large water jug (ill. XII), lids from jugs (ill. VIII. 2,3), a tagora, a washing jug (oftoba) (ill. XI. 3) and a fragment of a flask, as well as fragments of walls of a small wine glass and glass mug are different kinds of kitchen and domestic utensils. The only fragment of a bottom of a glazed cup, painted with reddish-brown botanical or- namentation on white slip, under shiny lead glaze, is an item of table crockery confidently dated back to the early 10th century. (ill. X. 2). The fact that the badrab was discovered at one of the latest levels of the first stratigraphic tier indicates that it functioned between the middle and the third quarter of the 10th century (ill. X. 2), which gives a clearer indication of the chronology of the complex. First of all, the most part of the complex consists of various forms of tableware and do- mestic ceramics without any glaze, which was certainly made in the nearby potters’ quar- ter in the rabad of Paikend. 183

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Compared to the dozens of other closed ceramic complexes of the advanced Middle Age with numerous finds of glazed crockery, on the basis of which our colleagues had formerly clas- sified the glazed ceramic items from such major urban centres as Samarkand, Tashkent, Akhsiket and others, these findings have some features which make them different from the above mentioned collections. It should be emphasised that we are dealing with materi- als from a badrab of an average household which probably was located in one or several cor- ner premises of Rabat 4. This may be clear not only from the almost complete set of kitchen and domestic utensils, but also from the fact that, according to sources, by that time the ra- bats located close to urban centres were often occupied by artisans and their families. In the third quarter of the 10th century some oases, including this one, began to dry out which caused a complete cessation of the habitation at Rabat 4; by the middle of the 11th century the same fate befell the whole area. That means that from the mid–10th century the population moves into the centre of the oasis and Paikend gradually loses its urban status. In its turn, the complex we received could generally characterise the living conditions of large groups of the poorer rural and urban population of the oasis. In the late 10th – early 11th centuries the number of artistic trends in the ceramic art of Mav- erannahr drops, painting is simplified, naturalistic zoomorphic motifs disappear and epi- graphic motifs become completely stylised. In our opinion, it can be explained by the dete- rioration of the social and economic position of the population as a whole and by its social stratification. The materials from Akhsiket, the medieval capital of Fergana dating to the late 10th – early 11th centuries, provide abundant evidences of this decline. The complex is taken from two badrabs located 50 cm from one another, apparently belonging to the same house- hold and, most likely, filled in gradually (Mirzaakhmedov, 2007, p. 60–66). The first of these badrabs contained mostly bowl-like forms (ill. XIII). The ornamentation of one of them has a narrow diagonal strip of pseudo-epigraphic unreadable motif in the im- itation of the ‘flourishing’ Kufi script. The epigraphic imitation on the second one consisted only of very small irregular strokes (ill. XIII.1,2). The third bowl is distinguished by a com- plete absence of ornamentation (ill. XIII.3). Thus, here we see a gradual stylisation of epi- graphic motifs, from their minimisation to complete absence in the third item. In our opin- ion, this may confirm the fact that the price of potters’ products clearly went down. This fact, in turn, may be connected with the political decentralisation and economic problems in the Samanids’ state, which already occurred in the late 10th century (Gafurov, 1989. Book 2, p. 55–58) and with the emergence of the new Karakhanid dynasty that came into power. It is also possible that the diminished interest in the Arabic language and the level of lit- eracy among the class of craftsmen, as well as the reduction of the solvency of the popula- tion were among other important factors influencing the change. Nevertheless, the gener- al quality of the crockery still remains high, and only the artistic aspect of the decoration of items was affected. The next two items, a plate and a cup (piala) have polychrome ornamentation. Two rows of unreadable epigraphic motifs in the style clearly imitating the flourishing Kufi hand are in- scribed on the plate with black and red paint (ill. XIV). Various dishes make up a large group of items in the complex (ill. XV). The ornamenta- tion on the first three ones is fan-like and consists of the combinations of two, three and four bouquets. Pseudo-epigraphic stylised motifs go along the rim between the bouquets. Such 184

Uzbekistan a wide use of epigraphic décor is a typical feature of the crockery from Akhsiket. The last three samples continue and affirm the above mentioned principles of stylisation. This proc- ess resulted in the standardisation and the limitation of topics and motifs and the gradual rise of conservatism, which are typical indicators of the artistic decoration of glazed crock- ery of the period (ill. XVI). Every dish has stylised rosettes with leaves in the centre and also stylised benevolent inscriptions along the rim. Another common feature for all the items is the free background which obviously reduced their production costs. The next complex of archaeological finds was obtained from the site Kuva (Kuba), another major urban centre of Fergana. According to medieval Arabic written sources, it was situ- ated on the earliest branch of the flowering caravan route of the Great Silk Road that passed through the Fergana valley and through the eastern Turkestan to China (Brykina, 1990, p. 50–51). Archaeological research of the site began in the late 1950s and early 60s to resume only in 1996 in connection with the anniversary celebrations dedicated to the distinguished medieval mathematician Ahmad al-Fargoni, who was hypothetically born at this site. Let us look closer at the results of the study of Excavation 5b, one of the most interesting objects, yielding the material of the 11th – early 13th centuries and substantially complementing the abovementioned complexes of the major ceramic centres, such as Afrasiab (Samarkand) and Akhsiket (Fergana). Historically, this is the period of the greatest prosperity of Kuva. A considerable number of archaeologically complete items was obtained from two badrabs, No. 6 and No. 7, situated close to each other (54 cm) and gradually filled with waste. Two archaeologically complete glazed dishes were collected from badrab № 6 (d=0.90 cm); the dishes had a white background and were decorated with a sectored ornament of dark brown pseudo-inscriptions along the rim (ill. XVII. 1,2), very short and narrow, in one word, consisting of a straight line with a zigzag motif in the lower part and only symbolic. On the first dish they consisted only of five imitations, and on the second only of two, leaving the main background absolutely free. The bottoms of the dishes are disc-like and concave, with hemispherical walls on the second one, and walls slanting outward and bending smoothly to the vertical of the rim, on the first. The next dish, very close both in form and character of ornamentation to the former ones, was found on the floor of the premises of 11th century which was functionally linked to badrab № 6 (ill. XVII. 3). There are broad parallels to such inscriptions in the neighbouring regions, which are limited to the 11th century. It is signifi- cant that pseudo-epigraphic motifs are the main type of ornamentation. There were also found two archaeologically complete small glazed chirags with pseudo- inscriptions on the sides of the body and long spouts, and a small unglazed chirag, a sau- cer-like one with a primitive form (ill. XVII. 4,5). Although the inscriptions on the chirags are highly stylised, they had not yet turned into a complete imitation like those on the crock- ery and specialists may propose some variants of their interpretation. Badrab № 6, from which the given complex was extracted, was not very deep and the time of its operation could have hardly exceeded ten years. Based on the materials extracted from this badrab, which is a closed complex of household items belonging to one of the Kuva fam- ilies at a certain period of time, we can make some preliminary conclusions. First of all, epigraphic motifs completely transformed into an ornament become the main type of artistic decoration of ceramic items. In this case they imitate a single word, and are very short of space leaving the most part of internal and external surface of an item free. The re- 185

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics duction of inscriptions and complete stylisation (Mirzaakhmedov, 2007, p. 65–66) signifi- cantly diminishes the cost of products and reflects, the economic downturn associated with the ‘silver crisis’ that at least affected the artistic aspect of the decoration of tableware. Badrab №7 (diameter 95 cm), located next to the previous one on the same floor level, yielded even a wider range of finds. The closed complex discovered there can be divided into glazed and unglazed ceramic items. The glazed items are subdivided into dishes, bowls, semi-bowls (nimkosa), pialas and lamps. All of them are covered with white slip and transparent light lead glaze. The tableware had disk-like concave bases. On the first dish (ill. XVIII.1) the walls were of a traditional hemispherical form, on the other two they slanted outwards and through a faceted bend passed into a straight, almost vertical rims (ill. XVIII.2, 3). In contrast to the first com- plex, three bowl-like forms were found in this badrab: a bowl (kosa), a semi-bowl (nimkosa) and a piala. The profiles of their walls were in the form of a truncated cone and had a disk- like concave base. The bottoms of the bowl (ill. XVIII. 4) and semi-bowl (nimkosa) (ill. XVI- II.5) has not survived. The fragments of two bowls were found along with a piala (ill. XVIII.6). A small archaeologically complete chirag (ill. XVIII. 7) was also found in the complex, with a specific loop-like handle, a long spout and a stylised unreadable inscription on the both sides of the body. In the form and character of the pseudo-epigraphic inscriptions it resem- bles a small chirag obtained from the floor of the 11th century premises described above as well as the materials of the 11th century from Akhsiket (Anarbayev, 2006. fig. 3:1,5). The ornamentation on the dishes, bowls, semi-bowls, pialas and chirags is mostly mon- ochromatic. Only in one case an obviously ceremonial dish was completely decorated with two strips of repeating circular motifs painted with olive paint, with the addition of red curls (ill. XVIII.3). On all the other items they are stylised pseudo-epigraphic inscriptions of dark brown or olive colour, made with green paint along the rim of the bowls, dishes and pialas and on the body of the chirag. For a more complete description of the material culture of the period under study let us ex- amine the material from Badrab 17 at Excavation 9, located in the southern part of the citadel of Kuva. For convenience it can be called the third closed complex. The items found there, and particularly glazed and unglazed ceramics, have indisputable parallels with the above mentioned complexes, complementing them to some extent. The similarity is more pronounced in the items of tableware and chirags: the identical forms of the dishes and bowls on a disk-like concave base, the white, yellowish or slightly greenish background of the glaze on white slip, the standard type of stylised pseudo-epigraph- ic ornamentation in dark brown and olive colours. The only bowl in the collection is paint- ed completely in repetitive fan-like motifs of olive colour, with small red-colour insertions on the inner plane. Some parallels can be drawn between this bowl and the only ceremoni- al dish from the second complex. The items are united by the colour range of the paintings, by the complete filling with graceful compositions of all the internal surface of the items, which is indicative of their ceremonial nature (ill. XIX.6). So, the dishes are represented by two items with slanting walls and upward bent rims (ill. XIX.1, 2). The ornamentation consists of one or two short imitations of inscriptions. 186

Uzbekistan On the first one it is painted olive, on the second black. The glazes are transparent, with a slightly yellowish or greenish tint. The third item has the form of a small plate, which we had not found in the two previ- ous badrabs, Nos. 6 and 7 (ill. XIX.3), with an imitation of a single short pseudo-inscription along the rim performed with olive paint. Its originality is in the singularity of the inscription, what we could not say about the first two dishes due to their fragmentation. The uniqueness of the inscription also speaks about the domestic ethical standards, which are not typical of the Islamic and regional traditions. Why did the masters in the 11th century cease to fol- low the principles of symmetrical (pairing) or the sectored ornament (when such pairing could be ignored), which were so often used in the decoration of crockery in the 9th–10th cen- turies? Be it as it might, the absence of this type of ornamentation in the previous period, and in the neighbouring regions is a characteristic feature of a new artistic trend of the Fer- gana handicraft school. The next group of tableware is represented by standard forms of truncated conical bowls. White transparent glaze with a greenish tint and light slip, which together form a yellowish background, cover almost all the outer surface of the walls down to the base. The ornamentation painted on the next bowl (ill. XIX.4) also consisted of one short pseu- do-epigraphic inscription in olive strokes. This singular repetitive inscription is not an ex- emption, but a fairly typical feature of the style of this period. Ornamentation on the next bowl also consisted of one short pseudo-epigraphic (ill. XIX.5). But here it is in the edging of thin fine strands of red, made with black paint, is closer to the nature of epigraphy, and possibly reveal the meaning. We have already examined the characteristics of the third bowl richly painted with bo- tanical and geometric ornamentation (ill. XIX.6). We can only add that both ceremonial items are made in imitation of the best traditions of tableware of the 10th century. The pre- dominant olive colour with the inclusions of red on the yellowish glaze as a background be- comes typical only in the 11th century, which has direct parallels with the items from Kanka, Binkat-Tashkent and Afrasiab (Shedevry samarkandskogo muzeya, 2004, p. 9; Brusenko, 1986, p. 58; Shishkina, 1979. Table 59, fig. 1). Along with the three bowls that we have already mentioned, three items more or less ar- chaeologically complete were found in the third complex. They had the same shape and col- ours of the glaze and slip. No traces of ornamentation or inscriptions were identified. We can- not exclude the presence of single pseudo-inscriptions on the parts of the items that have not survived; but most likely there were not any due to the decrease in quantity, complete stylisation and, as a result, drop of tableware prices in the period under study. To substan- tiate this conclusion we can draw a number of parallels with the items from the neighbour- ing provinces and towns of the 11th century (Mirzaakhmedov, 2007. Fig. 3). The pialas from the complex also confirm that the number of tableware items without any ornamentation increased. Like the bowls, they had a truncated conical disk-like base (ill. XX.1–3). The slip is white; the transparent glaze with a slightly greenish tint makes a yellowish background. There is no ornamentation on the first cup. A very short imitation of an inscription made with black paint was drawn on the second piala (ill. XX.2). Since the piala only partially remains, we cannot exclude the possibility of a second imitation. 187

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics The third piala is more massive and has a poor quality slip and more intensely green glaze (ill. XX.3). There are no signs of ornamentation or pseudo-epigraphic motifs. Other four archaeologically complete pialas, as well as fragmented ones, similar in form and production technique, were found in the complex. Even taking into account the fact they have not been completely preserved, no traces of ornamentation or pseudo-epigraphic in- scriptions could be seen on their surface. It should be particularly noted that the pialas from the third complex were found in con- siderable numbers (7 items). Only one of them has a single short pseudo-inscription com- pletely transformed into a pattern. Thus, the materials of the third complex, with short sin- gle pseudo-inscriptions, testify to the development of a new stylistic trend in the pottery of Fergana and, moreover, to the mass production and sale of items without any ornamen- tation whatsoever. The forms of the chirags are traditional for this period (ill. XX.4) with a loop-like handle, long spout and easily recognisable pseudo-epigraphic inscriptions on both sides of the body. In total up to ten items of this kind, archaeologically complete and fragmented were found in the complex. Two dark lines on the handle and the spout are typical, apparently imitat- ing a shield and small wings, which have wide parallels with the décor on bronze lamps of the 11th–12th centuries (Drevnosti Tajikistana. 1985, Nos. 773–774; Terres secrcies de Sa- marcande, 1992. No. 324–325; Kalter, Povaloy, 1997, fig. 207; Islamische kunst, band 2. 1985, fig. 229) and are common for the ceramic items of the 12th century, where images of birds can be often seen (Mirzaakhmedov, 2006, fig. 1:6). In general, such specific details of deco- ration are connected with the pre-Islamic myths of a fairy bird, which brings the holy light and fire to people. All the ornamentation on the chirags is painted on with black or dark brown paint. From the materials obtained from the three closed complexes, namely badrabs Nos. 6, 7 and 17, we can make some interesting preliminary conclusions, characterising the typical features of ceramic items of the period under study. Disk-like forms continue to be used in the tableware. Some dishes have a hemispherical shape, while items with walls slanting outward and fac- eted rims bend upward become widely spread. The forms of bowls do not change, but decrease in size approaching the kosa of today. White slip and transparent glaze of yellowish or slightly greenish shade cover the inside surface, and in some instances they also cover the outer surface down to the bottom of an item. We can observe a significant drop in the number of painted items, including the poly- chrome ones. Olive colour with a tint of red widely used in the region back in the 10th cen- tury, prevails I ceremonial painted items, which are understandably rare. In this period, it is more likely to be an imitation of luster crockery of the Middle East (Oliver Watson, 2004, p. 274–279). Ornamentation in the form of short and narrow pseudo-epigraphic inscriptions along the rim of items, with the inner surface almost completely free, prevails on the vast major- ity of tableware. In contrast to the items of the late 10th – early 11th centuries with the imita- tion of epigraphy in larger letters and with a certain meaning (Mirzaakhmedov, 2007. Fig. 9, 11), the inscriptions on the crockery under study gradually become shorter, down to short lines and dented motifs, completely transformed into an ornament. 188

Uzbekistan The dishes usually contain single inscriptions, while in some cases, particularly on the cups, there is no epigraphy at all, which emphasises the enduring popularity and the importance of epigraphy in the decoration of tableware with the masters of the Fergana school. In general, the presence of disc-like bases on our ceramic tableware (which the 12th cen- tury are replaced with a circular base), the popularity of the inflexed rim in the forms of dishes, the imitation of the Near East ceremonial luster items of tableware, the disap- pearance of naturalistic zoomorphic motifs, the complete stylisation of edifying expres- sions into short pseudo-epigraphic abstract ornamental motifs, as well as the absence of or- namentation on some items of pialas (Mirzaakhmedov, 2007. figs. 1–11),—all this allows us to date the complex back to the mid-third quarter of the 11th century. Glazed ceramics from Maverannahr of the last third of the 11th – mid 12th centuries has been insufficiently studied. We can only note the continuing decrease in a number of artistic styles and trends and further stylisation of ornamental compositions. According to the materials from Afra- siab, this process is expressed in the development of a so-called ‘carpet style’ with weaved ornaments of a botanical and geometric nature (Tashkhojayev, 1967, figs. 11,12). This period is particularly characterised by ceramic items from the urban centres of the Fergana Val- ley, where the complete stylisation of botanical compositions and epigraphic decor becomes inimitably bright. The materials from the 12th century tier at the site of Kuva can provide some good examples of such items. An undamaged plate on a circular base, with the walls bent up and the small scalloped end of the rim edge bent outwards, is the most typical one. The painting combines black, green, red, and brown colours with the prevalence of the ol- ive tint. The ornamentation is sectored and consists of two narrow pseudo-inscriptions lo- cated opposite one another, and two broader stylised floral fan-like compositions (ill. XXI). The decoration of the second dish resembles that on the first one, but it has an even more stylised composition (ill. XXII). The paintings on the following two items are identical, but here they consist of single flo- ral and fan-like bouquets instead of double ones (ill. XXIII, XXIV). The recent materials from the upper tiers of Kuva are certainly ceremonial forms of the 12th century crockery, which significantly differ from and are superior to the items from the neighbouring regions. All this indicates that the uniform imperial style of the 9th– 11th centuries in the ceramic production over the post-Caliphate area began to change by the 12th century following the fashion in separate regions. In this respect, the glazed ceramics of the Fergana valley became sets a new artistic trend, which was adopted more or less by other ceramic centres of Maverannahr. In the second half of the 12th – early 13th centuries domestic glazed crockery is divided mainly into two groups. The first, smaller one consisted of items continuing traditions of the preceding period. Usually, these are dishes with the glaze of light, lemon-yellow, olive or brown tones with blurred painting of brown, green and yellow colours (ill. XXV). In contrast to the previous samples, they are characterised by poor quality of the flaky glaze, ornamented with scratched botanical patterns or with scanty blurred painting (ill. XXVI). The second group is larger in numbers and includes the crockery with monochrome turquoise, or in some cases dark green glaze, which is more characteristic of Samarkand and Bukhara (ill. XXVII). Earlier we noted that this group of items with blue glaze, red- 189

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics dish-brown slip on the outer surface and scalloped end of the rim edges repeats the wide- spread forms and the character of the decoration of the imported Chinese celadon vessels (Mirzaakhmedov, 1990, p. 72). Neat tiny holes found on many fragments of the items, which are indicative of repairs, were also characteristic of the both groups of this period (ill. XXVIII). Such traces of resto- ration work were rare on the glazed ceramics of the 9th–11th centuries. However, in the pe- riod we are studying, the second half of the 12th – early 13th centuries, the living standards of ordinary people, apparently, were so low that they had to repair and use broken crockery (Mirzaakhmedov, 2004. figs. 8, 9). Thus, many samples of glazed ceramics of this period with signs of repair work and signifi- cant reduction and deterioration of artistic decoration are an indication of the fall of Maver- annahr’s economic level, which was associated, apart from all other things, with the so-called ‘silver crisis’ that engulfed the whole 11th century Muslim East. Ceramic and numismatic ma- terials are consistent with written sources about the general decline of the region’s economy by the early 12th century. (Narshakhi, 1966, p. 34; Chekhovich, 1980, p. 220). Ceramic mate- rial of the second half of the 12th century indicates the division of the society into the few rich and the mass of the poor. In this regard, for the prosperous classes the craftsmen produced light, delicate kashin (white ceramic) tableware first imported from Iran, covered with dark- blue glaze (ill. XXIX). Olive-yellow and golden luster ceramics had the same origin. This very tableware continued the traditions of previous expensive ceremonial items. Here we see il- lustrations of a zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and epigraphic nature on the scenes from medieval poems, such as ‘Khosrov and Shirin’, ‘Shahnameh’ and others (Dyakonov, 1939, p. 196–197; Mirzaakhmedov, 1999. figs. 1–4). Crockery which imitated more expensive prototypes was made for the poor. In the first case, these items imitated imported Chinese celadon vessels in the form and in the colour of the blue matte tin glaze. In the second, crockery with olive glaze and stylised blurred yel- lowish-brown paintings resembled luster ceramics (Mirzaachmedov, 2009). Thus, despite the overall deterioration in the quality of mass items by the 12th – early 13th centuries, the magnificent items of luster with garlands of verses, images of horsemen and romantic couples on ceremonial ceramics (ill. XXX) (Mirzaakhmedov, 1999, p. 301) and the imitations of Chinese celadon vessels and luster items in the everyday crockery in- dicate a further dynamic development of the style of ceramic items of Maverannahr. In the early 13th century the Central Asian region suffered the devastating Mongolian invasion (1220). The materials of archaeological studies show that most towns and villages in the region never revived and turned into lifeless hills. The restoration of the remaining minority of the settlements took place only many decades later Even the first years of Mongolian administration showed that the expelling of artisans from towns, poisoning of peasants’ crops and destruction of the population lead to reduction in revenue causing people’s discontent. A powerful uprising near Bukhara led by Mahmud Taraby (1238), which later brought about a series of decrees considerably limiting the tyr- anny of the conquerors, is characteristic in this respect. Thus, in 1269 the Mongol princes held a kurultay (council) and decided ‘that from this moment they will live in mountains and steppes, will not stay around towns, will not let out cattle on populated fields or im- pose any unreasonable punishment upon the subjects’ (Rashid ad-Din, p. 71). According 190

Uzbekistan to the historian Juveyny, under the management of Mahmud Yalavach and his son Masud- bek the country completely recovered from the Mongol devastation. Bukhara reached such prosperity that no Muslim city could compete with it (Bartold, vol. I., p. 576). Slow rise in 40 years after the invasion is marked not only in Bukhara, but also in oth- er urban centres of Maverennahr. In general, the restoration of old towns and the develop- ment of new ones is archaeologically observed on transcontinental routes of the Silk Road or its main arteries. Historical sources give various definitions of the chronological boundaries of the gradual transition of Central Asia from the devastation and crisis to the recovery of economy and cul- ture. The initial stage is dated back to the 60s of the 13th century. Hence, for convenience we can mark the middle of the 13th century as the time of birth of a new artistic trend in glazed ceramics in the art of Central Asia, and Uzbekistan in particular, which was quite different from the previous period of the 12th – early 13th centuries. Chronologically, this period ends in the late 14th century, that is, with the beginning of the Empire of the Temurids. Unfortunately, these materials are absent at abandoned pre-Mongolian archaeological sites, while in the now- functioning urban centres of Uzbekistan they are difficult of access due to the living areas. The materials of the period under study we have presented consist of bowls and one pot- like vessel, obtained from Samarkand, Bukhara, the site of Paikend and the Rabat-i Malik caravanserai. A yellowish tint in the clay of the majority of items is a characteristic feature. Items of white and rosy kashin of, no doubt, a ceremonial character, are also found. White slip, transparent alkaline glaze, mostly white colours and sometimes bluish shades cover both surfaces of an item. Polychrome and monochrome painting, which consisted of botanical, geometric and ep- igraphic motifs, was the basic method of ornamentation. It was done with blue, dark blue and black paint. Bowls (kosa) have a circular base with a characteristic knob in the central part of the bot- tom plate. Items with a cone-like knob with a dent in the centre are found more rarely. The walls are hemispherical with a small lip bent outwards. There are also bowls with weakly pronounced round bases and walls slanting upwards with the sharpened edges of the rims. Compositionally most of the ornamentation is placed on the inner surface, while on the outer surface it has only a repetitive and schematic character. Forms with weakly pronounced an- nular bottoms and stretched walls with a straight rim may be earlier in relation to the hemi- spheric ones which later became classical, on pronounced annular bottom plates and with the edges of the rims slightly bent outward. So, an item from Samarkand belongs to a specific type of polychrome hemispherical bowls with traditional radial ornamentation of botanical, geometric and pseudo-epigraph- ic motifs (ill. XXXI). The following item with a characteristic hemispherical profiling and the edge of the rim bent outward comes from the site of Paikend (ill. XXXII). The third bowl with monochrome paintings under bluish glaze comes from Rabat-i Ma- lik and represents a group of tableware for the everyday use (ill. XXXIII). 191

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics The following two fragments of a bottom originate from Bukhara and Paikend (ill. XXX- IV, XXXV). On the first one a running hare is depicted. Although the picture is simplified, it testifies to the continuation of cultural traditions of the previous centuries. On the sec- ond there is a stylised botanical motif popular on the late medieval ceramics, or perhaps a symbolic image of snakes common in Paikend. The most interesting form in the complex is a small pot (ill. XXXVI) with four deco- rative conical applied elements and protruding knobs on its shoulders. The outer surface is ornamented with floral and geometric motifs and has a ceremonial character of decora- tion. The item is quite well known in archaeological literature and, most likely, could serve as a vessel for anointing with rosewater (Pugachenkova, 1960) on special occasions. In general, on the basis of the materials we have received, it should be noted that by the mid- 13th century a slow economic recovery begins and a new trend in the decoration of artistic ceramics appears. The mass usage of the forms of bowls (kosa), approaching the modern patterns is a distinctive feature of the period. Transparent alkaline glaze of white and bluish colours on white slip is dominant. At the initial stage the ornamentation was polychrome and monochrome, and completed with scratched motifs. Zoomorphic and ornithological motifs were used on the ceremonial ceramics. A new ceramic style that was born in the Near and Middle East was adopted in the major centres of the Golden Horde, South Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan borrowed via the cities of Khoresm. The artistic and cultural heritage of the peoples of Central Asia of this period is re- flected in the magnificent architectural monuments and in numerous written sources. However, the material culture of the period which is the main indicator of life and a cul- tural level of a nation has almost never been properly studied. Extensive archaeological research in Uzbekistan over the past decade has significantly improved our understand- ing of the integration of culture, arts and crafts in this period. A strong economic rise, of course, is largely based on the military campaigns wages by Temur, who, along with material values, brought to Maverannahr, his motherland, tens of thousands of elite ar- tisans. This huge economic and strategic potential served not only for the construction and manufacturing activities, but also helped to create works of art and artistic crafts in a new style, which was based on the local artistic traditions and tastes, taking into ac- count the latest achievements and trends of fashion, introduced by craftsmen from all parts of the empire. The influence is most clearly seen in the glazed ceramics, the most popular items of handicraft production. The period under study is characterised by the formation and spreading of the ‘Temurid ceramic style’, which differs from the styles of the previ- ous time all over Central Asia. Archaeological study of the largest urban centres of Maverannahr, such as Bukhara, Tashkent, Akhsiket, Shahrukhiya, Shakhrisyabz, as well as of Samarkand, the capital of the empire, revealed a large number of original and fine items of pottery. By the com- position of the paste and the character of artistic execution it was divided into ‘ceremonial’ and ‘everyday’ ceramics, by colour in monochrome and polychrome ceramic items. The mono- chrome ceramics is characterised by painting with blue paint (cobalt) on white slip and black paint under blue glaze, and the polychrome one is painted with a combination of dark blue (cobalt), dark brown and blue paint on white slip (ills. XXXVII, XXXVIII). 192

Glazed ceramics (14th –15th century) Fragment of glazed bowl. 15th century. Otrar oasis. Kazakhstan. 193

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Fragment of glazed lamp. 15th century. Otrar oasis. Kazakhstan. 194

Glazed ceramics (14th –15th century) Cashin glazed bowl. Fragment. 14th century. Western Kazakhstan. 195

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Cashin glazed bowl. 14th century. Western Kazakhstan. 196

Glazed ceramics (14th –15th century) Jar with printed ornament and glazed painting. 14th century. Western Kazakhstan. 197

The Artistic Culture of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the 9th–15th centuries • Ceramics Dish. 15th century. Samarkand. Uzbekistan. 198